Scott Zide Outdoor Living Brands

Scott Zide, president and COO of Outdoor Living Brands, expects to make more acquisitions after Superior Fence & Rail.

Outdoor Living Brands' purchase of Superior Fence & Rail is the first acquisition for the residential services platform company since it was sold to Lynx Franchising last fall. But it won't be the last.

"It's all part of the plan," said OLB President and COO Scott Zide, to add residential services franchisors under the umbrella. "I think we have opportunities to continue to add industry-leading brands, so we believe we'll have an aggressive 2022 as it relates to M&A."

Superior Fence & Rail, a 36-unit fencing franchise co-founded by Zach Peyton, joins Archadeck Outdoor Living, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives and Conserva Irrigation. Peyton will remain the brand's president.

"We went through a transaction last fall where Lynx Franchising and MidOcean Partners acquired us," said Zide, who co-founded Outdoor Living Brands with former CEO Chris Grandpre in 2008. Grandpre remains a member of the board. "Part of that transaction was, we have a strategy now to continue to add industry-leading brands like Superior Fence & Rail that are a good strategic fit, and a good cultural fit as well."

He plans to "take the best of the best from all the brands and apply those across the board. Superior Fence fits that very well. They've grown the brand very fast, the ramp-up of new franchisees is incredibly strong," he said.

Lynx Franchising's portfolio companies, meanwhile, provide commercial services through its brands Jan-Pro, Intelligent Office and FRSTeam. Private equity firm MidOcean Partners bought Lynx Franchising in January 2021, and Lynx and MidOcean bought Outdoor Living Brands in September 2021.

“This was a very strategic, transformational stake in the ground” for Lynx and its private equity owner, Lynx CEO Russ Reynolds told Franchise Times last fall about its entry into outdoor home services.