Lance Bombardier Lee Harris-Harmer’s story is one of triumph over adversity. At the age of 17, Lee joined the Royal Artillery in 2008. Unfortunately, his Army career was cut short due to a serious back injury, leading to his medical discharge in 2016. Living in Thirsk, Lee recognised an opportunity to start his own carpet cleaning business and received funding from ABF The Soldiers’ Charity for cleaning courses and specialist equipment. With their support, Lee expanded his services to include general cleaning and quickly became the Managing Director of White Horse Cleaning Services.
In 2017, he took a leap of faith and accepted a contract to clean a factory, a significant milestone for his fledgling business. Lee’s Army experience had taught him to be bold and take risks, so he signed the contract, employed staff and was helped with a business expansion loan by X-Forces Enterprise.
White Horse Cleaning Services has absolutely flourished under Lee’s leadership. The company prioritised quality over quantity, understood the importance of customer satisfaction and in 2019, he transformed the business and started to focus on commercial contract cleaning, ensuring its sustainability and financial stability. Today, we employ 42 individuals and are working hard to become the leading specialist commercial cleaning contractor in Yorkshire. Our diverse clientele includes a castle, food and steel manufacturers, crematoriums, and local government contracts.
Awarded the Silver Accreditation
This dedication and hard work was recognised when White Horse Cleaning Services achieved silver accreditation in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme in 2021, a remarkable accomplishment.
SoldieringOn Business Scale-Up Awards
In the world of business, achieving success is a monumental milestone and we all dream of growth, expansion, and recognition for our hard work. Recently, White Horse Cleaning Services, experienced a defining moment in their journey when we were honoured with the prestigious Business Scale-Up Award at the 2022 SoldieringOn Awards. This recognition not only celebrates our business growth but also highlights our commitment customer satisfaction. This award is a prestigious recognition given to companies that demonstrate remarkable growth within the veteran community. When we announced as the winner, the entire team was overwhelmed with joy and pride. As we continue to grow and evolve, we hope we can inspire aspiring veteran entrepreneurs to take the plunge.
“We would like to send our congratulations to the winner of the Business Scale-Up award at this year’s Soldiering On Awards! I was fortunate enough to meet all of the finalists in person and the quality of those nominated and the finalists were truly inspiring, and all the runners up should feel very proud of their achievements. We are honoured to yet again support the Soldiering On Awards and to announce Lee Harris-Hamer as this year’s winner – we look forward to seeing your business continue to go from strength to strength!”
John Mason, Board Director and Trustee London Stock Exchange Group Foundation
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