A veteran property agent has sold his cleaning and security sideline business
to a South African group.
Harvey Soning, who has done deals for the likes of Gerald Ronson, has sold
a majority stake in Templewood to Excellerate, a Johannesburg facilities management company that operates in 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Soning, 72, will keep a minority stake and remain chairman of Templewood, which cleans car showrooms for HR Owen and stores for Superdry, and provides security to De Beers jewellery shops in London.
Excellerate boss Gordon Hulley said there was scope to sell services to cash-strapped councils, which face the withdrawal of central government funding by 2020.
He said: “It’s something we do a lot of in our own countries. Where councils are cutting back on services, we supplement those on a private basis — services like security, general cleaning and waste collection.”
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Soning, who runs the property agency James Andrew International, said selling a stake in Templewood was “the right thing to do for staff and clients”. The business turns over about £20m a year.