El Car Wash (“El”), the largest and fastest growing express car wash operator in South Florida, today announced that Warburg Pincus has acquired the company from affiliates of Wafra Inc. (“Wafra”), Audrose Partners, and Fireside Investments. The investment will support El’s continued expansion and its commitment to offering best-in-class services to its customers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
El Car Wash is the leading car wash operator in South Florida across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The company currently operates 17 car wash locations with over 30 additional sites in development across Florida and plans to significantly expand its footprint through greenfield openings and future acquisitions. Today, El is a widely recognized brand known for its prime locations, high quality operations, distinctive aesthetics, and industry leading membership program. It is also the Official Car Wash of the Miami HEAT and a partner of Baptist Health.
“We have built El Car Wash into a market-leading platform by relentlessly focusing on delivering friendly customer service and a best-in-class wash experience via a dense network of clean and recognizable modern facilities. This strategy has generated a loyal, growing membership base that we hope to service more conveniently by rapidly expanding El’s store footprint in partnership with Warburg Pincus,” said Geoff Karas, Co-CEO of El Car Wash and Co-Founder of Audrose Partners. “El has experienced rapid growth over the past several years, and partnering with Warburg Pincus, who has a long-standing track record of cultivating world-class businesses, will allow us to accelerate our expansion efforts and help further define the industry perception of car washes as the innovative and prime retail experience that we deliver,” added Justin Landau, Co-CEO of El Car Wash and Co-Founder of Audrose Partners.
“We are thrilled to partner with Justin, Geoff and the El team. They have built a company that is truly unique in its space. El has established itself as a pre-eminent car wash platform with highly skilled operators, state-of-the-art facilities and dedicated focus on customer service, all of which is highlighted by the strength of its membership program,” said Jeff Goldfaden, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus. “We believe El has a unique offering and significant growth potential. El has an outstanding record of new store openings and successful acquisitions, and we are tremendously excited to support the team in their continued expansion, both in South Florida and in other attractive markets,” added Zach Lazar, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus.
Adel Alderbas, Chief Investment Officer at Wafra, added, “We have enjoyed a fantastic partnership with Justin, Geoff and Fireside building El Car Wash from just 4 locations in 2019 to nearly 50 locations operating and under development as of today. Through our collective commitment to high quality real estate and best-in-class customer service, El has become one of the premier express car wash platforms in the country. We wish Warburg Pincus and the El Car Wash team great success as they continue to develop the El platform.”
Jonathan Langer, Founder and CEO of Fireside Investment added, “We are proud of the world class platform we have been able to create with Justin, Geoff and Wafra and wish the entire El Car Wash team all the best going forward.”
William Blair & Company, LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to El Car Wash in connection with the transaction.
