The Riverside Company Gets Seal of Approval with Latest Add-On Investment to EverSmith

The Riverside Company (Riverside), a global investment firm focused on the smaller end of the middle market, has invested in THE SEALS Franchising, LLC, a leading franchisor of refrigeration gasket replacement services for commercial kitchens. This investment is the latest add-on to Riverside’s portfolio company, EverSmith Brands (EverSmith), a strong and growing franchised brands platform.

THE SEALS Franchising is the franchising division of the parent company, THE SEALS, which provides restaurant operators, supermarkets, convenience stores, hotels, colleges, country clubs, school systems, nursing homes, hospitals and hospitality venues with first-class team service. The company specializes in helping its customers to save money while keeping them one step ahead of health inspections.

“As the fifth add-on to EverSmith, THE SEALS Franchising advances our mission to build a multi-brand franchisor of commercial-focused business service brands,” said Riverside Managing Partner Loren Schlachet. “THE SEALS Franchising is a complementary concept to EverSmith, which will accelerate sales by leveraging EverSmith’s existing franchise development infrastructure.”

“With this partnership, there are ample growth opportunities,” said EverSmith Brands CEO Ken Hutcheson. “We are committed to expanding our network of commercial kitchen national account partnerships to enhance lead generation for our franchisees. Additionally, we'll focus on driving same-store sales growth at existing locations by introducing additional coaching resources for franchisees.”

THE SEALS Franchising investment is another example of Riverside’s expertise in investing in and growing its franchisor specialization. Riverside has invested in a cadre of franchise companies since its inception in 1988.

Working with Schlachet on this deal for Riverside were Senior Partner Brian Sauer, Partner Steve Rice, Senior Associate Alex Abramovitz, Associate Brooklyn Button and Finance Director Kyle Anderson. Partner, Origination, Grant Marcks sourced the deal for Riverside.