If Boris is right and we don’t get another spike in COVID-19 businesses like ours can return to normality from October with conferences and large gatherings allowed to proceed.

As with most of the country, this has been a particularly tough time. As you know there are two sides to our business, the publications, LCT and Housekeeping Today. And then there is the event side, CleanEx, the LADAs and the Triple H Awards. Although we have kept our heads above water with the publications ( we do thank all our advertisers for their continued support), the event side completely shut down with the onslaught of coronavirus. CleanEx was postponed six weeks prior to the event with contracts in place, customers ready to exhibit with equipment and supplies ordered and in some cases shipped to their respective warehouses.

The LADA awards were proceeding at pace, the best year ever in terms of sponsorship and nominations, a real testament to our industry and how we all come together to applaud the fantastic efforts businesses and individuals who go that extra mile to achieve customer satisfaction, with reputations that will continue for years to come.

The Triple H Awards are planned but with hospitality shutdown, venues for 2021 have been difficult to arrange. With fingers and toes crossed, the LADA awards on November 5th could be one of the first events to bring everyone together, to network, celebrate and reward the efforts of the fantastic people in our industry. And CleanEx will be back, bigger and better in April 2021. We can also now start planning for the Triple H Awards to celebrate with the hospitality industry whom have been hit extremely hard during this pandemic.

As an industry we would like to say a big thank you to The Textile Services Association for their fantastic hard work and resolve by lobbying parliament and supporting the laundries through this difficult time, as have all the associations including the Guild of Cleaners and Launderers and from hospitality the UK Housekeepers Association.

Personally we would like to thank all our customers and in most cases friends who called and mailed with messages of support and stood by us by keeping contracts in place.

Our industries both textile care and hospitality stand together and hopefully will all be stronger after this.

Thank you

Mark, Tina and the team.

Pictured clockwise from left to right: CleanEx 2018, Hotel Housekeeping Honours 2020 and Laundry & Cleaning Today publications