01Move
DNA dimensions
Pieces per day, avg ticket, same-day fulfilment %, subscription DD penetration, alteration revenue mix, complaint/return rate.
All playbooksSmall business
Dry cleaner playbook.
An independent UK dry cleaner combining same-day dry-cleaning, laundry service-wash, alterations and a pickup-and-delivery DD subscription for professionals. The 2026 win is shifting volume to subscription home-pickup.
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Reference fit-out · Dry cleaner
Overview
An independent UK dry cleaner in 2026 makes money on three engines: dry-cleaning piece work (52–62% margin, 55–65% of revenue), laundry service-wash by kg (38–48% margin, 18–28%), and alterations + repairs (62–78% margin, 12–22%). Maths: 320 pieces/day × £6.80 avg × 6 days = £52k/month dry-clean + £8k laundry + £6k alterations = ~£66k/month gross at a strong single-site. The subscription lever (Wardrobe Club at £45/mo with weekly pickup + delivery on a fixed 8-piece allowance) on 140 members = £6.3k MRR plus loyalty lock-in. Specialist wedding-dress cleaning (£140–£240 per dress) and leather/suede (£60–£180) add high-margin tail.
320
Pieces/day
82%
Same-day %
140 subs
Wardrobe Club DD
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Dry-cleaning plant
Hydrocarbon dry-cleaning machine (Union HXL or Renzacci E-3)
20–25kg capacity, EU low-VOC compliant
£28,000–£48,000
Wet-cleaning machine (Electrolux Lagoon)
£8,400–£14,000
Form finisher / mannequin (Veit BR-S)
£8,400–£14,000
Shirt unit (collar + cuff + body press)
£14,000–£24,000
Suzie ironing tables × 2 (steam + vacuum)
£3,400 each
Steam boiler (electric, 12–24 kW)
£6,400–£12,000
02
Tagging, conveyor & front of house
Heat-seal tagging machine + 50k tags
£1,400
Conveyor (Metalprogetti or Speedcheck) — 200–600 capacity
£14,000–£32,000
Polywrap machine + 5,000 bags
£1,800
Counter + EPOS + chip-and-pin
£2,400
SPOT POS or Cleaner Business software
£280/month + £1,400 setup
03
Pickup & delivery (optional)
Electric delivery van (Mercedes eVito / Ford E-Transit)
£32,000–£48,000
Insulated van fitout (rails + bag racks)
£2,400
Route optimisation app (Onfleet / Circuit)
£140/month
Driver salary (1 FTE)
£26,000/year
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Office worker catchment
8,000+ commuters within 0.5 mile
Suit + shirt volume drives dry-clean margin.
Affluent residential overlap
Households with HHI £80k+ within 1 mile
Wardrobe Club DD + wedding-dress trade.
Drop-off access
Pavement frontage + 30-min parking
60% of drop-offs are sub-3-minute.
Three-phase power + ventilation
30+ kVA supply + boiler flue
Plant + boiler exceed domestic supply.
Trading floor + plant
30 m² front + 60 m² rear plant
Conveyor + plant needs depth.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
London Zone 1–2 (City fringe, Marylebone)
£3,400–£8,400
Strong suit/shirt volume + Wardrobe Club uptake.
Affluent suburb (Wimbledon, Esher, Hampstead)
£1,800–£3,400
Wedding + Wardrobe Club + repeat trade.
Commuter town (Reading, St Albans, Sevenoaks)
£900–£2,400
Weekday commuter trade — Monday/Friday peak.
