Sarasota home services biz makes $4.5M acquisition

SARASOTA — Direct Energy Services, through its parent company, Direct Energy, acquired the assets of an appliance rental company in the Northeast for $4.5 million.

The owner of the company Direct Energy bought requested that the name of the business not be identified, says a Direct Energy Services spokeswoman. The purchase, according to a release, gives Direct Energy about 14,000 new home services customers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire who rent water heaters, have protection plans or rent their heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment. Direct Energy expects to finalize the purchase by mid-summer, the release adds.

Sarasota-based Direct Energy Services is the parent firm for One Hour Heating & Conditioning, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and Mister Sparky electrical. Those brands, with a fast growing mix of corporate-owned and franchise locations across North America, had around $1 billion in revenues in 2014.

“When we heard of this opportunity, we saw a natural fit for continued expansion of our existing businesses,” Direct Energy Services President Scott Boose says in the statement. “This aligns with our goal to grow and expand our rental, protection plan, leasing programs and our national network of trusted contractors.

Direct Energy is one of North America's leading energy, commercial retail energy and energy related services providers, with nearly five million customers. The company is a subsidiary of Centrica, a British-based global utility giant.