Commercial Flat-Roofing Contractor, 76-Year Lawrence County PA

$2.5M

Revenue

$520K

SDE

3.9x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a commercial roofing contractor operating out of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, with roots going back to the 1950s and a 76-year operating history. The work is tightly focused: roughly 97% flat roofing, almost entirely commercial, and primarily private re-roofing rather than public bid work. That focus matters because private re-roofing tends to carry better margins and less bureaucratic drag than the low-bid, bond-heavy municipal work that many roofers chase.

On FY2025 numbers the business does $2.45M in revenue and $520K in EBITDA, a healthy 21% margin for a trade services company. The sale includes owned real estate valued at $125K, and two key employees are in place, which is the backbone of the absentee-friendly claim. The seller is offering an unusually long potential transition window of two to five years.

At a $2.0M asking price against $520K of EBITDA, the deal pencils to roughly 3.85x. That is a fair-to-full multiple for a roofing contractor, and it reflects both the long track record and the absentee structure. The buyer is explicitly told to bring adequate working capital, which is a fair warning for a project-based trade business with lumpy cash cycles.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is solid for the trade: $520K EBITDA on $2.45M revenue is a 21% margin, well above the thin margins many roofers run. The concentration in private re-roofing rather than low-bid public work suggests pricing power and repeat relationships that protect the bottom line.
The moat here is time and reputation. A 76-year operating history in a single county builds a referral network and local brand that a new entrant cannot buy or replicate quickly, and commercial building owners tend to call the roofer they already trust when a leak appears.
Roofs are non-discretionary. A flat commercial roof that fails does not wait for a better economy to get fixed, so re-roofing demand holds up through downturns far better than remodel or new-construction trades that get deferred.
The absentee structure with two key employees already running operations is rare in the trades. If that claim holds under diligence, a buyer can layer this onto an existing platform or run it semi-passively rather than strapping on a tool belt.

How to improve it

Verify and formalize the two key employees with retention agreements and modest equity or bonus incentives before close. The entire absentee thesis rests on these two people staying, so locking them in during the first 90 days is the single highest-leverage move.
Introduce recurring maintenance and inspection contracts on every roof the company installs or repairs. Flat roofs need regular re-caulking, drain clearing, and membrane inspection, so a $500 to $2,000 annual service plan converts one-time jobs into a predictable revenue base and a warm pipeline for future re-roofs.
Build a simple CRM of past commercial customers and their roof install dates. Flat roofs run on a 15 to 25 year replacement cycle, so systematically flagging roofs approaching end of life turns the customer list into a scheduled sales engine instead of waiting for the phone to ring.
Cautiously test selective public bid or GC-subcontract work to smooth revenue troughs without diluting margin. The current private-only focus is a strength, but a controlled second channel can keep crews busy during slow private stretches.
Tighten working capital management given the explicit warning to bring adequate capital. Implement progress billing, deposits on material-heavy jobs, and disciplined receivables collection to reduce the cash strain that comes with project-based roofing.
Invest in a modern website, Google Business presence, and reviews. A 76-year-old contractor often under-markets online, and even modest digital lead generation can capture commercial property managers who search before they call.

Diligence notes

Stress-test the absentee claim by mapping exactly who does estimating, sales, crew management, and vendor relationships today. If the departing owner still holds any of the key customer relationships or bidding know-how, the transition risk is far higher than the listing implies.
Examine revenue concentration and the mix of repeat versus one-time customers. Roofing is inherently lumpy, so understand how many jobs make up the $2.45M, whether any single property manager or building owner drives an outsized share, and how stable that has been year over year.
Reconcile the EBITDA to actual tax returns and bank statements, and confirm what add-backs are baked in. Owner compensation, personal vehicles, and family payroll are common in a 76-year family business, so pin down the real normalized earnings a manager-run entity would produce.
Confirm the working capital requirement in dollars and how it is treated in the deal. The listing flags that a buyer must fund it, so quantify the receivables, work-in-process, and material float needed to run the business without a cash crunch after close.
Verify licensing, bonding, insurance, and any open warranty liabilities on prior installs. A long-tenured roofer carries a tail of workmanship warranties, and you want to understand the exposure on roofs installed in recent years before you own the callback risk.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →