Lunsford Air Conditioning & Heating Joins Legacy Service Partners Platform

What happened

Legacy Service Partners (LSP) announced on July 2, 2026, that it had welcomed Lunsford Air Conditioning and Heating, an HVAC contractor based in Milton, Florida, into its platform. The announcement describes Lunsford joining LSP and does not say whether LSP acquired the business or what stake it took. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The company

Rodney Lunsford founded the business in 1981 as a one-man, one-truck operation. It now runs offices in Milton, Freeport and Pensacola and serves Pace, Navarre, Gulf Breeze, Perdido, Cantonment and the surrounding Northwest Florida communities, with contractor licenses in Florida and Alabama. Lunsford describes itself as a family- and veteran-owned company.

The work is residential and commercial air conditioning and heating, from service and repair to new-construction installs, plus maintenance plans and Aeroseal duct sealing. Lunsford is a Carrier dealer.

Chris Lunsford, the company's general manager, said combining with LSP "was about finding the right partner for the next chapter of Lunsford Air Conditioning & Heating—one that understands the importance of local leadership, local culture, and the customer-first reputation our team has worked hard to build." What stood out about LSP, he said, "was their commitment to strengthening that foundation, not changing it," while "keeping Lunsford locally led and community focused."

The buyer

LSP is a Tampa-based home services platform that brings together local HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies. Jake Sloane, Frank Zhang and Rob Millock founded it in 2021. Gridiron Capital, an investment firm based in New Canaan, Connecticut, made a growth investment in LSP in January 2023, when the platform served 16 states through 28 brands. LSP now reports 19 states and 30 local brands.

"Lunsford Air Conditioning & Heating has earned more than four decades of trust in the Northwest Florida community, and Chris and his team have carried that legacy forward with integrity," said Adam Taylor, LSP's chief executive. He said LSP was "excited to invest in their continued growth."

Where LSP already operates in Florida

Lunsford is not LSP's first HVAC brand in Florida. In May 2023, Gridiron announced LSP's investment in Buehler Air Conditioning, a heating and cooling company serving greater Jacksonville since 2010, alongside a Nebraska plumbing, heating and air company. Nor is it LSP's first brand in Pensacola: the platform's partner roster lists Hers and His Plumbing, which has an office in the city. Owners weighing the same kind of offer can read our guide on selling an HVAC business to private equity.

What this means for Northwest Florida HVAC owners

Lunsford now operates inside a 19-state platform, with what its general manager calls "the resources, systems, strategic support, and shared best practices to help us grow." For a Panhandle owner considering selling to private equity, LSP is a buyer already in the market: Lunsford gives it an HVAC brand in Pensacola beside the plumbing partner it had there. And the point Chris Lunsford chose to make in public was that the company stays locally led, a commitment an owner in a similar conversation can ask to see written into the deal documents.

OffDeal is an advisory firm that helps lower-middle-market business owners sell with confidence. Reach out to learn more about our expertise with HVAC businesses in Florida.

Own a HVAC business with $5M–$100M in revenue? We’re glad to give you an honest read on what it’s worth and who would buy it — no pitch, no pressure. Get a free valuation.

Source: Legacy Service Partners - https://legacyservicepartners.com/lunsford-joins-legacy-service-partners