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A Place At Home plans to make acquisitions of franchise locations and joint ventures a larger part of its growth strategy after its February 2026 acquisition by Dovida. Co-founder Dustin Distefano said the company aims to finish 2026 with five corporate conversions and plans to open 10 additional locations. The company has not disclosed the terms or expected financial results of the planned buybacks and ventures.
A Place At Home plans to expand its franchise buyback and joint-venture model after its February 2026 acquisition by Dovida, using corporate ownership of some locations as a larger part of its growth strategy. Co-founder Dustin Distefano told Home Health Care News the company aims to complete five corporate conversions by year-end, while also pursuing new franchise locations.
Distefano, who became chief operating officer of franchise operations at Dovida North America after the acquisition, said the company is looking to buy high-performing franchise locations outright and to form joint ventures with some owners. In those ventures, franchisees would keep a minority ownership stake and could continue working as general managers. The company has not publicly detailed the planned ventures’ terms.
A Place At Home plans to open 10 additional locations in 2026 and hopes to complete 17 franchise deals by the end of the year, Distefano said. For 2027, the company’s stated goal is to add 20 franchise locations. Those growth targets run alongside its plan to finish 2026 with five locations converted to corporate operations.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company provides non-medical in-home care, care coordination and Alzheimer’s and dementia care across 22 states. It currently generates about 60% of its revenue through franchising, according to Distefano. He said he expects the mix eventually to shift to 70% from corporate operations and 30% from franchising; that is a projection, not a reported current result.
A Shift Toward Company-Owned Care
Buying franchise locations can change how A Place At Home grows and earns revenue. Distefano said corporate-operated locations generate profits that can be consolidated by the company, while franchise revenue is based on royalties. He argued that adding franchises can expand the network but produces smaller margins for the corporate business. The source does not provide financial figures to quantify the difference.
The model also offers franchise owners a possible exit route. Distefano said owners may consider selling because of age or a major life change, and described a sale back to the company as a way to realize the value of a business. Whether owners choose to sell, and how many locations A Place At Home can acquire, will shape how much the strategy changes the company’s operating mix.
For Dovida, the moves follow its entry into the United States through the A Place At Home purchase. The acquisition gave the international provider a North American base in Omaha. The planned ownership changes could help determine how Dovida combines a U.S. franchise network with more directly operated locations, but the company has not stated the expected scale or financial effect.
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Dovida’s U.S. Entry and New Plan
Dovida provides home care services in Australia, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland. Its February 2026 acquisition of A Place At Home was its first expansion into the United States and established its North American office in Omaha. Distefano said A Place At Home updated its corporate growth strategy after the deal.
The company’s buyback concept builds on its franchise model, which Distefano said is intended to develop local operators while giving them potential exit options through corporate purchases or joint ventures. He described the approach as personally significant because he started a home care business in his basement at age 28 and said he did not have a similar opportunity to exit. That account explains his stated motivation, but does not establish that every franchise owner will receive an offer or sell.
A Place At Home has already converted at least one location to corporate operations: its first branded corporate conversion opened in Jacksonville, Florida, in July 2026. Distefano said it nearly doubled in size after conversion and credited the company’s sales and recruitment strategies. The source provides no underlying revenue, staffing or client figures to independently assess that result.
““That’s a major part of our growth strategy next year, because of all that the profits that come from those locations, then get consolidated with us.””
— Dustin Distefano, A Place At Home co-founder and Dovida North America franchise operations chief operating officer
Buyback Terms and Targets Remain Open
The company has not disclosed how many franchise locations it expects to buy, the purchase terms, the investment required or the expected financial returns. It is also unclear how many owners will prefer a joint venture over an outright sale, or how those arrangements would divide operating responsibilities and profits.
Distefano’s revenue-mix figures describe a future expectation, not a confirmed timetable or guaranteed outcome. The report also does not explain how the company will fund acquisitions while pursuing its franchise-opening targets. Its account of the Jacksonville location’s growth is attributed to Distefano and is not accompanied by detailed performance data.
Year-End Conversions and 2027 Growth
The next stated milestones are A Place At Home’s goal of five corporate conversions by the end of 2026 and its plans for 10 additional locations and 17 franchise deals during the year. For 2027, Distefano said the company aims to add 20 franchise locations. The report does not specify whether the 2027 target includes corporate acquisitions or only new franchise locations.
The company is also focusing on live-in care, referral partnerships, caregiver recruitment and staff culture, Distefano said. It plans to use information about client diagnoses and care needs to shape additional caregiver training. Further updates on completed conversions, joint-venture agreements and the terms of franchise sales would show how the strategy is being put into practice.
Key Questions
What is A Place At Home changing after the Dovida acquisition?
It plans to make buying franchise locations and forming joint ventures a larger part of its growth strategy, alongside opening new franchises.
What happens to franchise owners in a joint venture?
According to Distefano, owners would retain a minority ownership stake and may continue as general managers. The company has not disclosed specific terms.
What growth targets has the company stated?
Distefano said A Place At Home aims to open 10 additional locations and complete 17 franchise deals in 2026, finish the year with five corporate conversions, and add 20 franchise locations in 2027.
How much of A Place At Home’s revenue currently comes from franchising?
Distefano said about 60% of current revenue comes from franchising. He projected that corporate operations could eventually account for 70% and franchising for 30%; he did not give a timetable for that shift.
What remains unknown about the buybacks?
A Place At Home has not disclosed the number of locations it expects to acquire, purchase prices, funding plans or anticipated financial returns.
Source: rss
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