How Plumbing and HVAC Investors Turned $500K Into $6 Billion Exit

Is this the most underappreciated rollup in Europe?

In this episode, we dive deep into HomeServe — the unsexy plumbing and HVAC company that quietly evolved into a $2B revenue giant and was eventually acquired by Brookfield for $6B. But this isn't just a story about boilers and leaky taps.

Joining us is Alex Prokofjev, co-founder of RollUp Europe.

Whether you're an operator, investor, or aspiring acquisition entrepreneur, this episode is packed with strategic insights on rollups, recurring revenue, and scaling services with a subscription twist.

Thank you to our newest sponsor:
Spacebar Studios: https://www.spacebarstudios.co/

We explore:
00:00:00 - The most underappreciated Rollup in Europe?
00:00:51 - How HomeServe evolved into a vertically integrated insurance broker
00:01:45 - The business model failed not once but twice
00:03:31 - Two powerful lessons for pperators: Fintech revenue and iterating beyond your first idea
00:04:40 - Great timing
00:05:57 - Why HVAC became HomeServe’s rollup goldmine: high-trust, high-margin, mission-critical customer moments
00:07:37 - Sponsor: Spacebar Studios
00:08:40 - Buying small businesses with attractive multiples
00:07:15 - How HomeServe Justified Higher Acquisition Multiples
00:10:04 - Why public market investor give up on HomeServe
00:12:40 - The Brookfield playbook Post-Acquisition: Breaking up the business and doubling down on HVAC rollups in Europe
00:14:03 - Biggest takeaway: Be ready to pivot your entire business
00:15:15 - Running a mission critical requrring revenue business
00:16:26 - Similar strategies on different verticals

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Subscribe on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/6lr5bE3SNZF2uEE7Nb0DHh

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/holdco-builders/id1695713724

Follow Mikk/PrivateEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy⁠⁠⁠

Alex from RollUp Europe: https://rollupeurope.beehiiv.com/

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.