Business Briefs

+ Former Allstate exec to run Lakewood Ranch firm
Gulfstream Property and Casualty Insurance Co. named industry veteran Douglas Reynolds president and CEO.

Reynolds replaces Kerry Ford, vice president of underwriting at Gulfstream, who was interim president, according to a release. Founded in 2004 and based in Lakewood Ranch, Gulfstream is a regional property insurance carrier that provides homeowners, renters, condominium and fire coverage. It has operations along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts and is licensed in seven states, including Florida, Louisiana and Texas.

Reynolds has held executive leadership positions for several insurance and financial services companies, including AIG and Allstate Insurance Co. At Allstate, Reynolds began his career in underwriting and advanced to senior vice president of independent agent markets. Reynolds also oversaw property and casualty and the financial services business for national insurance underwriter Horace Mann Educators Corp.

“Doug has built a reputation as a strategic leader galvanizing growth in startups, national and global companies,” Gulfstream Chairman Bryan Rivers says in the release. “With an exceptional track record in the insurance industry, both domestically and internationally, Doug is well-positioned to lead Gulfstream’s continued success in our home state of Florida and additional expansion along the hurricane-exposed Gulf and Atlantic coast states.”

— Mark Gordon

+ First Watch lassos its biggest franchise deal
Fast-growing breakfast-brunch-lunch chain First Watch has signed the largest franchise agreement in its history, a deal for at least 15 restaurants in the Dallas/Fort Worth area over the next five years.

First Watch, according to a release, signed a franchise development agreement with Best Choice Restaurants LLC, a newly formed subsidiary of Sun Holdings, one of the largest franchise organizations in the country. Dallas-based Sun Holdings, founded in 1997, operates more than 400 multi-brand restaurants in multiple states and has nearly $450 million in annual revenues. Brands in the Sun Holdings portfolio include Burger King, Popeye’s and Golden Corral.

The first restaurant under the agreement, the debut for University Park-based First Watch in Texas, is expected to open in late 2015.

“Dallas and Fort Worth are full of diverse neighborhoods bursting with restaurants, music, sports and culture, and we’re thrilled to bring First Watch’s nationally recognized food to such a vibrant community,” First Watch president and CEO Ken Pendery says in the release. “Texas is uncharted territory for us, but we are eager to get to know the people of Dallas and share with them the fresh ingredients, healthy alternatives and welcoming atmosphere that First Watch offers.”

Best Choice will be led by Sun Holdings President and CEO Guillermo Perales and its COO Luis Ibarguengoytia, according to the statement. Perales has been named four times to Latino Leaders Magazine’s 101 Most Influential Latinos in the U.S. list.

“First Watch is a highly differentiated brand that represents the new guard in the growing breakfast, brunch and lunch segment, and I saw an opportunity to be a significant player in its growth,” Perales says in the release. “I believe that First Watch will fill a substantial gap in the Dallas market with its fresh approach to breakfast, brunch and lunch and award-winning menu.”

First Watch is the largest daytime-only restaurant concept in the U.S., with more than 120 restaurants in 17 states. It also operates 19 restaurants under The Good Egg name in Arizona and one Bread & Co. restaurant in Nashville.

— Mark Gordon

+ Neal Communities on track for growth in 2015
Lakewood Ranch-based homebuilder Neal Communities broke company sales records in 2014, selling 864 new homes, earning $276 million in revenue and pulling permits on more than 500 homes in Manatee County.

It also hit the milestone of delivering 10,000 homes to families in Florida since the company’s inception in 1970.

“We experienced several factors this year that contributed to our record-breaking success,” said Pat Neal, CEO and founder of Neal Communities, in a news release. “Historically low mortgage rates and 42% of homebuyers paying in cash equals a strong southwest Florida market.”

Neal Communities opened nine new communities in 2014. It also hired more than 60 new employees last year and had eight more jobs to fill this month.

Neal said he expects to see volumes increase and prices appreciate in 2015.

“What works best for us is slow, sustainable, predictable growth,” he said. “And if we can stay at that pace in 2015, we see continued housing recovery.”