Ex-Military entrepreneurs secure five-figure contract renewal

Gum Blitzer, which was founded by ex-Royal Airforce veteran Mark Hobbs in 2011, started off as a specialist chewing gum removal company, with Swansea BID being one of their first major clients.

However, the last 12 months have seen significant changes at the Swansea-based business, most notably the introduction of Peter Davies as the new Managing Director and the development of several new services.

“It’s been a very exciting time at Gum Blitzer,” explained Mark, who also runs one of Swansea’s largest student accommodation companies, Student Digz.

“We’ve partnered with Swansea BID for many years to provide chewing gum removal services, however, I always thought the business could grow and develop, but we just couldn’t find the right person to lead it,” he continued.

Step forward Peter Davies, a former Army Warrant Officer Class One who, after 23 years with the Royal Logistics Corp, retired, and was looking for a new challenge.

“Mark and I have known each other for many years, and although I retired in 2016, I spent the past seven years working for the ABF The Soldiers’ Charity,” explained Peter, “however, when the opportunity arose to shape and lead Gum Blitzer into the next decade and beyond, I jumped at the chance.”

After meeting with Russell Greenslade and Andrew Douglas of Swansea BID to discuss the cleansing and sanitation challenges they were facing, it became apparent that a more expansive service was required.

“I spent 23 years in the military solving problems,” said Peter, “so when the BID team explained the type of service they required, I went away and put together a comprehensive package of support.”

The new package not only enabled Gum Blitzer to diversify its offering to include external commercial cleaning services alongside chewing gum removal, but it also developed a rapid response delivery model.

“Our levy payers have been clear that enhancing the appearance of the trading and visitor environment remains a key priority,” said Swansea BID Chief Executive Russell Greenslade.

“This is why we have scaled up our investment in our cleansing operations to provide even more hours and services above and beyond the services provided by our Local Authority in the City centre,” he continued.

With a combination of daily, pre-planned routes, Peter and his team will also offer emergency responsive cleans, which businesses can request through the city centre’s store-net radio system.

“Alongside meeting the needs of Swansea BID, we have expanded our services even further,” continued Peter, ” and are now able to offer a complete external cleaning service which means we can now cleanse the exterior of any single or multi-story building from the gutter line down to the pavement.”

And with new clients that include hospitality businesses, national supermarket chains, retail parks and cinema and leisure complexes, growth across Wales and the South West is certainly on the horizon.

“We’ll shortly be recruiting extra staff members and putting more vans on the road,” said Peter, “and with the demand for our new cleaning services increasing every week, 2023 is shaping up to be a great year for the company.”