What APEF does

APEF is a French franchise network of personal services agencies (services à la personne) founded in 1992 and headquartered in Mauguio, France, under the corporate entity SARL FRANCHIDOM. The network comprises nearly 200 locally operated agencies across France supported by 3,200+ salaried employees, delivering five core service lines: aide à domicile (senior and disability home assistance), ménage and repassage (housekeeping and ironing), garde d'enfants (childcare), and jardinage/bricolage (gardening and handyman work). Customers are primarily French households, segmented horizontally across seniors seeking to maintain independent living, working families requiring childcare, general households seeking cleaning help, people with reduced mobility, and homeowners needing property maintenance.

The underlying technology stack is deliberately light: a consumer-facing website (apef.fr) handling online quote requests and an agency locator, a dedicated recruitment portal (apefrecrute.fr), a franchise development site (apeffranchise.fr), and a DPO/information-systems backbone for regulatory compliance. The most distinctive technical/regulatory integration is with URSSAF's Avance immédiate du crédit d'impôt system, which allows APEF customers to receive their 50% French personal-services tax credit at the point of sale rather than waiting for annual reimbursement — a meaningful UX and cash-flow differentiator against non-integrated competitors.

APEF's business model is franchise-driven: independently operated local agencies handle customer relationships, staffing, and service delivery within their territories, while the franchisor provides brand, regulatory scaffolding (DREETS declarations and Conseil Départemental authorizations for vulnerable-population services), marketing infrastructure, and the Avance immédiate integration. Pricing is hourly and pay-as-you-go, with services billed at €30.50–32/hour TTC, effectively halved for consumers via the 50% crédit d'impôt. Recent strategic activity has emphasized territorial densification (entry into previously unserved departments via greenfield openings and at least one disclosed acquisition), launch of the APEF Pro B2B sub-brand, and continued expansion of service sub-categories such as vehicle-accompaniment for seniors.

Name

APEF

Legal name

SARL FRANCHIDOM

Website

https://apef.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

APEF is a French franchise network of nearly 200 home-care agencies delivering senior assistance, housekeeping, childcare, and gardening services to households across France, leveraging URSSAF's immediate 50% tax credit integration and supported by 3,200+ employees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Home Care Services

NAICS

Home Health Care Services (621610)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082)

akta.pro primary industry

Household Management & Lifestyle Administration (HSACAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional Employer Organization (PEO) / Co-Employment Services (BPACAHAB)

Keywords

• Home care services
• Senior care assistance
• Housekeeping services
• Childcare services
• Gardening handyman services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mauguio

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Home Care Services: Recurring and on-demand home care services including aide à domicile (senior care), ménage/repassage (housekeeping/ironing), garde d'enfants (childcare), and jardinage/bricolage (gardening/handyman). Revenue is generated through service contracts billed hourly or monthly, with pricing varying by service type and region. All services qualify for 50% French tax credit (crédit d'impôt services à la personne).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

APEF provides in-home personal and household services through a franchise network of nearly 200 agencies across France. Its core offerings include aide à domicile for seniors and people with reduced mobility, ménage and repassage (housekeeping and ironing), garde d'enfants (childcare), and jardinage/bricolage (gardening and handyman work), with a 50% tax credit available to clients including an immediate advance option via URSSAF. APEF Pro extends these services to businesses.

Product overview

APEF is a franchise network of home care service agencies operating across France. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of services à la personne (personal services at home) through its network of approximately 200 agencies. The core offering consists of five main service lines: (1) Aide à domicile (home assistance for seniors and people with loss of autonomy), (2) Ménage à domicile (professional housekeeping and cleaning), (3) Repassage à domicile (ironing and laundry services), (4) Garde d'enfants (childcare services), and (5) Jardinage et Bricolage (gardening and handyman services). Each main category encompasses multiple specialized sub-services targeting specific needs such as elderly assistance, occasional cleaning, after-school childcare, and vehicle-based transportation for seniors. The company operates as a franchise model with local agencies providing services, and also offers APEF Pro for professional/business clients. Founded in 1992, APEF employs approximately 3,200 salaried workers and serves clients across France with support for financial aid including 50% tax credits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aide à domicile (Home Assistance) Recurring in-home personal assistance and daily living support for seniors and people with reduced mobility, including help with personal care, mobility, meals, and accompaniment. Eligible for the 50% personal-services tax credit.
• Ménage à domicile (Housekeeping) Recurring in-home housekeeping services for households, provided by APEF agency staff deployed to the client's home. Eligible for the 50% personal-services tax credit.
• Repassage à domicile (Ironing) In-home ironing services delivered to households by APEF agency staff, offered as a recurring or per-visit service. Eligible for the 50% personal-services tax credit.
• Garde d'enfants (Childcare) In-home childcare services for families, provided by APEF agency staff at the family's home. Eligible for the 50% personal-services tax credit.
• Jardinage & Bricolage (Gardening & Handyman) Recurring gardening and small handyman services delivered at home by APEF agency staff, including outdoor upkeep and minor indoor repair tasks. Eligible for the 50% personal-services tax credit.
• APEF Pro Dedicated business-to-business offer extending APEF personal services to companies, employee benefit programs, and partner platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% customer satisfaction rate
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• URSSAF / Avance immédiate du crédit d'impôtcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership enabling the immediate tax credit advance system (Avance immédiate). Through this integration with URSSAF Caisse Nationale, customers can receive their 50% tax credit deduction at the point of sale rather than waiting for annual tax refunds. APEF declares service amounts to URSSAF, which processes the credit directly.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Senior Compagnie: French franchise specializing in non-medical home care services for elderly and disabled individuals, directly competing with APEF's aide à domicile and maintien à domicile offerings under similar regulatory approvals.
• Domidom: French franchise network focused on aide à domicile for seniors and dependent persons — directly competing with APEF's senior care service line using the same regulatory and tax credit framework.
• ADHAP: French home care franchise network offering personal assistance, housekeeping, and senior care services — directly comparable to APEF in target customers, service mix, and franchise-based delivery model.
• Petits-Fils: French senior home care franchise network providing aide à domicile for elderly, overlapping directly with APEF's most strategic senior care service line and customer segment.
• Axeo Services: French multi-service franchise network with nearly identical service portfolio (housekeeping, childcare, senior care, gardening/handyman) and a comparable agency-based distribution model targeting French households.
• Shiva: French home services franchise specialized in ménage and repassage with growing senior care presence, serving the same household customer base and competing on agency proximity and tax-credit positioning.
• O2 Care Services: Largest French personal services franchise network offering aide à domicile, ménage, garde d'enfants, and jardinage — directly overlapping APEF on all five service lines across the same French consumer base and using the same Avance immédiate URSSAF tax credit mechanism.
• Générale des Services: Established French franchise network in home personal services with overlapping service lines including ménage, repassage, garde d'enfants, and aide à domicile to seniors across a national footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Korian (DomusVi): One of Europe's largest senior care and services groups with significant French home care operations, competing with APEF for the same senior clientele and increasingly emphasizing home-based care as an alternative to facility residency.
• Sodexo Home Care (Domaine Home Care): Global facility services and care giant with a personal/home services segment in France, operating at much larger scale and providing meaningful competitive overlap in housekeeping and home-based care categories.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Apef_Services
• Facebookfacebook.com/apefservices
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apef-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about APEF