Buzz Franchises Brands closes on multi-location Atlanta deal
A Virginia Beach franchising company with a focus on household cleaning brands is making moves in the Peach State.
Buzz Franchise Brands recently signed a deal for 10 franchise units with Atlanta-based FranBridge Capital, a private equity firm specializing in home services and retail franchising. The deal will bring two Buzz companies to the city: pool cleaning brand Pool Scouts, with four locations, and residential cleaning service Home Clean Heroes, with six locations.
“This is the first one we’ve done, where we’ve had a franchiser own two different brands of ours,” said Kevin Wilson, CEO and president of Buzz Franchise Brands.
The franchises were sold for $100,000, and Wilson said Buzz and FranBridge plan a combined investment of more than $1 million.
FranBridge also has an opportunity to pitch the brands as connected services to their customers, Wilson said. For example, a Pool Scouts customer could also need their home serviced by Home Clean Heroes. The firm also is a franchisee of Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning, which Wilson said pairs well with his company’s brands.
The Atlanta sale comes during a strong period of growth for Buzz, Wilson said. Over the past three months, he said the company has sold more than 30 locations, including the Atlanta deal.
He attributed some of that success to the economic effects of COVID-19. Before the pandemic, unemployment was at a historic low. Folks who might have been interested in becoming a franchisee were too occupied with corporate jobs to consider the risk involved with franchising, Wilson said. They usually need a push to venture into franchising.
“The push, historically, has usually been in the form of a recession,” he said.
The unemployment levels associated with the pandemic have caused a similar effect, Wilson said, and interest in Buzz franchising has skyrocketed.
Customer interest has remained strong during the pandemic, he added. With the exception of older clients wary of health risks, almost all demographics want their pool and home cleaned during this time.
“I do think you’re seeing a heightened awareness,” Wilson said.
Buzz was founded in 2012 when Wilson and other investors bought out pest control business Mosquito Joe and turned it into a franchise company. They added Pool Scouts in 2015 and Home Clean Heroes in 2018. That same year, the company sold Mosquito Joe to another franchiser, and the business picked up the British Swim School brand in 2019.
Wilson said the company is poised for more growth in the near future, despite the economic trouble caused by the pandemic.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@insidebiz.com
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