Acquisition Furthers Ongoing Growth Strategy and Positions FastLane as Integrated Growth Platform Supporting Franchisors from Concept Through Scale . Greenwich, CT – March 20, 2026 – Southfield Capital (“Southfield”), a premier lower middle market private equity firm, today announced that its portfolio company, Franchise FastLane (“FastLane” or “the Company”), a leading franchise sales organization, has completed the strategic acquisition of Franchise Creator, a premier firm specializing in identifying and guiding early-stage franchisors through concept validation, franchise readiness, and foundational growth planning. The addition of Franchise Creator allows FastLane to establish an integrated growth platform that supports franchisors from concept through scale, leveraging Franchise Creator’s strong reputation working with emerging brands at the earliest stages of their franchising journey and helping founders validate their models, prepare for franchising, and establish strong foundations for growth. As part of FastLane, Franchise Creator will continue to focus on early-stage brand identification and support, while benefiting from the scale, infrastructure, and development capabilities of the broader FastLane ecosystem, enabling it to better help founders build strong, scalable franchise models. “This acquisition represents an exciting step in FastLane’s evolution and the continued execution of our organic and targeted M&A growth strategy,” said Tim Koch, President & COO of FastLane . “In partnering with Southfield, we have set out to build more than a franchise sales organization. Franchise Creator’s best-in-class ability to identify and guide early-stage brands is a powerful complement to FastLane, and we’re excited to integrate their insights and capabilities into our platform. Through this combination, we are able to further our mission of building the first end-to-end franchise services business, capable of working with brands from their formation through maturity.” “From day one, Franchise Creator has been about helping founders turn great ideas into real, viable franchise brands,” said Hossein Kasmai, Founder of Franchise Creator. “FastLane shares that same belief, and they bring the resources, experience, and platform to help our clients go further and faster. This partnership allows us to stay true to who we are while expanding what’s possible for our team and the founders we serve.” “This acquisition aligns perfectly with FastLane’s long-term strategy of building a differentiated, vertically integrated platform across the franchising lifecycle,” said Josh Sylvan, Principal at Southfield Capital. “By expanding upstream into early-stage brand creation and readiness, FastLane is strengthening its recurring revenue profile, improving brand quality entering development, and building a more durable enterprise. We’re excited to have the opportunity to partner with Hossein and the Franchise Creator team to continue building on the Company’s momentum and strengthening both its market position and ability to serve franchisors and founders across the country.” TPG Twin Brook provided debt financing. Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP provided legal counsel to FastLane and Southfield. Boxwood Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Franchise Creator. About Southfield Capital Southfield Capital is a premier private equity firm with a foundational commitment to driving value at high-growth, lower middle market companies in the business services sector. The firm leverages its deep team of highly-experienced investment, technology and value-creation professionals, combined with fully-integrated AI-driven capabilities to partner with founders and manager-owned teams. For more information, please visit www.southfieldcapital.com About Franchise FastLane Franchise FastLane provides franchise development services. It manages the entire franchisee sales lifecycle from initial lead generation to prospect qualification through to deal closure. FastLane works with franchisors to perfect their discovery process, bring qualified franchisee leads, and drive strong growth. FastLane leverages a rigorous diligence and onboarding process, industry-leading technology platform, and exceptional sales executives to drive successful franchise development for its franchisor clients. For more information, please visit www.franchisefastlane.com About Franchise Creator Franchise Creator specializes in identifying and guiding early-stage franchisors through concept validation, franchise readiness, and foundational growth planning, helping founders build strong, scalable franchise models and provides back-end services like bookkeeping and marketing. For more information, please visit www.franchisecreator.com Investor Contact Jason Perlroth Principal, Head of Business Development, Southfield Capital Email: jperlroth@southfieldcapital.com Tel: 203 813 4117 Media Contact Taylor Ingraham / Max Rayden Email: tingraham@ascadvisors.com / mrayden@ascadvisors.com Tel: 203 992 1230
GREENWICH, CT – Southfield Capital, a premier lower middle market private equity firm, announced today that Kelvin Group, (“Kelvin”), a leading national provider of industrial and commercial mission-critical mechanical refrigeration services, process safety management and environmental compliance, has completed the acquisition of PermaCold Engineering, Inc. (“PermaCold”), a premier industrial refrigeration company headquartered in the Pacific Northwest. The acquisition of PermaCold represents Kelvin’s fourteenth acquisition since partnering with Southfield. Founded more than 30 years ago by industry pioneers, Steve Jackson and Randy Cieloha, PermaCold has built a reputation for excellence, innovation and reliability in the industrial refrigeration industry. The company is widely recognized for its expertise in ammonia and CO2 refrigeration systems as well as its ability to deliver complex, high-performance