New Deals: A title and escrow business, pool service business, and 3 other finds

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NEW DEALS

1/  Title and Escrow Business

📍 Location: Alabama
💰 Asking Price: $5,500,000
💼 EBITDA: $1,394,162
📊 Revenue: $3,241,436
📅 Established: 2008

💭 My 2 Cents: Title services can be a little off the radar when you think of boring businesses, but they are an essential part of every home purchase. This company specializes in residential title services, processing approximately 2,600 transactions annually. I really like how they have built strong relationships with banks and realtors in their market (meaning repeat business from mortgage refinances and new home purchases), while their fast turnaround time of 48-72 hours for title commitments has given them a valuable competitive advantage. And their service must be top-notch, as they recently implemented a price increase that was accepted without issue, boosting revenue without customer attrition. I’d want more detail on this price increase, including if it was designed to meet increased costs and how it fits into their mid-market pricing strategy. Since this business is highly dependent on the real estate market, I’d want to really look at how much earnings have fluctuated over the course of the company’s history and understand local market trends. I’d also want to dig into their key referral sources (real estate agents, lenders, builders, attorneys) and assess their loyalty. On top of that, I’d also want to check who on the team holds the required licenses, including the owner. Overall, if you can get comfortable with the real estate market exposure, this is a proven business with a really solid level of cash flow and excellent margins.

2/ Pool Service Business

📍 Location: Ohio
💰 Asking Price: $1,495,000
💼 EBITDA: $554,259
📊 Revenue: $1,947,870
📅 Established: 1963

💭 My 2 Cents: This pool service company caught my eye because it’s larger than the majority of its peers listed for sale. What’s impressive is it’s a second-generation company that has provided pool services and products for their Ohio market for over 50 years. The fact they have been family-owned this long tells me they have been able to weather many different economic cycles and have built a stellar and hard to replicate reputation that a new owner can leverage going forward. While they now focus on routine servicing, maintenance, and smaller installations such as heaters, growth opportunities include reintroducing in-ground pool installations as well as expanding their service territory and adding more technicians. I’d need to better understand their revenue split between residential and commercial clients, their level of ongoing contracts and recurring revenue (as well as what churn looks like), how much revenue they derive from retail sales, how they market their services, and how they handle seasonal fluctuations in earnings given their Ohio location. I’d also be curious as to why they moved away from in-ground installations and what would be involved in bringing these back.

3/ Demolition Company

📍 Location: Northern Virginia
💰 Asking Price: $5,200,000
💼 EBITDA: $1,015,000
📊 Revenue: $5,219,945
📅 Established: 2007

💭 My 2 Cents: I like how this demolition company is based in Northern Virginia, giving them a strong presence across Virginia, Washington D.C, and Maryland. Real positives are their deep list of contractor relationships, strong team of 22, and ownership of key contractor licenses. I also like that their sales price incorporates nearly $2M of equipment and you have assets that represent a serious barrier to entry for potential competitors. The scalability of the business is also very attractive and there should be opportunities for a motivated owner to expand into asbestos and lead remediation. I’d want to look into what contracts they currently have in place (including any government contracts), their level of recurring revenue, how they source new business, their protocols for handling hazardous materials, the condition and projected useful life of their fleet, and the costs involved in offering new services. Their significant hard assets and experienced staff make this an appealing turnkey opportunity, while continuous urban redevelopment, infrastructure expansion, and commercial renovations in the DMV area should drive steady demand.

4/ Plumbing Company

📍 Location: Virginia
💰 Asking Price: $7,500,000
💼 EBITDA: $1,800,000
📊 Revenue: $6,400,000
📅 Established: 1977

💭 My 2 Cents: While I always like looking at plumbing companies, I especially like it when they’ve been in business for a long time. This family-owned company has been at it since 1977, so they should have built a great reputation among both their residential and commercial clients. Tied to their long-standing experience and expertise, their skilled workforce now offers a range of plumbing services on a 24/7 basis, from emergency repairs to major installations and specialized projects. I’d want to know their revenue breakdown for residential versus commercial jobs, their level of repeat business, if there are any client concentration issues, how they bring in new work and if they have an online presence (check reviews), the nature and condition of any FF&E included in the sale, and the day-to-day role of the owner. Ultimately, this is a great deal for a business of this size that offers an essential service and is SBA pre-qualified (plus, the seller is willing to offer some financing).

5/ Paving Company

📍 Location: Florida
💰 Asking Price: $3,149,000
💼 EBITDA: $865,159
📊 Revenue: $2,168,816
📅 Established: 2004

💭 My 2 Cents: We may not normally notice it, but we depend on paving companies to provide the surface on which we drive and park every day. This company specializes in asphalt and concrete paving services, including striping, seal coating, repair, and resurfacing. I like their established client base, consistent revenues, and strong cash flow and margins. I also really like the $1.2M worth of equipment included in the sale, with this alone representing almost 40% of the asking price. I’d need to get a handle on what percentage of their business comes from private vs. government contracts (government contracts can be more stable but have longer payment cycles), what existing maintenance contracts are in place, and the condition of their equipment to include maintenance history and if any is pending replacement. I’d also want to review supplier contracts and pricing agreements for asphalt, concrete, and aggregates to assess material cost stability. As there will always be a demand for paving services, this proven company offers a rock-solid base for a new owner to continue to grow the business.