Home service company expands

By SIMON HENDERY

First they mowed your lawn, then they washed your dog - now the folk in the green shirts want to rewire your house and unblock your drains.

Franchised home services company Green Acres is going public, looking for $1 million to finance an expansion into plumbing, painting and electrical contracting.

The 10-year-old company has secured a quotation on the Stock Exchange's secondary board and will issue up to 2 million 50 cent shares to part-fund the purchase of small contracting firms, which it will convert into its trade master franchises.

The shares will make up 49 per cent of a new company, Green Acres Trade Services, with company management retaining the controlling 51 per cent stake.

Half the public shares have been reserved for Green Acres' existing 600 franchisees, and the company's executive director, Logan Sears, says support for the float, which was revealed in a company newsletter last month, has been encouraging.

As well as its staple lawn mowing business, Green Acres offers domestic services including ironing, pet care and cleaning. It has 70,000 customers nationwide.

Mr Sears said the company evaluated several expansion possibilities before settling on plumbing, painting and electrical contracting the first new services it had launched for three years.

Green Acres believes it can convince sole traders and existing small businesses of the benefits of switching to its franchised brand, and will be pitching its service "at the upper end of the market" in terms of call-out rates.

Mr Sears said the company could have borrowed to expand but it had a philosophy of staying out of debt.

Green Acres shares are being sold through ComputerShare Registry Services.