Franchise Times Shares News of Franchise Fastlane Acquiring Fellow Development Company Raintree

Franchise sales organization Franchise Fastlane purchased Raintree, another franchise development company, after being “on a search nationwide for a strategic partner to help us expand upon what we do today,” Franchise Fastlane CEO Carey Gille said.

“I’ve always watched Raintree from a distance because we have focused solely on consultant networks and generating leads to our consultant partners and growing brands with highly qualified franchisees that are referred to us from consultants,” she said. “Raintree’s approach has always been different. They have an omnichannel approach in which they build avatar for the right match for a brand and it’s very different.”

The two companies had been in the serious talks for around nine months, Gille said. Each is turning away “hundreds and hundreds” of brands a year that aren’t ready for expansion yet.

“We started thinking about just how our strengths complement one another, and what we could be together in terms of just stronger marketing for our consultants and our brands,” Gille said.

Franchise Fastlane works with emerging brands—typically with fewer than 20 franchised locations—that are looking to expand nationwide. The company started in January 2017 and now represents 26 brands, including Koala Insulation and Wallaby Windows.

“What’s exciting is this allows our brands then to focus on what they do,” rather than focusing on expansion, Gille said.

The acquisition of Raintree brings new brands to Franchise Fastlane’s network, such as Toastique and Hounds Town.

But it also combines the approaches and resources of the two companies to give brands in both portfolios new opportunities for growth, Gille said.

“We have some brands, for example, that will launch into the consultant networks that see immediate momentum overnight. And we have other brands that the consultants are less interested in, and we don’t have an organic approach for them,” she said. “So, this allows us to bring the expertise that Raintree has. … So, I think what it brings our brands is just a holistic approach to lead gen and marketing.”

Franchise Fastlane has also recently launched a new program called Carpool, keeping with the brand’s roadway theme, for brands that “aren’t quite ready for the expedited growth of a Fastlane brand,” Gille said. “They’re young, they either have no franchisees or only one or two and they want to grow at a more calculated rate.”

Original Source: https://www.franchisetimes.com/franchise_mergers_and_acquisitions/franchise-fastlane-acquires-fellow-development-company-raintree/article_242d39fe-1f3f-11ee-b0d6-93072ca99a13.html