Rentokil's laundry shut-down may leave clients high and dry

Hotels and restaurants in the UK could be left without laundry services following Rentokil Initial's decision to close its loss-making linen and workwear division.

Rentokil is shutting the division on 30 April after failing to find a buyer, potentially leaving hundreds of companies without uniforms or table linen.

The company has an estimated £25m of the £400m UK hospitality workwear and laundry sector, and competitors have warned they will not be able to meet demand.

David Stevens, chairman of the Brilliant Laundry Group, said: "Operators must act quickly if they are affected. We will be able to ramp up capacity, but we can't, as an industry, absorb this much extra capacity in such a short time."

Existing Rentokil clients should call the company on 0800 408 1001 or go to www.rentokil-initial.com to make arrangements.

Where companies hire uniforms from Rentokil as well, the company has agreed to transfer workwear garments to the new laundry provider.

By Chris Druce

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