H&H Pool Services, the Dublin, Calif.-based company founded by industry veteran David Hawes, has been acquired by Cabana as the San Diego-area company continues its expansion across California.
The acquisition marks a significant transition for both companies, bringing the 55-year-old H&H under Cabana’s ownership while helping the consolidator complete its expansion into California’s major metropolitan markets and, eventually, grow nationally.
Hawes founded H&H as a teenager and grew it into one of the industry’s larger service and maintenance companies. Over the years, he gained a reputation for his business acumen while becoming an active industry educator and advocate for stronger business practices among pool service professionals.
A longtime member of the Independent Pool and Spa Service Association (IPSSA), Hawes has served as its president and chief financial officer and regularly teaches business classes for service professionals. He also founded California’s Pool & Spa Apprenticeship and Training Committee, where he continues to serve as president and chairman, and has served as a director of Pool Industry Expo.
According to Cabana, H&H fits its strategy of partnering with established, owner-led pool companies while providing them with additional operational resources and support.
“David has spent decades proving that exceptional quality and attention to detail work, and his team reflects that,” said Cabana founder Jeremy Yamaguchi. “Bringing H&H aboard is exactly the kind of partnership we’re built for. Our job now is to support the team and give them room to keep growing.”
Hawes and his staff will remain with H&H following the acquisition, Yamaguchi said. The company will also retain its existing brand, although the Cabana name could eventually be incorporated into it.
H&H, which operates from a single location, is expected to serve as the primary hub for Cabana’s San Francisco-area operations, Yamaguchi said.
Cabana looks beyond state borders
With the transaction, Cabana reaches a milestone of its own and looks toward its next phase of expansion.
The H&H acquisition followed Cabana’s purchase of another Bay Area service firm, 34-year-old Aqua Pool Company in Concord, Calif., formerly owned by Todd Ferro. Together, the acquisitions brought Cabana into the San Francisco market, giving the consolidator a presence in every major metropolitan area in the Golden State, Yamaguchi said.
Cabana plans to expand further in some California markets, including the South San Francisco Bay/San Jose area and eastern Los Angeles. Its larger growth ambitions, however, extend beyond the state.
“We’re not here to build California’s pool cleaning company—we’re here to build the first national branded pool [service company] that is a household name,” Yamaguchi said.
Cabana is currently focused primarily on Arizona and Texas, with Nevada and Georgia also among its targets. However, Yamaguchi said the company is willing to consider companies regardless of location.
Over the next five years, Cabana aims to partner with more than 70 firms, Yamaguchi added.
While other consolidators also have national ambitions, Cabana aims to distinguish itself by highlighting its backing by individual investors rather than private equity, and by developing proprietary software to support all aspects of the business.
“You can’t buy [these companies] and flip them all in five years,” Yamaguchi said. “You have to commit for decades and bring real capital and real technology to run that company.”
Founded in 2024, Cabana has pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy, acquiring 12 companies in its first two years. After starting in San Diego, the company has expanded into Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, and San Francisco Counties.
While some consolidators have steadfastly avoided entering California, Yamaguchi chose to launch Cabana near where he lived. He now views building the company in the state as valuable preparation for national expansion.
“California has a lot of operating challenges—labor markets are tough, the regulatory environment is tough,” Yamaguchi said. “We might be crazy, but I think there’s also just something to [the notion] that, if we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.”
