The Halifax Group, a leading private equity firm that partners with management to invest in entrepreneurial companies, announced today that it has sold Sunrise, Florida-based Caring Brands International (Caring Brands).
Caring Brands is a leading franchisor of home healthcare services providing services under three global brands, Interim HealthCare (US), Bluebird Care (UK and Ireland) and Just Better Care (Australia). Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
In November 2012, Halifax invested alongside management in Interim HealthCare, one of the nation’s oldest and most comprehensive home health care franchise companies. In partnership with Halifax, management executed a plan to grow the business organically, adding 42 new US franchise locations, and through acquisitions, adding 210 new locations in six countries via two international acquisitions. Caring Brands was formed in 2013 through the addition of UK-based Bluebird Care and Australia-based Just Better Care, and today provides a full continuum of home health services in more than 530 locations located in seven countries.
Kathleen Gilmartin, CEO at Caring Brands, stated, “Halifax’s experience and understanding of the complex nature of healthcare services and franchising allowed them to provide invaluable strategic guidance. We have been able to execute against a very aggressive growth strategy, re-energize our domestic growth effort and extend our footprint across four countries. Halifax brought a unique approach and skill set that our team greatly appreciated.”
“Under Kathleen Gilmartin and Mike Slupecki’s (CFO and COO) leadership, Caring Brands’ management team and employees executed a masterful growth plan during our partnership,” noted Scott Plumridge, principal at Halifax. “From energizing new franchise development to expanding onto two new continents, together we have truly transformed the business into a global brand in home health franchising.”
“Our successful investment in Caring Brands is the continuation of Halifax’s long history of investing in both healthcare and franchising and is the result of our partnership with the highly dedicated Caring Brands team,” added Ken Doyle, managing director, Halifax. “This management team’s commitment to serving patients has made Caring Brands into the leading global healthcare enterprise that it is today.”
Piper Jaffray and North Point Advisors served as exclusive advisor to Halifax and Caring Brands.
September 29, 2015