Making a majority investment in a large Neighborly brand franchisee was a natural next step for Main Post Partners, said Aaron Garcia, as the private equity firm moves into the home services segment for the first time following partnerships with multi-unit franchisees in the restaurant and personal services sectors.
Highland Arms Enterprises is on the receiving end of this investment as the multi-unit Precision Garage Door Service franchisee sets itself up for continued growth. Garcia, a partner at San Francisco-based Main Post, said Highland Arms founder Kevin Spratt has been building his Precision business since 2003 and now operates in 11 markets across Washington, California, Utah, Idaho and Nevada.
The deal closed in November, and since then Highland Arms completed three acquisitions, including the tuck-in purchase of an independent garage door installation and repair business that converted to Precision. It’s that appetite and ability to scale that attracted Main Post to the Washington-based franchisee, said Garcia.
“Kevin has deep relationships within the system and that was a catalyst for him to take on a partner because he wants to make more acquisitions,” said Garcia as he noted Spratt has a “material stake that he’s rolled over to this business.” Other members of the existing management team, including President Ashley Owen, will continue to lead Highland Arms.
Aaron Garcia is a partner at Main Post, which counts Flynn Group among its investments.
Garcia touted Highland Arms as a top operator in the Precision system, which itself was acquired by multi-brand residential services platform company Neighborly in 2020. Eighty-five percent of sales are from repair jobs versus garage door installations, he said, and repeat customers generate 70 percent of the business. Highland Arms has annual sales north of $60 million.
One of 20 brands in the Neighborly portfolio, Precision has more than 100 locations. As Main Post and Highland Arms consider additional acquisitions, they’re also looking to buy into Neighborly’s other repair brands by purchasing existing franchise outlets. “We’ll work in conjunction with Neighborly to look exclusively at their brands to create regional consolidation,” said Garcia as he named Mr. Rooter, Shelf Genie, Rainbow Restoration and Mr. Electric among possible brand entries.
Garcia and Main Post spent plenty of time up front getting to know Neighborly’s executive and brand leadership first, before pursuing an investment target, Garcia continued. “We see this as a three-way relationship,” he said, and Neighborly is “being very selective on who they allow in their system.”
The Waco, Texas-based umbrella company continues to see interest from private equity firms looking to invest in its brands. Franchise Equity Partners acquired its own Precision Garage franchisee last year, and CPC, a PE firm in Kansas City, bought a portfolio of Mr. Rooter and Mr. Electric locations. Elsewhere in the Precision system, private investment firm SBJ Capital bought franchisee group Sydnic, which operates 10 locations.
Boxwood Partners was the sell-side adviser to Highland Arms. Moore & Van Allen served as legal adviser to Main Post, while East West Bank, in partnership with ECS Debt Advisory, provided debt financing in support of the acquisition.
Both a minority and majority investor, Main Post invests in consumer businesses and counts Flynn Group (formerly Flynn Restaurant Group before its entry into Planet Fitness) and Artemis Wax, the largest franchisee of European Wax Center, in its portfolio. Flynn Group is the largest restaurant franchisee in the world and is ranked No. 1 on the Franchise Times Restaurant 200 list with $4 billion in sales.
The relationship with Flynn Group precedes Main Post’s formation in 2014, as managing partners Sean Honey and Jeff Mills worked together at Weston Presidio, a different private equity firm that invested in what was Flynn Restaurants in 2005. When Weston Presidio exited in 2014, Main Post invested.