Permira takes majority stake in Flint Group

Permira agreed on 5 November 2026 to acquire a majority interest in Flint Group from General Atlantic, in a transaction Reuters reported at an enterprise value above $1–10bn, citing people familiar with it. Completion was expected before the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. Chief executive and co-founder Trevor Flannigan continued to lead the business. Founded in 2019 by Flannigan and Collin Hathaway and based in Kansas City, Flint Group operates residential service businesses across the United States, installing and repairing heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing, electrical wiring and drains in private homes. It brings together 20 brands across 15 states, from Washington to Florida, and generated revenue of $250–500M in 2025, more than three times the 2022 figure. The model rests on keeping what it buys intact. A household calling about a failed furnace chooses a firm it recognises, and the name on the van carries decades of local reputation that a national brand cannot replicate, so the acquired business keeps its identity while the group supplies the training, recruitment and marketing a single operator cannot fund alone. Finding and retaining technicians is the constraint on growth in this trade, which is why the operating model concentrates on training and recruitment rather than on the installations themselves. General Atlantic had invested in 2023, when the platform comprised seven brands in five states, and it reached twenty across fifteen through thirteen further acquisitions, among them Staton Heating in Annapolis, Jake’s Heating in Indianapolis and Air Around the Clock in South Florida during 2026 alone. Residential services have drawn substantial private equity capital during the same period, Blackstone having agreed to acquire Champions Group for around 2.5 billion dollars and Apollo having taken a minority position in Apex Service Partners at a reported 10 billion dollar valuation. Goldman Sachs advised Permira, with Ropes & Gray as legal counsel, while William Blair acted as lead financial adviser and Jefferies as co-adviser to General Atlantic and Flint, with Paul, Weiss and Dorsey & Whitney as legal counsel.

In the past, Flint Group was acquired by General Atlantic in 2023 as part of its expansion strategy.