Denver Restoration & Remodeling Company, 40-Year Colorado Contractor

$3.0M

Revenue

$583K

SDE

2.6x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a Denver-based restoration and remodeling company that has been operating since 1985, giving it a 40-year track record and an established reputation in the Colorado Front Range market. The business generates roughly $3.03M in annual revenue with $582,655 in seller cash flow, running on a lean team of 9 employees (8 full-time, 1 part-time) supported by a vast subcontractor network. It operates out of a 5,000 square foot leased office and warehouse in Denver, with the lease running through the end of 2026 and extendable for a new owner.

The company occupies a favorable middle position in the market: too professional and dependable to compete with small handyman shops, and more personal and nimble than the large corporate and franchised restoration chains. Restoration work (fire, water, storm damage remediation) tends to be less discretionary than pure remodeling, which gives the revenue mix some durability across economic cycles. Customer concentration is low, with no single client dominating revenue, and the business is anchored by a strong referral network where prior customers effectively become the sales channel.

The asking price of $1,499,000 represents a 2.57x multiple on cash flow, which is a reasonable entry point for a 40-year operator with trained staff, proven processes, and $175,000 of FF&E plus $10,000 of inventory included. The seller is retiring, which explains the clean, non-strategic reason for sale. The obvious upside is that the company has essentially never marketed, relying almost entirely on inbound referrals, leaving a clear lever for a more commercially minded owner to pull.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is solid for the size, with $582,655 of cash flow on $3.03M of revenue, an 19% owner-earnings margin that is healthy for a mixed restoration and remodeling shop. Customer diversity is a real plus here since no single client dominates revenue, which removes the single largest tail risk in a contractor sale. The 40-year history means these numbers are not a one-year spike but a durable pattern.
The moat is reputation and referral flow built over four decades, which is genuinely hard to replicate and cheap to maintain. Prior customers act as the sales force, so customer acquisition cost is effectively near zero, and the business sits in a defensible middle lane between handymen and national franchises. That positioning lets it charge for professionalism while keeping the personal touch that wins repeat and referral work.
Restoration demand is largely non-discretionary because fire, water, and storm damage must be repaired regardless of the economy, which softens the cyclicality that pure remodeling would otherwise carry. Colorado and the Denver metro continue to grow, providing a rising base of housing stock and insurance-driven work. That mix gives the buyer both stability and organic tailwind.
The operator advantage is obvious: the business has never really marketed and runs almost entirely on inbound referrals. A buyer who adds even basic direct outreach, digital lead generation, and insurance-adjuster relationships can grow the top line without reinventing operations. You are buying a working machine with an untouched growth lever attached.

How to improve it

Stand up a real marketing engine in the first 90 days, starting with a modern website, local SEO, and Google Business Profile optimization for restoration keywords. The listing states the company relies almost entirely on referrals, so even a modest paid and organic funnel could add meaningful volume quickly. Track cost per lead and cost per booked job from day one to prove the channel economics.
Build direct relationships with insurance carriers and adjusters to capture the higher-margin, faster-paying restoration claims work. Getting on preferred vendor and Third Party Administrator programs creates a steady, non-referral pipeline that is far more predictable than word of mouth. This shifts the revenue mix toward the less discretionary side of the business.
Segment and separately market the remodeling and restoration lines, since they attract different customers and buying triggers. Restoration is urgent and insurance-funded while remodeling is planned and discretionary, so the sales and estimating playbooks should differ. Clear specialization lets you scale each independently rather than treating them as one bucket.
Formalize the subcontractor network with rate cards, performance scorecards, and backup crews to protect margin and delivery capacity as volume grows. The business leans on a vast subcontractor base, which is capital-light but exposes you to availability and quality risk. Locking in reliable partners removes the main bottleneck to taking on more jobs.
Renegotiate or extend the office and warehouse lease well ahead of the 12/31/2026 expiration to remove overhang and secure the Denver footprint. At $8,855 per month, the location is a fixed cost worth locking in on favorable terms before scaling headcount. Certainty on facility keeps the operation stable through the ownership transition.
Install basic recurring revenue mechanisms such as annual maintenance agreements, priority-service memberships, or seasonal inspection programs for past remodeling clients. The current model wins each job fresh, so any contracted or renewing revenue would smooth cash flow and raise the eventual exit multiple. Even a small subscription base changes how the business is valued.
Systematize sales and estimating so the business is not dependent on the departing owners' personal relationships and instincts. Document the referral-to-quote-to-close process, add a CRM, and hire or train a dedicated estimator to protect close rates through the handover. This de-risks the transition and makes the company more sellable later.

Diligence notes

Break down revenue between restoration and remodeling and by insurance-funded versus private-pay work, because the mix drives both margin durability and recession resistance. Restoration claims are less discretionary than kitchen remodels, so a shift toward remodeling would change the risk profile materially. Confirm the trailing three years of this split, not just the current snapshot.
Verify the $582,655 cash flow with tax returns and bank statements, and scrutinize the add-backs used to reach that SDE figure. Confirm whether the two selling owners are both drawing compensation and how much of their labor a single buyer would need to replace. Understaffing risk is real given only 9 employees run a $3M operation heavily reliant on subcontractors.
Test the durability of the referral engine by pulling a customer and job-source log for recent years to confirm no hidden concentration among a few referring parties or general contractors. The listing claims strong diversity, but referral businesses can quietly depend on a handful of repeat sources. Losing one key referrer could hit revenue harder than the marketing narrative suggests.
Assess licensing, bonding, and insurance requirements for a Colorado restoration and remodeling contractor, and confirm all are current and transferable. Restoration work carries liability, mold, and warranty exposure, so review the claims history and any open litigation or unresolved jobs. The attached Colorado construction documents should be read carefully before closing.
Confirm the subcontractor network's stability, key relationships, and pricing, since the business delivers through subs rather than in-house crews. Understand whether these subs are exclusive, loyal to the departing owners, or free agents who may follow the sellers or raise rates. This is the single biggest operational dependency in the deal.
Clarify the lease situation given expiration on 12/31/2026 and whether the extension terms and rent are locked or subject to a landlord increase. Model the impact of a rent hike or forced relocation on the thin nine-person overhead structure. Facility uncertainty is a negotiable risk that should be resolved before or at closing.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →