Main Post Partners Invests in Neighborly Franchisee, Plus More Bold Deals
Highland Arms Enterprises is on the receiving end of a Main Post Partners investment as the multi-unit Precision Garage Door Service franchisee sets itself up for continued growth.
Philly Pretzel Factory partnered with Pretzel Pretzel, a company with 11 locations in the St. Louis metro, which stretches across the border of Illinois and Missouri.
Former NFL star and Super Bowl champion Drew Brees joins The Picklr as a brand ambassador, investor and franchisee. As part of the partnership, Brees becomes owner of several Picklr pickleball court facilities and acts as the area developer of 30 locations in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. Over the years, Brees has added several other brands to his franchise portfolio, including fast-casual concepts Jimmy John’s, Smalls Sliders, Dunkin’ and Walk-Ons, along with Stretch Zone.
In other news, The Picklr picked up a significant investment from Pickleball Inc., the parent company to the Carvana Professional Pickleball Association, Pickleball Central, Pickleball Brackets/Pickleball Tournaments, PickleballTV, Pickleball.com and TopCourt. The deal will add Pickleball Central Stores to Picklr locations and provide exclusive utilization of Pickleball Inc. software for Picklr programming. The Picklr has seven open locations.
Snapdragon Capital Partners invested in a Mathnasium Learning Centers multi-unit franchisee, Khalil Ventures, to open 25 additional units over the next five years. Mo Khalil founded Khalil Ventures in 2010 in Orlando, Florida, when he opened his first Mathnasium. He has since grown his portfolio with the math tutoring brand to nearly 55 units across six states with more than $55 million in annual revenue. He attracted private equity firm Snapdragon, which last year invested $30 million in large Club Pilates franchisee Spartan Fitness Holdings.
The Max Challenge and Farrell’s eXtreme Bodyshaping merged to form Fit Franchise Brands. The newly formed umbrella company counts 87 locations in 14 states. Fit Franchise Brands is based in Morganville, New Jersey, and Bryan Klein is the CEO. The Max Challenge, founded in 2011, offers 10-week fitness programs combining workout classes, nutrition counseling and support. The training concept began franchising in 2013 and has locations in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Florida. Farrell’s Extreme Bodyshaping, which began franchising in 2007, is a group martial arts fitness program offering instructor-led kickboxing and strength training workouts. It has locations in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Wisconsin and Arizona.
Sylvan Learning, a tutoring concept for K–12 students with more than 540 global locations, transferred ownership of its North Fort Worth, Texas, location to existing franchisee Andrea Quila. Quila, a native of Ecuador, bought her first Sylvan in Baytown, Texas, in 2022. She also owns and operates a local UPS store.
L2 Capital, a boutique lower middle market private equity firm, made a strategic investment in the iFranchise Group and TopFire Media. iFranchise was founded in 1998 by CEO Mark Siebert, a longtime franchising consultant. TopFire is a digital marketing and PR service with a focus on franchise sales and development.
Franchise Equity Partners acquired Precision Garage Door Service franchise operations in Orlando and Ocala, Florida. The deal is part of New York-based Franchise Equity Partner's partnership with the management of Reliable Residential HoldCo, announced last October. Reliable Residential has Precision Garage Door Service operations in Clearwater, Florida; Columbus, Ohio; and Oklahoma City. Neighborly acquired Precision Garage Door, which has more than 100 locations nationwide, in 2020. MidCap Financial and HPS provided debt financing to help complete the Orlando and Ocala market transaction.
Bradenton, Florida-based First Watch Restaurant Group acquired 21 of its franchise restaurants and development rights in North Carolina for $75 million. The acquisition is set to be completed by the end of April and will bring First Watch's total to 44 franchise restaurants acquired in five separate deals since last May. First Watch acquired its franchise-owned restaurant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, as well, and now has more than 500 locations in 29 states.
Matt and Cierra de Gruyer, the founders of plant-based burger concept Next Level Burger, purchased Veggie Grill from VegInvest, a vegan investment fund that closed a number of stores last year and was on the brink of bankruptcy, for an undisclosed amount. The two restaurant chains have a combined 27 stores. As a result of the deal, Matt de Gruyter becomes CEO of both chains. Veggie Grill, which will no longer franchise for now, has 17 stores in California, Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts. Next Level owns 10 restaurants in Oregon, Washington, Texas, California, Colorado and New York, with a majority of its locations set inside Whole Foods stores.
