Why Choose Poppies Cleaning Service
Who Are We?
Poppies is not your average cleaning company, we’re a team with heart, heritage, and a passion for perfection. Since 1980, we’ve been delivering bespoke, high-quality domestic and commercial cleaning services across the UK. Every clean is carried out by trusted professionals who genuinely care and take pride in excellence.
We’re proud to be a premium choice for those who value discretion, consistency, and exceptional service. Whether we’re working in a studio flat or a stately home, our approach is always the same: tailor-made, meticulous, and respectful of the space we’re trusted with.
We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all. Every home, every client, every lifestyle is different. That’s why we create personalised cleaning plans that not only meet your needs — but exceed your expectations.
Our Story: From One Idea to a Nationwide Network
Poppies began in 1980 in founder Sue Rorstad’s kitchen with a clear and caring vision: to offer reliable, high-quality cleaning delivered by genuinely caring people. What started as one woman’s mission quickly grew as Sue opened a second branch in Newcastle and soon after began franchising, creating opportunities across the country. As a passionate entrepreneur, Sue even made headlines meeting Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the famous encounter known as “Mrs T meets Mrs Mopps.” When a legal challenge prompted a name change, Sue chose “Poppies,” inspired by the way our team members “pop in and out” to support clients in their day-to-day lives, a name that has since come to represent trust, reliability, and thoughtful service. Our first franchise launched in 1983, and it’s still going strong today.
Find The Nearest Poppies Branch Near You
We’ve got you covered with local teams ready to give your space the care it deserves!
Our Philosophy: More Than “Just Cleaners”
Sue’s vision was always bigger than a tidy home. It was about care, respect, and fairness, both for the people we clean for and the people who do the cleaning.
All Poppies team members are employed directly by us, no gig workers, no casual temp staff. This means you get a consistent, carefully vetted professional who takes pride in their work and is trained to the highest standards.
We invest in our people. With paid holidays, sick leave, ongoing training and real career growth, we create stable, rewarding roles, especially for parents and individuals looking to balance work and life. Many of our team members have been with us for years, building trusted client relationships and offering peace of mind with every visit.
What Makes Us Elite?
Tailored Cleaning with Precision: We shape every plan around you, whether you need quiet weekly upkeep, a deep clean for your luxury finishes, or a bit of extra help during recovery.
Consistent, Vetted Professionals: Every “Poppies” is background-checked, thoroughly trained, and chosen for their eye for detail, reliability, and professional demeanour.
Discretion and Professionalism: Our team members are respectful of your privacy and trained to work unobtrusively in high-end, sensitive environments, whether that’s a home, clinic, or office.
Premium-Grade Materials: We use high-quality, effective products suited to your surfaces and finishes, always tailored, never generic.
Nationally Loved, Locally Trusted: Our reputation for excellence, care, and consistency has made us a go-to name across the country, with generations of happy clients.
Flexibility You Can Rely On: Whether it’s a schedule change, a last-minute need, or seasonal deep cleaning, we’re ready, and we deliver with precision and care.
Services with Heart (and High Standards)
At Poppies, we do far more than clean. We help people maintain their independence, support families with full calendars, and provide a polished, professional helping hand when it’s needed most.
From everyday housekeeping and laundry to post-surgery care, moving prep, or specialist deep cleans, our services are shaped with care, carried out with excellence, and always delivered with a smile.
Find The Nearest Poppies Branch Near You
We’ve got you covered with local teams ready to give your space the care it deserves!
The Present and The Future
Sadly, Sue Rorstad is no longer with us. After a long fight against Cancer, Sue passed away on New Year’s Day 2015.
A woman of many achievements, Sue was most pleased that through Franchising, Poppies has created so many rewarding jobs.
In particular, it has created hundreds of permanent, part-time and flexible jobs. These jobs give mums with school-age children the chance to earn money and still meet their family commitments. This is a practical form of Work – Life balance.
Above all, Sue wanted her business to recognise, respect and value its employees. She thought of Poppies as much more than “just cleaners” and believed in the need to reward people properly for their commitment as well as the jobs they do. All our staff are expected to care about the client as well as their property giving practical support to each individual wherever and whenever they need it the most.
Demand for help at home is growing as busy working people and families juggle with competing pressures on their time and others strive to stay independent in their own homes for as long as possible despite illness, accident or old age.
If it is to provide a consistent and reliable service, no professional organisation can expect employees to subsidise the service they provide. For example, Poppies staff have to travel between properties – often in their own vehicles. Staff have to be reimbursed for the cost of such travel and pay needs to take account of the time it takes for them to travel to and from a client’s house not just for the hours they spend working in compliance with NMW regulations.
Poppies’ clients share our belief in a fair deal for employees seeing this as important and valid as fair trade is for farmers at home as well as abroad.
If we truly aim to provide our clients with a high quality, professional and consistent service then we have to start by treating our employees in the same way.
This was the philosophy of our founder and remains so today.
IN MEMORY
SUE RORSTAD MBE
1953 –2015