Regional city centre
£1,400–£3,400
Mixed corporate + walk-in trade.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCompanies House Ltd registration
Companies House
£100
Usually 24 hours
ReqEnvironmental Permit (solvent use)
Local council (LA-IPPC)
£1,640 + £980/year subsistence
12 weeks
OptTSA membership (Textile Services Association)
TSA
£480/year
2 weeks
ReqF-Gas registration (if refrigerant on hydrocarbon plant)
Defra-approved certifier
£280/year
4 weeks
ReqPublic + product liability insurance
TSA / NIG
£640–£1,400/year
1 week
ReqEmployer's liability
Broker
£240/year
1 day
ReqICO data protection
ICO
£40–£60/year
1 day
ReqWaste carrier + WEEE registration
Environment Agency
£154/3 years
2 weeks
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 0 — Concept & permit
Weeks 1–14- LA-IPPC environmental permit application (12w lead)
- Site search + lease HoTs (3-phase + ventilation check)
- Plant supplier order — Renzacci/Union (8–12w lead time)
02
Phase 1 — Fit-out
Weeks 10–18- 3-phase upgrade + boiler flue install
- Conveyor + plant install + commissioning
- POS + tagging system go-live
- Polywrap + form finisher install
03
Phase 2 — Soft launch
Weeks 17–19- Trial week with friends-and-family at 30% off
- GBP verified + first 30 reviews
- Local solicitor + corporate outreach pack
04
Phase 3 — Open
Week 20+- Open Mon–Sat 7am–7pm
- Wardrobe Club DD launch (£45/mo, weekly pickup)
- First wedding-dress + leather specialist clean campaign
- Onfleet route planning live
05
Phase 4 — Scale
Month 4+- Second van route
- Corporate account programme (hotels, restaurants)
- Online order + pickup app launched
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Lease deposit + 3 months
£3,400 → £14,000
Shopfit + plant room build
£14,000 → £32,000
3-phase + ventilation + boiler flue
£8,400 → £18,000
Dry-clean + wet-clean plant
£36,000 → £62,000
Conveyor + tagging + polywrap
£18,000 → £42,000
Shirt unit + form finisher + ironing
£24,000 → £42,000
EPOS + DD + tech
£2,400 → £6,400
Electric delivery van (optional)
£0 → £48,000
Branding + licences + insurance
£3,400 → £8,400
Pre-launch marketing
£1,800 → £6,400
Working capital (3 months)
£14,000 → £32,000
Typical total
£125.4k–£311.2k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Rent + service charge
£900 → £8,400
Business rates (after relief)
£0 → £3,400
Utilities (3-phase + water + boiler)
£1,400 → £3,400
Solvent + chemicals + polywrap
£900 → £2,400
Wages (2 plant + 2 counter + 1 driver)
£10,000 → £18,000
Tailor / alterations (subcontract or staff)
£1,400 → £3,400
Van fuel + insurance + maintenance
£0 → £1,400
POS + DD + insurance + permit
£420 → £900
Marketing + corporate outreach
£280 → £1,400
Typical total
£15.3k–£42.7k
Numbers that compound
How a dry cleaner actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 1
Soft open: 84 pieces in, 62 same-day collected, 8 Wardrobe Club signups, £620 take.
02Day 7
First week: 1,420 pieces, £9.8k revenue, 28 Wardrobe Club subs (£1.3k MRR added).
03Day 30
Steady: 6,800 pieces/month, £42k revenue, 68 DD subs, first wedding-dress + 14 leather/suede jobs.
04Day 90
Full ramp: £58k/month, 140 DD subs (£6.3k MRR), 82% same-day fulfilment. Second route added.
05Day 180
Mature: £68k/month with autumn coat-cleaning peak hitting £88k. Corporate account with 3 hotels + 2 restaurants live.
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a dry cleaner.
02Move
Suggested route
Tighten same-day turnaround for 9am drop-off, launch a £45/month 'Wardrobe Club' DD with weekly pickup + delivery, add tailoring + alterations counter (40%+ margin), then add specialist wedding-dress + leather cleaning.
03Move
Automations
SMS 'ready for collection', subscription billing, missed-pickup recovery, seasonal coat-storage reminder, online order + pickup booking.
04Move
Integrations
Cleaner Business / Wash-Dry-Fold / SPOT POS, Stripe + GoCardless DD, GBP, Twilio SMS, Xero.
05Move
Benchmarks
Pieces/day, same-day %, DD penetration and alteration mix vs UK independent dry cleaner cohort.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors from Textile Services Association (TSA), ex-Johnsons / Timpson ops and Savile Row alteration tailors.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
Related playbooks
Owners of a dry cleaner often run — or cross-sell with — these adjacent operations.
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