Family Business Week holds real meaning for NJC. As a family-run cleaning company and facilities management business, it is the foundation of who we are, how we began, how we have grown, and how we continue to deliver commercial cleaning services across the UK more than four decades on.
We are a family-owned commercial cleaning company built on respect, care and a deep belief in the value of people.
NJC was founded in 1984 by Connie Heppelthwaite. She started the business with two cleaners covering a small evening contract, using her widow’s benefit to buy cleaning materials and equipment. From those humble beginnings, the company grew into a trusted UK cleaning contractor, built on a simple but lasting belief: the people doing the work deserved respect, dignity and to be treated as more than just cleaners.
Connie named the company Not Just Cleaning as she believed those working on the frontline were not “just cleaners” but individuals whose work mattered and who deserved to be treated with care and fairness. That philosophy shaped the culture from day one and continues to guide our services today.
Today, NJC is led by Connie’s sons, Reuben and Mark Heppelthwaite, our Co-CEOs. Under their leadership, NJC has expanded significantly as a family-run cleaning business, offering professional workplace cleaning and facilities management services across the UK, but the commitment to people and the CORE values remain unchanged. They continue to build on the principles passed down by their mother, ensuring that respect, pride in work and people-first thinking remain central to how the business operates.
Reflecting on what NJC means to them, Reuben and Mark shared:
“NJC has always been more than a business to me. My mother founded it in 1984, and I built my life around it, I even met my wife here. Today, our sons, Reuben and Ben, each lend their hands part-time, and my nephews, Fletcher and Finley, have full-time roles. Leading NJC is about fostering sustainable growth while honouring our family’s past and keeping the company steady, dependable and true to its roots.”
Reuben Heppelthwaite
Co-CEO
“As we celebrate Family Business Week, I find myself reflecting on how far NJC has come since my mother founded the business in 1984. I joined in 1991, stepping into a company built on her determination and values, and throughout the years NJC has been a rock solid and reliable part of Heppelthwaite life. It has always done us proud. To see my sons, Fletcher and Finley, now working in the business as the third generation fills me with immense pride. Our family owes NJC a huge debt of gratitude, and the constant thread through every challenge and every success has been family, hard work, and a shared commitment to building something meaningful together”
Mark Heppelthwaite
Co-CEO
The family story at NJC continues through the next generation, with family members naturally finding their place within the business across a range of roles supporting our commercial cleaning operations and client-focused services.
Reuben’s son, Ben, has recently taken his first steps into working life as a Not Just Cleaner, balancing his A-level studies with evening shifts on one of our contracts. As Reuben explained:
“Our 18-year-old son, Ben, has just completed his first month working part-time in the evenings. Three nights a week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, he puts in 2.5 hours after a full day of A-levels in Economics, Geography and Design Technology. It’s a demanding routine, yet he’s taken it on with real commitment. I’ve always believed there’s real value in young people gaining early work experience and understanding what it means to earn their own money. It builds character, discipline and perspective. I’m glad he chose to take those first steps within the family business.”
Beyond Ben, family involvement extends into finance, operations and business support, with Fletcher, Finley and Emma forming part of the wider NJC team.
Emma, Fletcher and Finley shared their own reflections on being part of a family-run business:
“Joining NJC in 2000, when we were still a small family firm, shaped far more of my life than I ever expected. It has been a privilege to grow with the business and to contribute to both office management and finance as it evolved. NJC means a great deal to me — a place built on family values, commitment, and a shared belief in doing things properly.”
Emma Heppelthwaite
“Joining NJC was more than just stepping into a role for me, it was joining a legacy that I have admired my whole life. The dedication and sacrifice from my family that has helped build the business has shaped my values and made me into the person I am today. Being able to join the finance team gives me an immense sense of pride and I am exited to give my own ideas to help the business grow.”
Fletcher Heppelthwaite
“Joining NJC represents a major milestone for me. More than just launching my career and securing my first role, this is an opportunity to contribute to a company that has provided me with unmeasurable support throughout my life. The prospect of giving back to NJC, a company that has already given me so much, is immensely gratifying. I am eager to progress and dedicate myself fully to the success of the business.”
Finley Heppelthwaite
This continuity across generations supports a shared understanding of what NJC stands for and reinforces the values passed down through the family.
Being a family-run business shapes how we treat our colleagues, how we structure teams, how we approach recruitment and how we deliver our commercial cleaning and facilities management services every day. It influences our long-term thinking around sustainability, fair pay, growth and inclusion, ensuring decisions are made with people and longevity in mind, not just short-term gain.
For our clients, working with a family-owned cleaning company like NJC means partnering with a trusted cleaning contractor where relationships, accountability and consistency matter. It means dealing with people who understand the history of the business, who are present within its daily operations, and who take personal responsibility for the quality of service delivered.
There is a consistency of care, a deeper commitment to workplace cleaning standards, and genuine pride in maintaining high-quality facilities management across the sites we support.
Clients are supported by teams who are invested not just in contracts, but in long-term partnerships, open communication and continuous improvement across all commercial cleaning services.
That belief in respect, dignity and fairness remains at the heart of NJC’s values. Even as the company has grown, these principles continue to guide how we behave, how we engage with colleagues, and how we deliver reliable commercial cleaning services for clients across the UK.
Our CORE values of Customer-first, Openness, Respect and Excellence still reflect the original purpose laid down from day one and continue to shape our approach to workplace cleaning, customer service and operational excellence.
As NJC continues to grow, we remain committed to those founding principles. We will keep investing in our people, operating fairly, and delivering cleaning and support services that reflect dignity, respect and excellence.
Family-run is how NJC operates, how decisions are made, and what shapes our relationships with staff, clients and the communities we serve.
People first, always.