Banner Ventures buys majority stake in Zerorez, several of its franchises

Banner Ventures, a private equity and venture capital firm based in Salt Lake City, has acquired a majority stake in Zerorez Franchising Systems Inc. and a number of Zerorez’s franchisee partners. Pleasant Grove-based Zerorez is a residential and commercial services franchisor providing carpet cleaning franchisees and operations throughout North America and the United Kingdom.

A Banner release said that Zerorez’s current management group and the acquired franchisees will retain a “meaningful” ownership stake in Zerorez and Shawn Moon will continue to serve as chairman and CEO during this next phase of expansion.

“For the last two decades, Zerorez has grown into a market leader without any institutional capital supporting us,” said Moon. “While we know that we have the technology, market reputation and team to achieve our goals as a company, we felt that bringing in the right capital partner would enhance our ability to grow through acquisition and organic expansion. Banner is the right partner to help us build on Zerorez’s historic success while executing on our vision for future growth.”

The Zerorez franchises now majority-owned by Banner are Colorado Springs, Colorado; Dallas; Denver; Minneapolis; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Raleigh, North Carolina; Salt Lake City; Spokane, Washington; and St. Louis.

Zerorez was founded in 2003 as a natural alternative to traditional chemical-based carpet cleaning and has become a major residential and commercial services franchisor in the United States. The company has 70 locations and more than $150 million in annualized sales.

“The founders and early franchisees of Zerorez have built an incredible team, culture and brand which has inspired strong loyalty from customers around the country,” said Tanner Ainge, managing partner of Banner Ventures. “There is enormous potential to build on that heritage and further expand the Zerorez model. We believe Zerorez is positioned to become the leading carpet and floor cleaning service provider in the world and we could not be more excited about teaming up with this incredible group of entrepreneurial leaders.”

In connection with the closing of this transaction, Zerorez also appointed Jon Laudie as chief financial officer. Prior to joining Zerorez, Laudie served in key financial leadership roles for publicly traded and private equity-backed companies, including 1-800-Contacts, Lucid Software, Ancestry.com and Netflix.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of this new partnership between Banner Ventures, Zerorez corporate and the acquired franchise locations,” said Laudie. “By bringing these operations together with enhanced corporate infrastructure, Zerorez is positioned to become a true market leader in the residential services category.”