Diversified Specialty Contractor, Installed Building Products, Jacksonville FL

$8.4M

Revenue

$513K

SDE

3.7x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a diversified specialty contractor based in Duval County (Jacksonville), Florida, that installs a broad menu of building products for residential and light commercial customers. Revenue streams span fireplaces, stone, outdoor kitchens, screen rooms, garage doors, pavilions, gutters, gas lines, shutters, and decking. Founded in 2009, the business runs on roughly $8.4M in gross revenue with $512,913 in EBITDA and a team of 40 full-time employees.

The product mix is telling: this is not a single-trade shop but a multi-category installer that has bolted on adjacent product lines over 15 years. That diversification lowers reliance on any one category but also means the company is essentially a project-based construction operation, with each sale won one at a time. The asking price of $1.9M works out to roughly 3.7x EBITDA, with $625k of FF&E included and $325k of inventory sitting outside the price.

The seller is described as virtually absentee and is exiting for retirement, which means a functioning management layer likely already runs day-to-day operations. That is a real asset for a buyer, but it also demands scrutiny: an absentee owner in a project-driven contracting business raises questions about who owns the customer relationships and estimating function. SBA financing is explicitly not available, which narrows the buyer pool and puts the burden on cash or seller-structured terms.

Why we like it

The business throws off $512,913 in EBITDA on $8.4M revenue at a 3.7x multiple, which is a reasonable entry price for a contractor of this scale. With $625k of FF&E included, a meaningful slice of the price is backed by hard assets rather than pure goodwill.
Ten-plus product lines (fireplaces, stone, garage doors, screen rooms, decking, gutters, gas lines) spread risk across categories so a slowdown in one trade does not sink the business. The listing describes competition as limited, suggesting a defensible local position in the Jacksonville market.
Florida remains a strong tailwind: population growth, new home construction, and a robust renovation market feed steady demand for installed exterior and outdoor-living products. Outdoor kitchens and screen rooms in particular ride the sustained Sun Belt outdoor-living trend.
The seller is virtually absentee with 40 full-time employees, meaning the operating machinery already exists without the owner in the field. A hands-on operator or a buyer installing a GM could unlock upside simply by tightening pricing, scheduling, and cross-selling across the existing product lines.

How to improve it

Audit gross margin by product line within the first 90 days and cut or reprice the categories dragging profitability. With ten-plus lines, it is near certain some are subsidizing others, and rationalizing the mix could lift EBITDA meaningfully without adding revenue.
Build a systematic cross-sell motion so a garage door customer is offered gutters, a screen room buyer is offered an outdoor kitchen, and so on. Each existing job is a warm lead for adjacent products, and structured cross-selling raises average ticket at minimal acquisition cost.
Install or upgrade a CRM and job-costing system to track leads, quotes, close rates, and per-project margin. An absentee-run contractor often lacks operating discipline, so basic pipeline and cost visibility is where quick money hides.
Layer in recurring revenue where the product set allows: gutter cleaning plans, garage door maintenance contracts, and gas line service agreements. Converting one-off installs into service relationships smooths cash flow and lifts enterprise value at exit.
Formalize the management team and document estimating, purchasing, and scheduling processes before the seller leaves. Since the owner is absentee, identify who actually holds the knowledge and lock them in with retention incentives.
Push online lead generation and reviews to reduce dependence on any referral concentration. A local installer in a growing metro can win share cheaply with strong Google presence and paid local search across each product vertical.

Diligence notes

Reconcile the numbers carefully: the listing shows EBITDA of $512,913 but Cash Flow (SDE) as Not Disclosed. Confirm whether the $512,913 is truly owner-independent EBITDA given the seller is absentee, or whether a real GM salary and other add-backs need to be normalized.
Probe the absentee claim hard. If the owner is virtually absent, map exactly who runs sales, estimating, purchasing, and field operations, and assess flight risk for those key employees when the sale closes.
Analyze revenue concentration by product line and by customer or builder relationship. A diversified product list can still hide dependence on one or two homebuilder accounts or a single high-margin category.
Understand why SBA financing is not available, as this is a red flag worth explaining. It could reflect inconsistent books, gaps in tax reporting, or licensing issues, all of which materially affect deal structure and price.
Verify contractor licensing, bonding, insurance, and any warranty or callback liabilities across all trades. A multi-trade installer carries workmanship exposure on decks, gas lines, and structures that could surface as future claims.
Assess the $325,000 of inventory excluded from the asking price and the $625,000 FF&E included. Confirm the FF&E is in working order and current, and negotiate the inventory purchase separately at true market value rather than book.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →