Princeton Equity Sells Five Star Franchising at 870-Location Scale

Princeton Equity Group has sold Five Star Franchising to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, handing over a residential services platform that grew to more than 870 franchise locations across the U.S. and Canada. Robert W. Baird served as lead financial adviser on the deal, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld provided legal counsel to Princeton and Five Star. The parties didn't disclose the purchase price.

Princeton partnered with founders Scott Abbott and Chad Jones back in 2021. At that point, Five Star's operations ran on two pillars: Bath Solutions, a bath remodeling business, and ProNexis, a digital marketing and lead-generation unit serving home services franchisees.

How did Five Star get to 870 locations?

Princeton's playbook was straightforward: buy brands, plug them into shared infrastructure. During its ownership, Five Star acquired seven companies:

• Gotcha Covered
• Bio-One
• 1-800-Packouts
• Mosquito Shield
• CardMyYard
• Five Star Flooring
• Decorate With Lights

Those deals built a platform that now spans bath remodeling, flooring, window coverings, biohazard cleanup, contents packout and restoration, mosquito and pest control, celebratory yard greetings, and holiday lighting. That's a wide net within residential services — nine distinct service lines operating under one umbrella.

Beyond acquisitions, Princeton put money into leadership, technology, and centralized shared-services infrastructure. The idea, according to the firm, was to give individual franchise brands and their franchisees access to operating capabilities that would be more expensive or difficult to build on their own. Scale, in other words, as a service.

What changes under Levine Leichtman?

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners becomes Five Star's new financial sponsor. The company plans to keep investing in its brands and supporting franchise owners, and the platform's size and service range open paths to additional franchise development, further acquisitions, and shared operational resources.

CEO Scott Abbott framed the transition as continuity rather than a reset. "We are grateful for the partnership with Princeton and proud of the platform we built together," Abbott said. "With LLCP's support and expertise, we will continue to invest in our brands and serve our growing base of franchisees."

Doug Kennealey, Managing Partner of Princeton Equity Group, pointed to the groundwork laid during the hold period. "It has been a privilege partnering with Scott, Chad, and the entire Five Star management team to help build a premier residential services franchisor platform," Kennealey said. "Our collective investments in talent, technology, and a centralized shared service infrastructure should provide a sound foundation for Five Star's continued growth."

Who is Princeton Equity Group?

Princeton manages approximately $3 billion in assets and focuses on franchisors and multi-location companies. The firm says its team has spent two decades building specialized resources for founder-led and management-owned businesses — a niche that fits the Five Star story, where the original founders stayed on through the entire private equity hold.

The exit caps a three-year build. Five Star entered Princeton's portfolio with two operating businesses in 2021 and exits with a multi-brand franchisor counting more than 870 locations across two countries.

With Levine Leichtman now in the sponsor seat, the question for Five Star is whether the acquisition engine keeps running — and how quickly the remaining whitespace in residential services gets consolidated under an already broad platform.