Southern Home Buys Blazer Heating, Air & Plumbing, Its First Richmond Deal

What happened

Southern Home Services acquired Blazer Heating, Air & Plumbing, a residential HVAC and plumbing contractor based in Mechanicsville, Virginia. The deal closed May 18, 2026, and Southern Home announced it the next day. Blazer is Southern Home's first acquisition in the Richmond region, Richmond BizSense reported.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough served as legal counsel to Southern Home, and Williams Mullen served as legal counsel to Blazer. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The seller

Blazer was founded in 1989 and serves homeowners within roughly 30 miles of its headquarters at 7025 Pole Green Road, covering Mechanicsville, Glen Allen, Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover and the rest of the greater Richmond market. The work is heating and air conditioning repair and replacement, plumbing and drain service, and maintenance, and the company is NATE-certified and a Trane Comfort Specialist. The company moved into a newly built Mechanicsville headquarters in 2023, after operating out of Hanover Airpark.

Founder Scott Broyles owned Blazer up to the sale. His son, Bobby Broyles, joined in 2020 and has since become president, and he continues to lead the business as general manager under Southern Home. Scott, 68, plans to retire in the coming months. He told BizSense he began considering a sale a few years ago, wondering whether the company could grow further with more backing behind it. "We decided it was time to get out of the way and find the right partner," he said. He said Blazer liked Southern Home for its focus on the Southeast.

Blazer's name, headquarters, 37 employees, and operations all stay in place. Bobby said he wants to grow the plumbing department, start an electrical department, and consider extending service to the Williamsburg area.

The buyer

Southern Home Services is based in Maitland, Florida, and is a house-of-brands platform for locally operated HVAC, plumbing and electrical companies across the South, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Chief executive Bryan Benak told BizSense in May that the company had 28 businesses in 11 states, mainly in the Southeast. Founded in 2016, it is majority-backed by San Francisco private equity firm Gryphon Investors, which acquired it from Atlanta-based MSouth Equity Partners in 2021.

Southern Home entered Virginia in November 2022 with M.E. Flow, a northern Virginia heating, air conditioning and plumbing contractor operating since 1951, and added AirPlus Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electrical in northern Virginia in February 2023. Benak said Southern Home had been interested in Richmond for some time. "We want to go deep into all of the Southern markets," he said. "They don't all have to be the Atlantas of the world."

What stays local under Southern Home, and what it takes on

Benak said practically all of Southern Home's acquired companies keep their name, branding and employees, which he finds more effective than rebranding them. "People (in Richmond) don't know who Southern Home Services is, and we don't want them to know who Southern is. We want them to know Blazer," he said. After a deal, Southern Home helps its companies with new vehicles, marketing and other capital expenditures. Bobby said the deal can help Blazer streamline HR and IT and make benefits, PTO and payroll easier to manage. For more on how buyers are approaching the trade, see OffDeal's overview of plumbing, HVAC and home services businesses.

What this means for Richmond plumbing and HVAC owners

Southern Home's first Richmond brand arrived with its next operator already in the president's chair, and under a model that keeps local brands locally run. The practical point is that who runs the company after closing is worth settling before a sale, not during one.

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

Own a plumbing and 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: Southern Home Services - https://www.southernhomeservices.com/blog/2026/may/southern-home-services-expands-mid-atlantic-pres/