In addition, there is a marked increase in demand for professionally maintained workwear and personal protective equipment (PPE), particularly in logistics, healthcare, and industry. Heightened awareness of occupational safety and stringent hygiene standards have made high-quality textile care an indispensable part of operations in these environments. If there are still any doubts about the attractiveness of the UK laundry market, a quick scan of the second Hatch report commissioned by the Textile Services Association (TSA) and released in April this year, highlights the economic growth and importance of the UK’s commercial laundry sector. The report was presented by Hatch’s lead consultant Tim Fanning, at the TSA’s National Congress in February (see LCNi report https://www.
laundryandcleaningnews.com/analysis/ tsa-congress-2025-charts-the-industrys- future-course/) building on the first report, published in 2020, and highlights changes in the sector.
By drawing on three key markets, hospitality, healthcare and manufacturing, the Hatch report demonstrates how they depend on the textile services industry. The aim in doing this is to protect the long-term sustainability of the laundry industry as well as raise awareness of its importance, which Hatch calls a “hidden sector”.
What differentiates the new report from its predecessor is its ability to draw comparisons with two sets of data. This highlights the changes the industry has been through over the course of the past
SCOTLAND: The most northerly part of the British Isles, with its own individual culture and character
Three areas to watch
In regard of future market trends, Laurent Maillard from Jensen UK says there are at least three areas shaping the industry: 1. Full automation and ROI: Many laundries still underestimate the real return on investment that automation delivers. It optimises workflows, ensures consistency, and improves quality control.
2. Preventive maintenance: By adopting preventive strategies, laundries can extend machine life, avoid downtime, and maintain peak performance.
3. Digitalisation and smart technologies: With AI-assisted maintenance and data monitoring, we are transforming how laundries operate, making them more sustainable and future-ready. Most operators and independent analysts believe the UK textile care market presents a demanding environment: price pressure, intense competition, and the ongoing consequences of Brexit pose significant challenges for the industry. Those providers who focus on consistent service quality, sustainable solutions, and efficiency, and thereby clearly differentiate themselves from pure low-cost competitors, are the ones who achieve particular success. As sustainability and circular economy principles are growing, it is important for companies
to offer energy-efficient equipment as well as resource-efficient, environmentally-friendly detergents. That will allow them to perform well in the highly competitive UK market.
We recommend this Spotlight on UK be read alongside our report on the UK Textile Services Association (TSA) conference on pages 8-9
five years. Turnover is perhaps most striking, rising from £1.2 to £1.6 billion. In the same time the number of people employed by the industry has fallen from 23,000 to 22,000. These changes demonstrate how the industry has driven productivity. The report also captured for the first time peak processed volumes which reported at over 75 million pieces per week.
Gross Value Added (GVA) figures have also risen across the key focus sectors of the report which directly correlates to the increase in demand of commercial laundries, but employment levels in these areas varies. Manufacturing, for example,
has risen from GVA £189.3 billion to GVA £210.4 billion per annum, while job numbers have dropped, from 2.7 million to 2.6 million. That said, in hospitality, education, health, social work and public services, both GVA and employment have risen. In the public service sector these numbers are particularly significant, with GVA per annum rising from £346.7 billion to £426.1 billion.
“While raising awareness of the commercial laundry sector continues to be a challenge, the data is encouraging,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA. “The value of textile services is rising and productivity is increasing. The more we focus on the data and getting that message out there, the harder it will be to ignore us. The second report from Hatch has proven particularly insightful into how our industry is becoming even more valuable to the economy at large.”
According to the 2025 report, key areas of concern within the sector remain as they were half a decade ago: downward pressure on prices, rising costs of production and significantly increased energy costs. While these are universal problems in many businesses across different sectors, raising awareness of the textile services industry, particularly to the UK Government, remains a high motivator behind the work the TSA is hoping to continue for both its members and the industry at large.
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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/nov/11/uk-unemployment-rises-budget-ons-jobs-hmrc 13
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