DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Unity Partners LP (“Unity Partners”), a principles-based middle market investment firm, is pleased to announce it has completed a majority investment in Poolie, an Austin, Texas-based pool services business. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
Poolie was formed in 2021 by CEO Leslie Elliott, with a plan to transform the company into a high-performing market leader. Since then, the business has grown to provide pool cleaning, repair and renovation services to more than 1,200 customers in the Austin area.
“Poolie has enjoyed incredible growth, and I saw an opportunity to bring on a partner with capital and expertise to accelerate our trajectory,” said Elliott. “I’ve known the Unity Partners team for several years and was confident that their principles-based approach would enable us to expand our footprint, enhance operations and take the business to the next level while also creating ownership opportunities for our great employees.”
Employee ownership is built into each of Unity Partners’ platform investments, and Poolie will be launching a Purpose Plan, a program that allows employees to share in the firm’s financial success and capital events.
“Leslie has done an amazing job executing on her vision for Poolie and we are excited to bring new resources and expertise to partner with her and build on that success,” said John Block, CEO and Co-Founder of Unity Partners. “Pool services is a very fragmented industry, and we believe there is ample opportunity to grow through strategic M&A, both in Austin and other metropolitan areas in and beyond Texas. We already have a healthy pipeline of potential partners that will allow us to scale quickly in pursuit of our vision.”
The total addressable market for pool services in the U.S. is estimated at $9 billion—with Texas alone accounting for approximately $1+ billion of that—and is growing at a 3-4% CAGR.
“Poolie has organically grown revenue by more than 130% this year, and we believe we can ramp this growth by partnering with the Poolie team on several value acceleration initiatives,” added Jim Sharpe, Partner and Head of Propel at Unity Partners. “As the company expands to new geographies and makes strategic acquisitions, we will invest in the growth and development of the team, expand marketing capabilities, leverage technology to enhance the customer experience, and optimize Poolie’s supply chain.”
This marks the second platform investment made by Unity Partners in 2023, following tax, accounting and advisory services firm NDH, completed in May.
About Unity Partners
Unity Partners is a principles-based private equity firm that partners investors and operators to build better together, measured by the economic surplus we create and share with all stakeholders. Our principles provide a foundation to build great people-based services and technology organizations that impact thousands of lives. We deploy our Partner & Propel strategy to identify opportunities to Partner with ambitious leaders to accelerate growth, unlock the benefits of platform scale through mergers and acquisitions and Propel value acceleration through investments in people, processes and operational levers. For more information, visit unitypartnerslp.com.
About Poolie
Poolie is an Austin, Texas-based maintenance company servicing both residential and commercial pools since 2021. Services range from simple pool cleaning and repair to complete pool remodel and renovation. For more information, visit www.poolie.com.
