Authority Brands

In her new role, McLeod will oversee both marketing and franchise development growth strategies for the entire home-services system.

COLUMBIA, Md. — Authority Brands, a premier home service franchisor in North America, announced the promotion of vital team member Heather McLeod from Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Growth Officer, effective immediately. In the newly created position, McLeod will be responsible for leading growth strategies within the company including marketing and franchise development initiatives.

Heading into another chapter of planned expansion, the Authority Brands executive team carved out this new position specifically aimed at managing growth within the marketing channel and identifying new business development opportunities. Serving as Chief Marketing Officer since 2017, Heather McLeod was tapped for the newly developed role. With a proven track record of success and a strong history in the marketing and development space, McLeod initially joined the Authority Brands family from The Dwyer Group (now Neighborly) and has built an impressive career in the franchise space based on empowering her teams to be successful through scalable and supportive systems and processes.

“Since her first day with the company Heather has played an integral role in growing our Authority Brands profile. Her diligence and strong work ethic have played a large part in our overall success in the last five years,” said Craig Donaldson, CEO of Authority Brands. “As we celebrate the official mark of half a decade in business with unprecedented success in the industry, I am confident that Heather is the perfect person to continue to propel our business forward as we expand and continue to diversify our home services portfolio. Her unique approach to team leadership and vast knowledge of the franchising industry inspires confidence as we look forward to many more years of success with her at the helm of our growth division.”

McLeod joined Authority Brands’ The Cleaning Authority in 2015 and became a vital part of the formation of the Authority Brands family of industry-leading home service brands, largely due to her focus on customer experience, rigorous attention to process detail, and passion for team collaboration.

McLeod founded the Howard County, Maryland chapter of IFA’s Women’s Franchise Network in 2020 and is an active member of the IFA Marketing & Innovation Committee. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore and serves on the University of Louisville College of Business YUM! CGFE Board of Advisors. She received her Certified Franchise Executive designation in 2016 and her Master’s in Business Administration from Baylor University in 2010.

Authority Brands currently has 12 home services franchisors which encompasses more than 1,000 franchise owners nationwide, with plans for more in the near future. In her new role, McLeod will focus on growth strategies and implementation for the companies within Authority Brands’ impressive portfolio including America’s Swimming Pool Company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Cleaning Authority, Color World Painting, DoodyCalls, DRYmedic Restoration Services, Homewatch CareGivers, Mister Sparky, Monster Tree Service, Mosquito Squad, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, STOP Restoration, and Woofie’s. Authority Brands supports individual franchisee growth by providing strong marketing, technology and operational tools and resources.

To learn more about Authority Brands’ companies and the executive team, please visit https://www.authoritybrands.com/.

COLUMBIA, Md. — Authority Brands announced today the purchase of DRYmedic Restoration Services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded by Carlos Hesano and Benjamin Gergis in 2014, DRYmedic helps bring families and businesses back to life after disaster. What started as a family business with one truck has grown to serve the Detroit, Michigan region with over 40 trucks, providing a full range of disaster restoration services that take clients from cleanup to complete recovery from fire, flood, storm, mold and asbestos.

Companies under the Authority Brands umbrella include leading home service brands America’s Swimming Pool Company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Cleaning Authority, Color World Painting, DoodyCalls, Homewatch CareGivers, Mister Sparky, Monster Tree Service, Mosquito Squad, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, STOP Restoration and Woofie’s. They operate across swimming pool repair and maintenance, plumbing, the residential cleaning, indoor and outdoor painting, pet waste removal, at-home care, electrical and heating, tree care, pest control services, ventilation and air-conditioning (“HVAC”), restoration sectors, and grooming and pet services, respectively. Authority Brands supports individual franchisee growth by providing strong marketing, technology and operational tools and resources.

“DRYmedic is the perfect addition to the Authority Brands portfolio, complementing the suite of professional home services our brands provide,” said Craig Donaldson, CEO of Authority Brands. “This year marks Authority Brands’ 5th anniversary and over that time, we have achieved impressive growth, responding to the increased demand for home services by expanding our portfolio with thoughtful concepts that benefit owners and clientele alike. We are thrilled to support DRYmedic as their business expands and provide resources to help the company achieve their growth goals.”

“When considering new brands to join the Authority Brands family, we look for entrepreneurs who have a clear vision for the future of their company. DRYmedic has achieved a lot on its own, and now with the support of our system they are primed to grow exponentially. We look forward to DRYmedic scaling with the resources Authority Brands can provide,” said Ashish Karandikar, Board of Directors member of Authority Brands’ parent company and Partner at Apax.

“We created DRYmedic to fill a need – the need to bring our community top-quality, professional restoration and disaster cleanup services. Now that we are joining forces with the Authority Brands network, our company will have the right resources and support to continue serving our clients while expanding our reach and ability to help more people,” said Carlos Hesano, Founder and CEO of DRYmedic.

Greenwich Capital Group represented DRYmedic and acted as their exclusive financial advisor for the transaction.

COLUMBIA, Md. and VICTORIA, BC — Authority Brands, a residential services franchising platform in North America, today announced that British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“BCI”), one of the largest institutional investors in Canada, has agreed to acquire a significant minority stake in the company, alongside funds advised by Apax Partners LLP (“Apax Funds”), which will retain majority ownership.

