Neighborly, a Texas-based franchisor of home service brands, has acquired HouseMaster, a Somerville-based home inspection franchise, it announced recently.
HouseMaster becomes the 25th brand under Neighborly’s ownership umbrella and gives the Waco-based company more than 4,000 franchise owners worldwide.
“Having grown up in this business, I recognize that joining the larger Neighborly organization marks a historic moment for HouseMaster as a launching point for growth like we’ve never seen before,” HouseMaster President Kathleen Austin Kuhn said in a prepared statement. “We look forward to expanding our presence, serving more customers by being all things Neighborly to residential and commercial real estate buyers and sellers.”
HouseMaster was founded in 1979 by Ken Austin, eventually becoming the first home inspection business to franchise. It now has more than 170 franchise owners in more than 300 territories in the U.S. and Canada.
“Our vision is to ‘Own the Home’ and provide the very best services to homeowners, and this now includes HouseMaster’s premier home inspection network, with a stellar reputation that more customers can call upon,” Neighborly CEO and President Mike Bidwell said in a statement. “HouseMaster is a perfect complement to our existing Neighborly brands and presents a tremendous opportunity to grow more franchise locations.”
Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC provided advisory services to Neighborly on the deal.