solutions to clients across the western United States. The integration of PermaCold into Kelvin Group's family of companies, which features reputable brands such as ARC Mechanical, Refrigeration Design & Service (RD&S), RC&E, HCG Associates, and JS Compliance, further solidifies Kelvin's standing as a national provider of mission-critical mechanical services. “Kelvin’s acquisition of PermaCold represents an exciting milestone as the company continues its national expansion strategy by entering the Pacific Northwest. PermaCold’s deep technical expertise, admired technician team and customer service focus makes them a natural partner for Kelvin,” said Harry Gray, CEO of Kelvin Group. “Together, we look forward to offering an enhanced set of capabilities to support our combined customer base.” “When we decided to sell, Randy and I were adamant in locating an organization that shares our company’s culture and values relating to customers and employees, and Kelvin more than achieved this goal,” said Steve Jackson, “We’re excited to leverage Kelvin’s national footprint to better serve our customers while staying true to the values that have guided us for more than 30 years.” Southfield Partner, Chris Grambling, commented on the transaction, "We are delighted to welcome the PermaCold team to the Kelvin family. PermaCold has built a phenomenal reputation in the Pacific Northwest and their addition bolsters Kelvin’s geographic coverage, establishing Kelvin as a coast-to-coast mechanical services provider." Deerpath Capital Management and Crescent Capital provided debt financing. G2 Capital Advisors served as the buy-side advisor to Kelvin. Finn, Dixon & Herling provided legal counsel to Kelvin and Southfield Capital. About Kelvin Group Kelvin Group is a national leader in the field of industrial and commercial mission-critical mechanical services, process safety management and environmental compliance. Its turnkey solutions provide design/installation, service and planned maintenance and testing and compliance of world-class mechanical systems for leaders in the food and beverage, cold storage, pharmaceutical, educational, health care, and process industries. Once engaged with customers, Kelvin assists business owners achieve mandated health, safety, environmental and regulatory compliance standards. For more information, please visit www.kelvin.cool . About Southfield Capital Southfield Capital is a private equity firm that invests in high-growth, lower middle market companies in the business services sector. The firm targets companies with $4 - 20 million in EBITDA and partners with management to scale the business through a combination of organic and acquisition growth strategies. For more information, please visit www.southfieldcapital.com .
Milrose Consultants and Southfield Capital Announce the Strategic Acquisition of Borne Consulting
GREENWICH, CT – Southfield Capital, a premier lower middle market private equity firm, announced today that Security Services Holdings LLC, (“Protos”), a leading national tech-enabled managed services security provider in North America, has completed the divestiture of Mulligan Security (including MG Security Services) to Allied Universal. The transaction closed on July 3, 2025. The divestiture is a key step in Protos’ strategic plan to increase its investment in, and purposefully focus its efforts on, its managed services platform while accelerating growth. Protos’ singular focus is to drive a differentiated, data driven and tailored service experience for customers seeking a better way to manage their security programs. This divestiture reinforces Protos’ commitment to investing in high-growth areas where technology and operational excellence drive measurable client outcomes. Protos is a leading tech-enabled managed services provider in the security industry, with the largest North American supplier network of guarding and off-duty service providers, complemented by specialized security and remote video solutions. This divestiture underscores Protos’ disciplined approach to provide a differentiated client experience while accelerating its investment in a scalable, high-growth platform driven by technology and data intelligence. “With the divestiture of Mulligan, Protos will be laser-focused on driving a superior customer experience across its national footprint through our supplier managed model,” said Mark Hjelle, Protos CEO. “The Protos managed services model is unique to the marketplace and provides customers with improved operational transparency, flexibility and cost control.” Southfield Partner, Brandon Pinderhughes, commented on the transaction, “This transaction marks an important step in Protos’ strategic journey. By concentrating on its tech-enabled model, Protos is positioned to drive innovation, expand its capabilities, and deliver exceptional results for clients, regardless of their end market or their footprint inside North America.” About Protos Security Protos Security is a leading tech-enabled managed security services provider offering physical guarding, off-duty officers, specialized and remote monitoring services for a diverse customer base across North America. Through a unique managed services model, clients gain access to a vast and agile provider network for security service delivery. Protos’ unwavering commitment to innovation paired with real-time security program data insights ensures that Protos is a relentless advocate for clients and their people. For more information, please visit www.protossecurity.com. About Southfield Capital Southfield Capital is a private equity firm that invests in high-growth, lower middle market companies in the business services sector. The firm targets companies with $4 - 20 million in EBITDA and partners with management to scale the business through a combination of organic and acquisition growth strategies. For more information, please visit www.southfieldcapital.com.