Lafayette Square Provides Financing to Support Growth of Best Friends Pet Care

Miami, FL & Norwalk, CT– February 1, 2024 –Lafayette Square, a national investment platform, announced today that it has provided debt financing to support the acquisition-focused growth strategy of Best Friends Pet Care (“Best Friends”). Best Friends Pet Care is one of the largest pet service providers in the United States, offering boarding, grooming, training, and doggy day camp.

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Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, Best Friends Pet Care provides a holistic suite of pet care services across 39 locations in more than 18 states, including its flagship Disney World location. The company is owned in part by its employees through an employee stock ownership plan.

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“The U.S. pet services industry is large and attractive, and Best Friends stands out within it for its experienced leadership team and track record of revenue growth, successful acquisitions, and resilience through various market cycles,” said Vishnu Amin, Director at Lafayette Square. “We are proud to work with companies like Best Friends that share our values of stimulating economic growth and providing good jobs to working-class people across the U.S.”

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“The support of Lafayette Square comes at an important time in our growth strategy, as we evaluate additional acquisition opportunities to bring our world-class services to more pet parents across the United States,” said Jared Pinsker, CEO of Best Friends Pet Care. “Especially as pet adoption rates have increased over the past few years, pets have become an integral part of the family. With more of them in more homes than ever before, we see tremendous potential in the years ahead.”

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In addition to financing, Lafayette Square offers its portfolio companies access to Worker Solutions, a custom-built platform that seeks to measurably improve employee retention, well-being, and productivity by connecting management teams to a curated list of third-party service providers that offer nontraditional benefits for their employees. By delivering these solutions, Lafayette Square aims to reduce operational risk for its portfolio companies, help them attract and retain talent, and improve job quality. To support its employees, Best Friends Pet Care has adopted HoneyBee’s financial wellness offerings via the Worker Solutions platform.

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About Best Friends Pet Care

Founded in 1995 and currently employee-owned, Best Friends Pet Care has enjoyed "leader of the pack" status for more than 30 years. With over 39 locations, including Walt Disney World, Best Friends provides customers with the absolute best pet care in a convenient and friendly atmosphere where safety, comfort, and fun are at the core of their high-quality boarding, doggy day camp, grooming, and training services with full transparency, great communication with pet parents, the latest advances in safety, and a caring staff that loves your pet as much as they love their own. For more information, visit www.bestfriendspetcare.com.

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About Lafayette Square

Lafayette Square invests in middle market companies while positively supporting people and communities. We believe the demand for capital in businesses headquartered outside of high-income places is an overlooked opportunity. We seek investment opportunities that stimulate economic growth across the United States through the creation and preservation of working-class jobs. For more information about Lafayette Square, please visit www.lafayettesquare.com.

Media Contact:

Jansel Murad

Dukas Linden Public Relations

646-722-6537

lafayettesquare@dlpr.com