Gemspring-Backed Fenceworks Expands Southeast Footprint with Accurate Fence Acquisition

The residential fencing industry's consolidation wave continued this week as Fenceworks, a portfolio company of Connecticut-based private equity firm Gemspring Capital, announced the acquisition of Accurate Fence, a provider of permanent fencing installation services in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The transaction, announced January 8, 2026, marks a strategic geographic expansion for the Riverside, California-based platform and underscores the ongoing professionalization of the fragmented home services sector.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, consistent with typical middle-market transactions in the home services space. The acquisition represents Fenceworks' continued expansion under Gemspring's ownership, which acquired the company in November 2023 as a platform investment.

For Fenceworks, the Accurate Fence acquisition addresses a clear geographic imperative. The company has built nearly 20 locations across the West Coast, Midwest, and Southeast over its more than 40 years in business, but the Southeast has represented a relative gap in its coverage map compared to its more established West Coast and Midwest presence.

"The acquisition of Accurate Fence represents an important step forward in advancing our growth strategy," said Jason Ostrander, Chief Executive Officer of Fenceworks, in a statement. "Accurate Fence stands out for the strength of its leadership team, the culture they have built, and their consistent focus on delivering high-quality service."

Atlanta represents a particularly attractive market for residential fencing services. As one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States, the city has experienced sustained residential construction activity, with major homebuilders maintaining significant operations throughout the region. This demographic and construction backdrop creates consistent demand for the permanent fencing solutions that both Fenceworks and Accurate Fence specialize in delivering.

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Accurate Fence brings nearly three decades of operational history and established customer relationships to the Fenceworks platform. The company has built its reputation on serving a diversified customer base of homebuilders, developers, and commercial clients, offering aluminum, wood, vinyl, and chain-link fencing solutions.

This product mix aligns closely with Fenceworks' existing capabilities. The California-based acquirer has developed expertise in wood, vinyl, iron, glass, and other high-quality fencing materials, serving the nation's largest homebuilders as well as general contractors and local fencing providers.

Jeff McWhorter, owner of Accurate Fence, emphasized continuity in his comments on the transaction. "We are proud of the business we have built and the strong relationships we have developed with our customers since our founding," McWhorter said. "Partnering with Fenceworks allows us to continue delivering the same level of service and quality our customers expect, while benefiting from the scale, resources, and support of a broader platform."

This language—emphasizing both continuity and platform benefits—has become standard in middle-market home services acquisitions, where maintaining customer relationships and employee retention are critical to successful integration.

The timing of this acquisition coincides with favorable long-term fundamentals in the U.S. fencing market. According to industry research, the U.S. fence construction market was $9.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $13.7 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 5.5%. Separately, the broader U.S. fencing market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.3% from 2025 to 2033 to reach $14.86 billion by 2033.

These growth projections reflect several underlying drivers:

Residential construction activity: New housing starts, particularly in Sun Belt markets like Atlanta, create consistent demand for fencing installation as part of the home completion process. Homebuilders typically contract with specialized fencing providers to install perimeter and decorative fencing as homes near completion.

Home improvement spending: Existing homeowners continue to invest in property improvements, with fencing representing both a functional necessity (privacy, security, pet containment) and an aesthetic enhancement. The sustained strength in home values has supported homeowner willingness to invest in exterior improvements.

Commercial and industrial demand: Beyond residential applications, commercial properties, industrial facilities, and institutional customers require fencing for security, demarcation, and regulatory compliance purposes.

Material innovation: The evolution of fencing materials—including composite materials, vinyl alternatives, and powder-coated metals—has expanded the addressable market by offering customers more durable, low-maintenance options at various price points.

For private equity-backed platforms like Fenceworks, these market dynamics create a favorable backdrop for both organic growth and acquisition-driven expansion.

Gemspring Capital, based in Westport, Connecticut, manages $5.1 billion of capital and focuses on middle-market companies with up to $2.0 billion in revenue. The firm's investment thesis centers on partnering with management teams in fragmented service sectors where operational improvements, strategic acquisitions, and professionalization can drive value creation.

The fencing installation industry fits this profile precisely. The market remains highly fragmented, with thousands of local and regional operators serving specific geographic markets. These businesses often lack sophisticated systems, struggle with talent recruitment and retention, face working capital constraints, and have limited access to growth capital.

By building a scaled platform like Fenceworks, Gemspring can offer acquired companies several advantages:

The Accurate Fence acquisition follows this established playbook. Rather than attempting to build a Southeast presence organically—a time-consuming and risky proposition—Fenceworks acquired an established operator with existing customer relationships, trained crews, and market knowledge.

While the strategic logic of the acquisition appears sound, successful integration will require careful execution across several dimensions.

Cultural integration represents the first challenge. Accurate Fence has operated independently for 26 years under founder ownership. Maintaining the entrepreneurial culture and customer service orientation that built the business while introducing platform processes and systems requires a delicate balance. The retention of Jeff McWhorter and his leadership team will be critical during this transition period.

Operational integration involves harmonizing systems, processes, and standards across the combined entity. This includes estimating and bidding processes, project management systems, quality control standards, and customer relationship management. Fenceworks will need to determine which Accurate Fence practices should be preserved and which should be standardized to platform norms.

Customer retention is paramount in a relationship-driven business. Homebuilders and developers typically maintain preferred vendor relationships based on reliability, quality, and pricing. Any disruption to service quality or account management during the integration period could jeopardize these relationships. The emphasis in the announcement on continuity of service suggests management recognizes this risk.

Workforce considerations also merit attention. Skilled installation crews are the lifeblood of a fencing business, and labor markets remain tight in many regions. Ensuring that Accurate Fence's workforce understands the benefits of joining a larger platform—including potential for advancement, training opportunities, and job security—will be essential to retention.

The Fenceworks-Accurate Fence transaction reflects broader trends reshaping the home services landscape.

Private equity consolidation has accelerated across numerous home services verticals, from HVAC and plumbing to roofing and landscaping. Investors have recognized that these businesses generate predictable cash flows, benefit from recurring revenue streams, and operate in markets with favorable long-term demand drivers. The fragmentation of most home services sectors creates abundant acquisition opportunities for well-capitalized platforms.

Homebuilder consolidation has created a parallel dynamic on the customer side. As large national and regional homebuilders have gained market share, they increasingly prefer to work with fencing providers that can serve multiple markets and deliver consistent quality across geographies. This trend favors scaled platforms like Fenceworks over purely local operators.

Technology adoption is gradually transforming the industry. Digital estimating tools, project management software, customer relationship management systems, and workforce management platforms are becoming table stakes for professional operators. Smaller independent companies often lack the capital and expertise to implement these systems effectively, creating another advantage for private equity-backed platforms.

Professionalization of operations extends beyond technology to encompass safety programs, training and development, financial controls, and strategic planning. Private equity ownership brings discipline and resources to businesses that may have operated informally for decades.

For independent fencing companies, these trends create both opportunities and pressures. Owners approaching retirement may find private equity platforms attractive acquirers, offering liquidity while potentially retaining management roles during a transition period. Conversely, independent operators who wish to remain independent face increasing competitive pressure from better-capitalized, more sophisticated platform competitors.

The Accurate Fence acquisition likely represents one of multiple add-on acquisitions Gemspring and Fenceworks will pursue during the investment hold period. Private equity platform strategies typically involve a combination of organic growth and serial acquisitions to build scale and enterprise value.

Several factors will influence the pace and direction of future acquisitions:

Geographic priorities: While the Southeast expansion addresses an immediate gap, Fenceworks may seek to add density in existing markets or enter new high-growth regions. Markets with strong population growth, robust residential construction activity, and fragmented competitive landscapes represent attractive targets.

Capability expansion: Future acquisitions might add complementary capabilities such as fence material distribution, specialty fencing types (such as ornamental iron or glass), or adjacent services like deck building or outdoor living installations.

Customer diversification: While residential homebuilder work provides a stable base, expanding commercial, industrial, or institutional customer relationships could reduce customer concentration and add margin diversity.

Market conditions: The availability and pricing of acquisition targets will depend on broader M&A market conditions, including interest rates, debt availability, and seller expectations. The current environment, with moderating interest rates and continued private equity dry powder, remains generally favorable for middle-market acquisitions.

For Gemspring, the Fenceworks investment represents a typical middle-market services play with multiple paths to value creation. The firm will likely pursue a three-to-five-year hold period, during which it will focus on organic growth, strategic acquisitions, operational improvements, and margin enhancement. An eventual exit could involve a sale to a larger private equity firm, a strategic buyer, or potentially a public market transaction, depending on the scale achieved and market conditions at the time.

The acquisition of Accurate Fence by Gemspring-backed Fenceworks exemplifies the ongoing consolidation of fragmented home services markets. By combining Accurate Fence's established Atlanta market presence with Fenceworks' platform capabilities and Gemspring's capital and expertise, the transaction creates a stronger competitor in the growing residential fencing sector.

For industry participants, the deal signals that consolidation pressures will continue. Independent operators must decide whether to invest in the capabilities needed to compete with scaled platforms, seek partnership opportunities with private equity-backed acquirers, or focus on specialized niches where scale advantages matter less.

For investors, the transaction validates the thesis that fragmented, cash-generative service businesses with favorable demand drivers and acquisition opportunities can generate attractive returns through the platform build-and-scale playbook.

As the U.S. fencing market continues its projected growth trajectory toward $13.7 billion by 2032, expect to see continued M&A activity as private equity firms and strategic buyers compete to build scaled platforms in this essential home services category. The Fenceworks-Accurate Fence deal represents one chapter in a longer consolidation story that is still being written.