Commercial Roofing Contractor, 50-Year Central Illinois Business

$1.9M

Revenue

$671K

SDE

6.0x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a family-owned commercial roofing contractor operating for 50-plus years in Central Illinois, positioned geographically between Chicago and St. Louis. The company specializes in commercial roofing work, is fully licensed, and has built durable client relationships supported by a year-round leadership team that stays intact through seasonal demand swings. On roughly $1.93M in revenue it throws off $671k in owner cash flow, a 35 percent margin that is healthy for a trade contractor and speaks to pricing power built over five decades in market.

The business runs on referrals and repeat bids rather than heavy marketing spend, and it carries a notable trust signal: manufacturers and suppliers allow the company to sign off on completed jobs, which is the highest level of confidence a supplier extends to a contractor. That relationship matters because it can unlock better warranty terms, faster material access, and preferred-installer status. The seller reports a large addressable base within a 75-mile radius, citing tens of millions of square feet of commercial roof on buildings over 20,000 square feet.

The deal includes $100k of inventory, $250k of FF&E, plus all vehicles and roofing equipment including a roof loader, and operates from a 15,000 square foot owned building. The seller is pursuing early retirement, will provide open-ended transition support, and is offering seller financing to qualified buyers. Notably the owner states he has run the business to match his own comfort level, which signals real headroom for a more aggressive operator.

Why we like it

The economics are strong for a trade contractor: $671k of cash flow on $1.93M revenue is a 35 percent owner margin, well above typical roofing comps and a sign of established pricing power. Commercial roofing is largely non-discretionary because building owners must maintain and replace failing roofs regardless of the economic cycle. That combination of high margin and essential service is exactly the earnings profile we want.
A 50-plus year operating history in a defined regional market is a real moat in the trades. Long-tenured relationships, a referral pipeline, and manufacturer sign-off authority are hard to replicate quickly, and the intact year-round leadership team means institutional knowledge does not walk out the door with the owner. New entrants cannot buy 50 years of trust.
Commercial roofing benefits from steady replacement demand and deferred-maintenance backlogs, and the seller cites a large addressable base of over 42 million square feet of qualifying commercial roof within 75 miles. Reroofing cycles are driven by material lifespan, not sentiment, which supports durable long-term demand. The green roof trend adds an optional upside lane.
The owner explicitly states he has run the business to his own comfort level, which is code for underexploited capacity. That leaves clear room for a hungry operator to expand crews, chase more bids, and formalize a maintenance program. Seller financing and open-ended transition support further de-risk the handoff for the right buyer.

How to improve it

Launch a recurring commercial roof maintenance and inspection program to convert one-time reroof customers into annual contract revenue. Building owners value proactive leak prevention and warranty preservation, and a subscription tier would smooth the seasonality that currently forces reliance on part-time labor. This is the single biggest lever to make the cash flow more durable and the business more valuable at exit.
Build out a real sales and estimating function to capture more of the bid volume the seller already references. If the owner has been coasting to his comfort level, a dedicated bidder chasing the pipeline could lift revenue materially without new market entry. Track bid-win rate and quote turnaround as the core operating metrics.
Formalize and digitize the customer database, referral tracking, and project history, which likely live in the owner's head after 50 years. Systematizing this protects the intangible value during transition and creates a warm-lead engine for repeat and referral business. It also makes the manufacturer sign-off relationships transferable and defensible.
Add adjacent commercial envelope services such as sheet metal, gutters, coatings, and waterproofing to raise revenue per job. These are natural cross-sells that leverage the existing crews, reputation, and supplier relationships. Attach rate on add-on services should be a tracked KPI within the first two quarters.
Reduce owner key-person risk by promoting or hiring a general manager to run day-to-day operations. This makes the business more absentee-friendly, protects against a single point of failure, and is essential before any roll-up or add-on acquisition strategy. It also improves the eventual resale multiple.
Pursue the green roof and energy-efficient roofing trend the seller flags, targeting municipal, institutional, and ESG-minded commercial clients. These jobs often carry higher margins and grant or incentive funding that de-risks the customer's spend. Position the 50-year brand as the trusted regional expert in this niche.

Diligence notes

Scrutinize revenue concentration and the referral pipeline: confirm how much of the $1.93M comes from a handful of repeat clients versus a broad base. Roofing is project-based and lumpy, so review three to five years of monthly revenue and backlog to understand seasonality and any single-customer dependency. A concentrated book meaningfully changes the risk profile at a 5.96x multiple.
Validate the $671k cash flow with tax returns and a quality-of-earnings review, and clarify exactly which owner expenses are being added back. Confirm whether the figure is true SDE or includes non-recurring or aggressive addbacks. At a $4M ask, every point of margin needs to be defensible before financing.
Understand the crew and labor model closely, since 8 of 12 employees are seasonal part-timers. Assess wage rates, availability of skilled roofers in Central Illinois, and whether the year-round leadership team will stay post-close. Labor scarcity is the number one operational risk in the trades.
Clarify the real estate situation: the listing shows an owned 15,000 sq ft building but marks Real Estate as Not Disclosed and does not clearly fold it into the asking price. Determine whether the property is included, sold separately, or leased back, because it materially changes the effective operating multiple. Get the lease or purchase terms in writing.
Verify the condition, age, and value of the included fleet and equipment, including the roof loader and vehicles, against the stated $250k FF&E figure. Deferred capex on trucks and heavy equipment can quickly erode the cash flow after close. Confirm the equipment is owned free and clear and not subject to liens or leases.
Confirm licensing, bonding, insurance, and warranty obligations transfer cleanly to a new owner, including the manufacturer sign-off authority that is central to the value story. Review any open warranty liabilities on past jobs and outstanding litigation or callback claims. In roofing, unresolved warranty exposure can become a hidden liability.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →