Five Star Franchising Changes Owners, Now Aiming for 25 Brands

Five years ago, Five Star Franchising sold one thing to homeowners: bath remodels. This week it changed private equity owners with eight brands, more than 870 locations and a stated goal of 25 brands by the end of 2035.

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, a Los Angeles firm, said Nov. 10 that it had partnered with management to acquire the Springville, Utah, platform from Princeton Equity Group. Neither side disclosed terms. Co-founders Scott Abbott, the CEO, and Chad Jones, the COO, stay in charge.

The portfolio now spans Five Star Bath Solutions, Gotcha Covered, Bio-One, 1-800-Packouts, Mosquito Shield, Card My Yard, Five Star Flooring and Decorate With Lights. According to Princeton's announcement of the sale, the platform started in 2021 with the bath brand and ProNexis, a digital marketing and lead-generation business for home services franchisees, then acquired its way to the rest.

"Getting to 25 brands by 2035 takes a buyer with significant capital and deep franchise experience, and LLCP brings both," Abbott said in Five Star's own release. The company put the pace at roughly two new brands a year, through acquisitions and new franchise launches.

The buyer knows the category. Five Star is LLCP's 19th franchising investment, covering 38 brands, including SYNERGY HomeCare, Lawn Doctor, Senior Helpers and Hand & Stone. LLCP managing partner Matthew Frankel said the firm plans to "continue to expand unit count, drive strong same-store sales growth, and acquire additional brands."

This is a sponsor-to-sponsor handoff, and it lands in a market where, as we reported in October, home services deal counts have fallen as platforms of scale grow scarce. Just days ago, Permira bought control of Flint, another multi-brand home services platform.

For the owners inside the system, the practical questions sit in the shared services. Princeton managing partner Doug Kennealey pointed to "investments in talent, technology, and a centralized shared service infrastructure." Abbott, in LLCP's release, called ProNexis and the platform's buying group "key levers for outsized growth." Whether those levers get more investment under a new owner is what franchisees will be watching.

Abbott has run this play before. He started Five Star Painting in 2004, at 18, and sold it to Neighborly in 2015, Franchise Times reported when Princeton first backed him. The open question is whether a platform built by acquisition can add two brands a year without the first eight getting less attention.