Golden Service Awards celebrate the elite of the cleaning sector

The event took place on Thursday 21st May and 18 coveted awards were scooped by the elite of the cleaning industry, culminating in the celebrated Cleaning Operative of the Year award, which was sponsored by Cleaning Matters and presented to Hayley Hutchinson, NIC Services Group by Cleaning Matters editor Chris Shaw.

Created over 30 years ago, the biennial Golden Service Awards is today one of the most must-have and sought-after accolades in the FM and cleaning industry – with more entries than ever this year from first time entrants. The event has once again given FM companies, contract cleaners, and in-house cleaning teams a showcase platform to highlight their exceptional achievements, consistently raising standards and establishing new benchmarks for performance.

The full list of winners of the 2026 Kimberly-Clark Professional Golden Service Awards is as follows:

Healthcare

Winner: ISS UK

Education sponsored by Pearroc

Winner: Juniper Ventures

Office areas below 10,000 square metres

Winner: Peartree Cleaning Services

Office areas between 10,000 and 30,000 square metres

Winner: Chamberlaine Cleaning Services

Office areas over 30,000 square metres sponsored by Facilities Management Journal

Winner: Derrycourt Cleaning Specialists

Retail/Shopping Malls under 100,000 square metres

Winner: Mitie

Retail/Shopping Malls over 100,000 square metres by Tomorrow’s Cleaning

Winner: Andron Facilities Management

Leisure and Hospitality sponsored by Foremost 

Winner: Peartree Cleaning Services

Manufacturing sponsored by The Cleaning Show

Winner: TC Facilities Management

Sustainability Leadership sponsored by B-Sure Installations and B-Sure Recycling

Winner: Derrycourt Cleaning Specialists

Social Impact Sponsored by Nationwide Hygiene Group

Winner: Andron Facilities Management

Inclusion & Diversity sponsored by the ICCA

Winner: SBFM

Training sponsored by BICSc

Winner: SBFM

Small Business

Winner: Box London

Going the Extra Mile sponsored by Numatic

Winner: No Going Back Cleaning and Support Services

Cleaning Team of the Year sponsored by OdorBac

Winner: NIC Services Group

Site Supervisor of the Year sponsored by the CSSA

Winner: Nikki Jameson, Aramark

Cleaning Operative of the Year sponsored by Cleaning Matters

Winner: Hayley Hutchinson, NIC Services Group

Craig Bowman, sales director UK and Ireland, Kimberly-Clark Professional said:“Congratulations to all our outstanding winners and also to our well-deserved and exceptional finalists in 2026 who succeeded in their achievements in challenging times,

The event recognises those who make a difference and a positive impact, and we thank oursponsors, especially Numatic, and industry partner, the CSSA for their continued support.”

Kimberly-Clark Professional again partnered with The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) who oversaw the independent judging.

Neil Spencer-Cook, group managing director at The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) said: “The increase in first-time applicants was great to see, with more new names investing and sharing in acknowledging our industry talent.  

"Once again there was a strong focus on staff development and welfare, with ESG standing out as a priority. It was a pleasure to see the passion and drive, plus the innovative thinking in the industry shining through. These are well deserved finalists who should feel proud of their achievements and excited about the part they will play in the future of their industry.” 

“The quality of the entries keeps getting stronger year by year with the 2026 line up pushing standards with smart forward thinking, with new and progressive techniques.This included a more focused approach to valuing staff and improving working conditions, and mental health care. What was also clear was the commitment to go that extra mile, together with an ever-increasing rise in diversity. 

“The judges were once again very impressed with the site visits which demonstrated high efficiency.  The interviews with candidates for Site Supervisor and Cleaning Operative of the year clearly showed the inspirational enthusiasm for their jobs, their employers and most importantly their colleagues. Congratulations to all those who received a finalist nomination and the very worthy winners.”

Over 400 professionals from small, medium and large contract cleaning and facilities management companies, plus in-house cleaning teams, as well as local authorities and hospitals, attended the 2026 event.