When Keith Nicholson started cleaning offices in 1978, he could never have anticipated that nearly 50 years later, his business would be one of the East Midlands’ leading independent facilities management service providers.
What began as a small office cleaning business gradually evolved as clients looked for trusted suppliers to deliver additional services. Rather than asking facilities managers to coordinate multiple contractors, Inter County Service Group invested in developing complementary service divisions that worked together seamlessly.
Today, Inter County employs more than 400 people and delivers contract cleaning, waste management, washroom hygiene services and janitorial supplies, supporting clients ranging from schools and housing associations to major brands including Mercedes, Northampton Saints, Kier, and Travis Perkins, as well as several National Trust properties.
Diversification with purpose
For Inter County, diversifying has never been about adding services for the sake of it. Every new division has been introduced because it meets a customer demand.
For example, the company launched a janitorial supplies division, enabling customers to order cleaning chemicals, paper products, personal protective equipment (PPE) and washroom consumables through their website, with prompt local delivery and competitive pricing, rather than ordering online through a faceless supplier.
Inter County’s contract cleaning division also expanded. Today, the company delivers daily office cleaning, industrial and warehouse cleaning, school cleaning, carpet cleaning, commercial window cleaning and specialist cleaning services, including crime scene clean ups and end of tenancy cleans.
More recently, washroom hygiene services were brought in-house after previously being outsourced, giving Inter County greater control over quality, responsiveness and customer experience. The division now supplies and services sanitary disposal units, air freshener systems, vending machines, urinal products and waste collections, helping businesses maintain compliant, hygienic washroom facilities with minimal disruption.
Meanwhile, its waste management division supports organisations with everything from office and site clearances to clinical waste collection, confidential waste disposal and litter picking, allowing customers to consolidate cleaning and waste services into one integrated facilities management solution.
Growth through acquisition
In April, Inter County acquired Clean4Shaw Facilities Management. The deal added 147 employees and almost 200 clients to the group while strengthening its geographical reach across the UK. Just as importantly, it created new opportunities to introduce existing Inter County services to inherited customers, allowing organisations that previously purchased only contract cleaning to benefit from waste management, washroom hygiene and janitorial supplies through the same provider.
Keith’s son, Callum Nicholson, Finance Director at Inter County, said: “Facilities management has changed enormously over the years. Organisations want a trusted partner that can deliver multiple services to a high standard, rather than managing several contractors. That’s been the thinking behind our growth. Every new service we’ve introduced has been driven by customer demand and our desire to make facilities management simpler, more efficient and more cost-effective.”
To find out more about Inter County, visit https://intercountyltd.co.uk or call 01933 315872.
Main Image: All in the family: Inter County Service Group founder Keith Nicholson, centre, with members of the Nicholson family.
