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- New Deals: A HVAC company, industrial and commercial fence business, and 3 other finds
New Deals: A HVAC company, industrial and commercial fence business, and 3 other finds
Plus, 3 tips to get more off-market deals from former owners
Hello SMB Deal Hunters!
📣 Announcement: The waitlist is open for the February SMB Deal Hunter MBA cohort, our live 4-week business buying accelerator. Only 100 spots are available (and hundreds of you have already added yourselves to the waitlist) so join today.
Now onto regular business…
Thanks for all the great feedback from the deals I shared on Tuesday!
🔥 Community Top Picks from the Last Issue:
#1: E-commerce plant nursery with $1M in EBITDA
#2: Contract manufacturer with $1M in EBITDA
#3: Flooring business with $1.2M in EBITDA
I’m excited to share 5 new deals worth checking out.
Today's issue is sponsored by Somewhere, a headhunter agency that helps you hire an Executive Assistant for ~$1,500 per month.
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Want me and my team to work with you to find, finance, and acquire a million-dollar cash-flowing business in the next 6-12 months? Apply to join SMB Deal Hunter Pro.
Here’s what one member shared this past week:
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NEW DEALS
1/ HVAC Company
📍 Location: North Carolina
💰 Asking Price: $5,000,000
💼 EBITDA: $798,636
📊 Revenue: $9,368,380
📅 Established: 2011
💭 My 2 Cents: HVAC is a really popular business for good reason, with its recession-resistant demand and solid cash flow. I like this company’s multiple revenue streams and diverse client base, as they provide a combination of service/maintenance (65-70%) and new construction (30-35%) work for both residential (60%) and commercial (40%) customers. Other strong selling points are their 742 active maintenance agreements, the more than 6,500 customers in their database, and the $1.1M of FF&E and inventory included in the sale. I’d need more detail on their maintenance contracts, including what percent of their earnings they represent, what their standard terms are, and what their current renewal rate is. I’d also want to look into how much work they have on backlog, how they bring in new business, if there are any challenges hiring and retaining skilled technicians, and the condition and projected lifespan of their FF&E. If everything checks out, then this looks like a great business with a steady base of predictable earnings.
2/ Industrial & Commercial Fence Business
📍 Location: Georgia
💰 Asking Price: $2,050,000
💼 EBITDA: $645,000
📊 Revenue: $1,390,368
📅 Established: 2006
💭 My 2 Cents: People often overlook how profitable the fencing business can be. For proof, look no further than this company. They offer fencing solutions for industrial, commercial, and residential clients, and, as a result, bring in an awesome 47% net profit margin. I really like their strategic location near major clients, their strong relationships with suppliers that let them offer competitive pricing while maintaining great margins, and that 70% of their revenue comes from repeat customers. I also like that they operate from a 1,800 sq ft facility with favorable lease terms and that the purchase price includes over $500K of FF&E and inventory. In an industry known for its relative ease of entry, I’d want to know first the level of competition in their market and how they differentiate themselves from possible competitors. I’d then need to get a handle on any required licensing, if they use subcontractors in addition to their staff of four, and the role of the owner and what will be involved in replacing them. I’d finally want to ensure their high-margin business model is sustainable given current labor and material cost trends.
3/ Landscaping Business
📍 Location: Colorado
💰 Asking Price: $2,700,000
💼 EBITDA: $826,887
📊 Revenue: $1,840,879
📅 Established: 2009
💭 My 2 Cents: This Colorado business provides landscaping services, including lawn care, irrigation, snow removal, and holiday lighting for both residential and commercial customers. I like their 15-year track record, solid reputation, location in a high growth area, and diverse mix of services which ensures they are bringing in revenue year round. While this is a straightforward business, it will be key to understand what their client base looks like, to include how many are on recurring contracts, what their churn rate is, and if clients routinely take advantage of more than one of their services. I’d also want to dig into their pricing across their services, how they acquire new clients, the roles and responsibilities of their staff, and the nature and condition of any assets included in the sale. Ultimately, if there are a good number of customers on ongoing service contracts, this could be a hard-to-beat stable cash-flowing opportunity.
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4/ Temporary Staffing Agency
📍 Location: New York
💰 Asking Price: $1,500,000
💼 EBITDA: $500,000
📊 Revenue: $12,000,000
📅 Established: 1969
💭 My 2 Cents: In operation for an amazing 55 years, this staffing company specializes in industrial, manufacturing, and warehousing placements. I love businesses with this kind of history as they should have very established relationships with companies that use their services and a deep network of temporary workers to fill in the supply side of their business. What’s also great about long-standing businesses like this is that there should be a wealth of historical information to look into, so a potential buyer will be able to understand how they performed during different economic cycles throughout the years. In looking at their financials, I’d want to see how much of their revenue routinely comes from repeat clients, their distribution of earnings between the different industries they support, and if their cash flow has held steady over time. I’d also want to explore how they find both new clients and workers, how they handle compliance with local labor laws, and the breakdown of their staff, including the role of the owner. Their margins aren’t head-turning but their $12M revenue tells you there’s substance here, and it’s available at a very decent multiple.
5/ Title and Closing Services Company
📍 Location: New Hampshire
💰 Asking Price: $1,400,000
💼 EBITDA: $600,000
📊 Revenue: $1,600,000
📅 Established: 2002
💭 My 2 Cents: As anyone who has ever been involved in a house sale knows, a title services company is a crucial part of the process. And unlike mortgage lenders, title companies don’t rely solely on a booming housing market (even in downturns, people refinance, transfer properties, or settle estates, which means ongoing transactions). This New Hampshire business specializes in residential and commercial transactions, including title examination, document recording, and 1031 exchanges. They have a great reputation (rated a top 10 firm in their state), a dominant market position in their niche, and are asset-light and easily relocatable. Another real plus is that in New Hampshire, title companies do not need to be owned by attorneys, so this opportunity is available to anyone regardless of their professional background. I’d want to better understand their revenue split between residential and commercial transactions, how they identify and acquire new customers, if they face much competition from national firms, how they handle compliance and legal risks (especially in complex transactions), and who their key employees are and if they are slated to stay post-sale.
THE BEST OF SMB TWITTER (X)
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Take a multi-generational perspective (link)
The law of 1,000 hours (link)
3 tips to get more off-market deals from former owners (link)
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Making sure the seller hires the right lawyer (link)
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RECENT PODCAST EPISODES
• Ex-Amazon Tech Employee Acquires 35-Year-Old Wholesale Hat Company (link)
• Ex-Tech Employee Acquires 7 Businesses (Primarily In Construction) And Grows Them 5x (link)
• Ex-Government Employee Acquires Multiple E-Commerce Businesses In A Gray Market (link)
THAT’S A WRAP
See you next Tuesday!
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-Helen Guo
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Disclaimer
This publication is a newsletter only and the information provided herein is the opinion of our editors and writers only. Any transaction or opportunity of any kind is provided for information only; SMB Deal Hunter does not verify nor confirm information. SMB Deal Hunter is not making any offer to readers to participate in any transaction or opportunity described herein.