George Carlin’s and Richard Pryor’s effort to make car washes look cool may have fallen short. For there is a simplicity to the car wash business model that lends itself nicely to private equity ownership, a straightforwardness that is music to a direct lenders’ ears.

And in turn, the relationship between private credit firms and car washes runs deep. Just in the last few years, Golub Capital has funded Quick Quack Car Wash and Go Car Wash Holdings — the latter company alongside Blackstone and MidCap. Back in 2022, Carlyle provided $1bn of funding to Spotless Brands. And more recently, Oak Hill Advisors provided the financing for Mammoth Holdings’ expansion.