1851 Magazine recently featured a story highlighting Buzz Franchise Brand’s first ever multi-brand franchise deal.
Private equity firm FranBridge Capital, the owners of several Atlanta-area businesses in the home services sector, recently expanded their portfolio by signing a 10-unit deal with Buzz Franchise Brands, including a six-unit deal with Home Clean Heroes and four Pool Scouts territories to serve the Greater Atlanta area, with plans to launch Pool Scouts in August and Home Clean Heroes in October.
This is the first multi-brand franchisee for Buzz Franchise Brands and Home Clean Heroes’ second-ever franchisee. Since the start of the year, Pool Scouts has signed six deals for 17 territories (including the recent Atlanta signings) and opened four locations.
Led by CEO Jon Ostenson, Chairman Allan Young and Operating Partner Christian Pillat, FranBridge Capital brings years of entrepreneurship, corporate leadership and franchise experience to the venture.
The three entrepreneurs all met each other through mutual acquaintances. “I’ve always had the idea to create a collection of home service companies that utilize data, similar customer demographics and technology to our advantage,” said Pillat. “At the same time, Jon and Allan were approaching the same problem from another angle, so we thought it would be best to join forces.”
Based on their backgrounds, Pillat, Young and Ostenson knew there was a strong opportunity to be a strategic private equity firm in the franchise industry. The trio debates and bounces ideas off each other in order to create a three-way partnership that leverages their experience as franchisors, franchisees, vendors and consultants.
“We provide a different avenue of capital and equity for new franchisees,” said Ostenson. “Our model allows investors to participate in franchising without having to operate a store or put all of their eggs in one basket.”
Now, the firm is excited to join Buzz Franchise Brands as the first multi brand franchisee.
“When we met with the Buzz Franchise Brands team, their leadership was very impressive,” said Pillat. “We have a tremendous amount of respect for their Chairman and CEO Kevin Wilson and his previous experience in the franchising space. The leadership of a franchise brand is a team you’ll spend the next 10 years working with, and you have to be comfortable with their expertise and decision-making.”
According to Wilson, the excitement is mutual. “FranBridge Capital is the perfect partner for Buzz Franchise Brands, and as the first multi-brand franchisee, they will usher in a new era of growth for the company,” he said.
Home Clean Heroes President Joe Delatte notes that this is a huge step for the brand. “FranBridge Capital observed that people are spending less on vacations and travel and spending more money and time in their homes,” said Delatte. “Because FranBridge has some experience in home services already, they will be able to quickly adopt and take advantage of our highly efficient systems, operating tools and marketing to make Home Clean Heroes a household name in Atlanta. We look forward to working with their local team to support continued growth in the years ahead.”
Pool Scouts President Michael Wagner also agrees that this is a great opportunity. “We are very excited to welcome FranBridge Capital to the Pool Scouts team and we look forward to working with their team to bring our expertise and high-quality pool maintenance to homes in the Atlanta area.”
