SPS PoolCare acquires Tampa-based Pool Troopers in its largest deal

The pool trade got its Tampa consolidation story on January 23, 2026, when one private-equity-backed platform bought another.

SPS PoolCare, the Austin-based platform backed by Storr Group, acquired Tampa-headquartered Pool Troopers from Shoreline Equity Partners. SPS described it as its 191st acquisition since inception in 2021 and its largest to date. The combined company serves more than 42,000 recurring customers across 19 markets in five states with over 1,000 employees, and expected to perform more than 2 million weekly pool services in 2026 (Source: PR Newswire, 2026).

SPS CEO Lance Martin called the combination an industry powerhouse. Storr Group CEO Fraser Ramseyer framed it as part of a multi-year infrastructure strategy. Pool Troopers keeps its name and field teams, and Shoreline remains a minority investor.

The press release headline said the quiet part in plain language: “Nation’s Largest Pool Service Company SPS PoolCare Acquires Leading PE-Backed Competitor.”

Pool Troopers was the local roll-up first

Before it was acquired, Pool Troopers spent five years acquiring Tampa Bay’s independent pool routes.

Shoreline Equity Partners recapitalized the company in October 2020, when it served more than 15,000 residential customers with over 165 employees across Florida, Texas and Arizona (Source: BusinessWire, 2020). Managing partner Mike Hand said the team had established Pool Troopers as a clear leader in pool service. The stated plan was an aggressive Sunbelt acquisition strategy.

That plan produced at least seven Tampa Bay add-ons:

• Pure Planet Pools, St. Petersburg — May 2022
• All Clear Pool Services, Palm Harbor — June 2022
• Pool Medic, Lutz — September 2022
• Burke Pool Service, Tampa — October 2022
• Kevin’s Pool Service, Bradenton — December 2022
• Professional Pool Solutions, Carrollwood — March 2023
• Clearwater Pool Pros, St. Petersburg — February 2024

Each of those was an independent route operator. All of them are now, at one remove, part of SPS PoolCare.

Consolidation reaches a low-ticket trade

Pool service is not a high-ticket business. There is no $14,000 system replacement. What there is instead is a weekly recurring bill, thousands of times over, with predictable retention — which is exactly what makes it attractive to institutional capital. SPS’s own count of 191 acquisitions in under five years describes a machine built to buy routes.

Sarasota and Manatee counties saw the same pattern from the other direction: SPS itself bought Better Pools of Venice, Ocean Blue Pool Supply & Services of Sarasota and BriteWater Pool Service of Bradenton before this deal.

What it means for homeowners

Route consolidation changes the economics of a weekly service that most people never renegotiate.

• Recurring revenue is what is being bought and sold. In a route business, the customer list is the asset. Price increases and added chemical or filter-service tiers are the most direct lever on the value of that asset.
• Your technician may not change; your contract terms can. Field teams often stay. Billing systems, service scopes and rate schedules are set above them.
• Local competition thins quietly. Seven independent Tampa Bay pool companies became one over roughly two years, then that one became part of something larger.

Review your service agreement annually, note the rate you started at, and get a comparison quote from an owner-operated route. The pool trade page lists every documented local transaction, and the independents directory lists verified locally owned services.