A LAUNDRY and dry cleaning business has branched out to create a “room service” arm delivering hotel-style comforts such as food and wine.

Barker Group is the largest domestic laundry in the UK as well as having dry cleaning premises locally.

It has unveiled Barker Room Service, which it describes as a virtual “Barker Hotel” on the doorstep, with food from Mark Cribb, the founder of Bournemouth’s Urban Guild venues.

Matthew Barker, managing director of the Wallisdown-based company, said: “The Barker Room Service was conceived from much valued feedback from our customers.

“We recognised that we have a valuable opportunity as we already deliver finished laundry to over 3,000 customers every week across Greater London and Southern England. Without increasing our footprint, we are able to deliver many other useful products, saving our clients both time and effort.

“I have wanted to expand our offering for a long time but the pure nature of this extraordinary time has meant it is an opportune time to help make the business more valuable to our customers and even better for the environment.”

The service will include starters, main courses and desserts from Mark Cribb.

Mr Barker said: “Working with Mark has been a joy while I am learning how he cooks and freezes a delicious meal, from order to delivery within 24 hours. I am now looking forward to building a comprehensive menu of amazing dishes and other products over the next few months.

“Alongside our offering from the kitchen, we have a sommelier – Dorset wine industry expert Jonathan Charles, who is incredibly passionate about the subject and brings with him a wealth of expert knowledge of wines and champagne from around the world.

“Barker Room Service is trialling this new service initially in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, with delicious offerings from the chef and the sommelier.

“Housekeeping will provide the well-established laundry service and fine bedlinen supply and within weeks, these services will be added to by the Barker Concierge service, providing further high-quality products and services that will serve to make Barker’s customers’ lives better.

“We have a very loyal existing customer base with consumers who really love the Barker brand and the quality of what we offer.”

The room service will initially be offered to existing clients and will be offered to others in the coming months.