History

Founded in Fulham, West London in 1900 as Sunlight Laundry, the company originally supplied domestic laundry services throughout the capital. In 1928 Sunlight merged with another local laundry to set up Sunlight and Western, which set about a national expansion programme with the purchase of other laundries in other towns and cities across the UK.

In 1963 came a change of direction. As more and more domestic washing machines were being bought, and easy iron fabrics became more common, the demand for domestic cleaning and ironing declined. The company diversified and built new services, renting and laundering bed and table linen for the hotel and catering industries, and providing work clothing for the manufacturing and service sectors. A merger between Sunlight Laundry and the National Laundries Corporation saw the formation of a new name: National Sunlight Laundries.

During the 1980s Sunlight also started to provide textile services to hospitals and other healthcare providers, for both wards and operating theatres. This has grown to form a significant part of Sunlight’s business.

The Sophus Berendsen business was acquired in 2002 by our parent company, then called The Davis Service Group plc. This brand operated textile services in Scandinavia, The Netherlands, Germany and Poland. Over the next decade the Berendsen business made further expansions into Europe, including, in 2008, into the Baltic States.

Our parent company changed its name to Berendsen plc from The Davis Service Group in 2011, reflecting its growing position across Europe as one of the continent’s leading textile supply and processing companies.

Find out more about Berendsen plc.