Austin Window Film & Tint Company, 44-Year Texas Installer

$3.0M

Revenue

$750K

SDE

3.5x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a 44-year-old Austin window film and tint installer serving commercial, residential and automotive customers across Texas. The company applies solar control, decorative, privacy, and safety/security film, with commercial work as its bread and butter at roughly 71% of revenue. Its customer base spans general contractors, property managers, glass companies and direct retail accounts, with projects covering office buildings, retail, restaurants, healthcare, government buildings and hotels, including a marquee install for one of the world's best-known technology companies.

What makes the commercial side interesting is the team's ability to read construction documents and quote film while a project is still in bidding, which means winning installs before the building even exists. Master subcontracts with several GCs and occasional architectural spec by name give the business a structural edge over pure retail tint shops. The automotive division adds another 26% of revenue from a dedicated shop handling 10 to 12 vehicles a day (with capacity for 25 to 30), split across retail, dealerships and a municipal fleet contract. Residential rounds out the mix at about 3%, treated as filler work between commercial jobs.

The risk profile is unusually clean: no debt, no financing, no litigation, no liens, no personal guarantees, and effectively zero warranty cost because manufacturer warranties reimburse both labor and material. The company holds dealer pricing from every major film manufacturer with no minimums, carries near-5.0 Google reviews, and generates nearly all new business from repeat customers and referrals despite spending only $412 a month on digital. That last fact is both the strength and the setup: this is a business coasting on reputation with no marketing engine, no CRM, and no upsell motion, which is exactly where an operator with basic discipline finds upside.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong and clean: $749,936 of cash flow on $2.98M revenue is a 25% margin, backed by no debt, no financing, no litigation, no liens, and effectively zero warranty cost thanks to manufacturer labor-and-material reimbursement. At a 3.47x multiple you are buying real, verifiable profit rather than a promise.
The moat is more durable than a typical tint shop because of the commercial construction embed: master subcontracts with GCs, architectural spec by name, and the ability to quote film off construction documents during bidding. That wins installs before the building exists, which retail-only competitors cannot replicate.
Austin is one of the fastest-growing metros in the country with intense year-round sun, making solar control film a non-seasonal, essential need for building owners and drivers. Steady commercial construction and property management demand underpins 71% of revenue that does not disappear in a soft consumer cycle.
The operator upside is unusually obvious: the company does not advertise, has no marketing budget, no CRM, and does not upsell, yet still grew 39%+ on a $412 per month digital spend. A buyer with basic sales and marketing discipline is buying a 44-year brand and 5.0 reviews with the growth levers untouched.
Dealer pricing from every major film manufacturer with no minimum purchase requirements transfers to the buyer, and all supplier relationships are owner-independent. Combined with 13 employees, low three-year turnover, and division leaders who quote and run crews, the business already functions without founder involvement in production.

How to improve it

Turn on demand generation immediately: the business spends only $412 a month on digital and runs no CRM. Deploy a simple pipeline tool, run local paid search and Google Business optimization off the near-5.0 rating, and start capturing the referral flow that is currently uncounted.
Reinstate paint protection film, which historically generated $80,000 to $118,000 a year and can be restarted for roughly $1,200 of inventory since the cutting plotters are already owned. This is close to pure incremental margin using existing labor and equipment.
Build a systematic upsell and cross-sell motion: automotive retail customers can be offered PPF and residential film, and commercial accounts can be re-solicited for building portfolios. The company admits it does not upsell, so even a scripted process at point of sale moves revenue.
Replace the general superintendent role thoughtfully since the listing flags that function must be absorbed by the new owner. Document quoting, crew assignment, and inspection SOPs during the 30 to 45 day transition so the commercial division stays repeatable without the departing leadership.
Pursue the Texas dealer disclosure rule change that may return dealer tint volume to independent installers. Proactively pitch dealership groups for exclusive install agreements to grow the automotive segment's dealership share above its current 23%.
Formalize recurring or preferred-vendor relationships with property management companies and glass companies that already buy. Multi-building portfolio agreements and re-film cycles convert one-off project work into more predictable repeat volume.
Increase automotive shop utilization, which currently runs 10 to 12 vehicles per day against a 25 to 30 capacity. Marketing spend and dealership contracts to fill the existing bays is high-return since fixed rent and staff are already in place.

Diligence notes

Verify the 39%+ growth claim and the $749,936 cash flow with tax returns and monthly P&Ls over three years. Confirm whether growth is broad-based or driven by a few large commercial jobs, and normalize add-backs including the discontinued PPF line.
Scrutinize revenue concentration in the commercial segment: identify the top customers, the marquee technology-company campus work, and the municipal fleet contract to understand how much of the 71% commercial revenue depends on a handful of GC relationships. Confirm master subcontracts and any named architectural specs transfer.
Assess the management transition risk closely. The listing states the general superintendent function must be replaced by the new owner and the automotive manager leads that division, so quantify what happens to quoting quality and throughput if either departs, and negotiate retention or a longer consulting agreement.
Confirm both leases are assignable as stated, review remaining terms and renewal options on the $6,828 and $7,642 monthly rents, and understand escalation exposure. Two leased facilities in a hot Austin market are a real cost and continuity variable.
Validate the clean risk profile independently: pull liens, litigation, insurance claim history, and confirm no personal guarantees or off-balance-sheet obligations. Also verify the manufacturer warranty reimburses labor and material as claimed, since zero warranty cost is a material margin assumption.
Inventory the owned equipment and vehicles against the promised full asset list, and confirm the film-cutting plotter software licenses are actually transferable. Reconcile the $10,000 to $11,000 stated inventory at cost with actual counts.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →