An international facilities management company

We've been supporting businesses for over a century.

As our customers' needs have changed, we've evolved to change with them.

20,000 customers across the globe - from the UK and Ireland, to the Middle East and Asia Pacific - rely on us to keep their world turning.

Our history

From sole trader to global enterprise

The OCS story starts in 1900. Since then, we have grown from one man with a ladder, pail and pushcart, to an international business with more than 86,000 colleagues.

Built on family foundations

Frederick William Goodliffe set up The New Century Window and General Cleaning Company as a sole trader. In 1912, his eldest son, Gilbert, joined the business as a junior clerk aged 14. He was followed by his second son, Tom, in 1920 and his third son, George, in 1928. Frederick's sons were pivotal in the formation of a new company, Office Cleaning Services, in 1930. And when Frederick handed the business to them, their shared leadership pushed us into a new era of expansion and diversification.

Five generations of business growth

After their father's death in 1947, the Goodliffe boys expanded the business with support from the wider family. They moved into bigger premises and set up a branch network across the UK. Acquisitions followed, and the business diversified into new industries in the 1950s and 1960s. As third and fourth generations of Goodliffes joined the leadership team, the business expanded into international markets. This family connection continues unbroken to this day, with fifth-generation relatives now working for the company.

A 21st century business

The last decade has seen us transition from being a family-run to a family-owned business as we appointed our first non-family CEO. A lot has changed since 1900, but our purpose remains the same: to provide expert tailored support that adds value to our customer's business, delivered with care, time after time. Today, more than ever, this means finding sustainable solutions that care for our colleagues, our communities and the environment.

Our values

OCS is a people business and our values of Care, Safety, Trustworthy and Expert are our DNA. They represent us at our best.

Our values guide everything we do for our customers - and how we do it.

We celebrate our colleagues who place our values at the heart of their day-to-day roles through our internal recognition schemes. We share their stories on our external communication channels to inspire our colleagues across the globe and our customers too.