Authority Brands is the premier home service franchisor in North America. Its family of home service franchise brands are leaders in their industry, providing homeowners with services from the property line to the roof line. Authority Brands’ companies include 12 leading home service franchisors: America’s Swimming Pool Company, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, The Cleaning Authority, Color World Painting, DoodyCalls, Homewatch CareGivers, Mister Sparky, Monster Tree Service, Mosquito Squad, One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning, STOP Restoration and Woofie’s. Together, these brands provide home services through approximately 860 franchise owners across North America.

Since the Apax Funds’ initial investment in 2018, Authority Brands has grown from two home service franchisors to the current 12, expanding into new geographies and services and building out a powerful infrastructure.

“We are proud to have partnered with the Authority Brands team to help build, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, a leading residential services franchising platform,” said Ashish Karandikar, Partner at Apax. “We continue to see significant room for growth by Authority Brands and are pleased to join with BCI and members of the leadership team in the next phase of the company’s journey as they extend their platform through M&A, and strategic initiatives including franchise development, technology transformation and international expansion.”

“As a long-term investor, we seek to invest in market-leading companies with strong management teams, multiple levers for growth, and resilient business models that create shareholder value, such as Authority Brands,” said Dave Hong, Senior Managing Director, Private Equity at BCI. “We look forward to working with Authority Brands and Apax to generate compelling risk-adjusted returns for our pension plan and insurance fund clients.”

“We could not be more pleased than to continue to build the premier residential services franchisor in partnership with Apax and BCI,” said Craig Donaldson, Chief Executive Officer of Authority Brands. “Both partners will add substantial value as we aim to capture further share in the highly fragmented home services market, including by evaluating M&A opportunities in new service verticals.”

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to be completed in Q4 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

Apax was advised by Harris Williams, Boxwood Partners, William Blair & Company, Moelis & Company (financial advisors), Kirkland & Ellis, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, DLA Piper, and Lathrop GPM (legal counsel), and Ernst & Young (financial and tax advisor).

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada with C$211.1 billion under management, as of March 31, 2022. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver and New York City, BCI is invested in: fixed income and private debt; public and private equity; infrastructure and renewable resources; as well as real estate equity and real estate debt through our independently operated platform company QuadReal Property Group. With our global outlook, we seek investment opportunities that convert savings into productive capital that will meet our clients’ risk and return requirements over time.

BCI’s private equity program actively manages a C$24.8 billion global portfolio of privately held companies and funds with long-term growth potential. Leveraging our sector-focused teams in business services, consumer, financial services, healthcare, industrials, and technology, media and telecommunications, we work with strategic private equity partners to source and manage direct and co-sponsor/co-investment opportunities.

For more information, please visit bci.ca.

Apax Partners LLP (“Apax”) is a leading global private equity advisory firm. For nearly 50 years, Apax has worked to inspire growth and ideas that transform businesses. The firm has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of more than $60 billion. The Apax Funds invest in companies across four global sectors of Internet/Consumer, Tech, Services, and Healthcare. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.

Apax Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

COLUMBIA, Md. — Authority Brands announced today the purchase of Woofie’s, a Virginia-based pet care franchise. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition marks the 10^th brand addition for Authority Brands since October 2018, with Woofie’s representing the company’s 12^th brand in its home service portfolio.

Co-founded by Amy Reed and Leslie Barron in 2004 in Ashburn, VA., Woofie’s is the only mobile franchise in the professional pet care industry to offer the combined services of pet sitting, dog walking and mobile pet spa services. Woofie’s began franchising in 2018 and currently has four locations operating in Virginia.

Authority Brands’ acquisition of Woofie’s marks the launch of the company’s incubator for emerging brands within the home services sector. The incubator is designed to leverage the company’s in-depth home services experience to accelerate growth and development of smaller-scale franchise concepts that have a proven system and strong management.

“Woofie’s is a great addition to the Authority Brands’ portfolio as Amy and Leslie have built a strong brand with a passionate following,” said Rob Weddle, Chief Executive Officer, Authority Brands. “Additionally, we’re excited to leverage our extensive home services experience to fuel Woofie’s expansion as well as many other emerging service brands. The launch of this initiative allows our Authority Brands’ leadership to follow their passion – helping and guiding brands with great potential. We look forward to contributing to Woofie’s future success and identifying others in the coming months and years.”

Companies under the Authority Brands umbrella include leading home service brands The Cleaning Authority, Homewatch CareGivers, America’s Swimming Pool Company, Mosquito Squad, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, Mister Sparky, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, Monster Tree Service, STOP Restoration, DoodyCalls, and Color World Housepainting. They operate across the residential cleaning, at-home care, swimming pool repair and maintenance, pest control services, plumbing, electrical and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (“HVAC”), tree care, restoration, pet waste removal, and painting sectors, respectively. Authority Brands supports individual franchisee growth by providing strong marketing, technology and operational tools and resources.

“With the launch of Authority Brands’ incubator, we are seeking innovative emerging concepts eager to leverage Authority Brands’ expertise in building home service brands. We were impressed with Amy and Leslie’s leadership and know they are a great fit for our new incubator program. Amy and Leslie have built a company and culture that has tremendous potential, and we are excited to help them expand exponentially,” said Ashish Karandikar, Board of Directors member of Authority Brands’ parent company and Partner at Apax.

“When we launched Woofie’s in 2004, we did so to share our passion and love for pets in our local community. Now as a member of the Authority Brands family, we are excited to bring our leading pet care services to many more communities and pet lovers. The resources and experience that Rob and his team bring to Woofie’s are immense and we can’t wait to grow our brand together,” said Amy Reed, Co-founder, Woofie’s.