Giles Romesh has become the London-based Junk Hunters’ first franchisee, after being granted the rights to trade under the brand name in the Midlands.

Junk Hunters, a waste removal and recycling business originally known as London Junk, was founded in 2012 by Sri Lankan entrepreneur Harsha Rathnayake.

Having built up the core business in London to become a multi-vehicle operation, Harsha decided on franchising as a way to gain national coverage.

“I know that there are individuals out there who have the same drive and commitment that I have,” stated Harsha. “My desire is to not only to grow the Junk Hunters brand but also to support individuals who want to own their own business.”

An Engineering graduate from Kingston, University Giles was pleased to be the first franchisee.

“I realise that many people are wary of being ‘the first one,’” he said, “but I don’t see it that way.” “Getting in ‘on the ground floor’ is a big plus as far as I’m concerned. I researched a lot of franchise opportunities and Junk Hunters scored highly for lots of reasons. The amount of waste that we produce in the UK is growing so the Junk Hunter’s business model has longevity which is important to me as I want to build a long term sustainable business. Both domestic and commercial clients use the service that we provide which gives me an ideal opportunity to build an extensive client base. Head Office support in terms of initial and ongoing training and a dedicated central booking system where customers can book online 24/7 was also appealing to me. Finally I was impressed by the Junk Hunter’s ethical policy of re-cycling as much of the items that they collect as possible, currently it is around 80% and that would be my aim for our business here in the Midlands.”

“From the highly branded vehicle through to the level of customer service provided, everything about Junk Hunters was professional. I look forward to us becoming the ‘go to’ business for waste removal in the Midlands,” added Giles.