Established Electrical Contractor, 26-Year Oregon Business

$2.6M

Revenue

$889K

SDE

2.4x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is an established electrical contractor operating in Oregon since 1998, serving commercial, residential, and industrial customers across its local market for over two decades. The business has built its franchise on relationships, reputation, and responsiveness, with general contractors driving a meaningful portion of revenue and positioning the company as a go-to electrical partner for ground-up and remodel construction projects. A team of 10 full-time employees including journeymen, apprentices, and support staff runs the work, which the seller presents as enabling a clean ownership handover.

The business generates $2.63M in revenue and $888,794 in cash flow, a roughly 34 percent owner-earnings margin that is strong for a trade services firm of this size. It operates out of a leased 3,900 square foot metal building with a storefront office and warehouse/shop, and the sale includes $354,483 in FF&E. The asking price of $2.1M implies a 2.36x cash flow multiple, which sits at the reasonable end for a profitable, established electrical contractor.

Notably, the listing discloses that 2025 was a down year driven by the broader construction slowdown, with contracts delayed into 2026. Year-to-date revenue at 6/30/2026 was $1,257,424, suggesting a recovery pace that annualizes near prior levels. A buyer must understand which year's financials the $888,794 cash flow and 2.36x multiple are actually built on, because that distinction materially changes the real purchase multiple.

Why we like it

The cash flow margin is the headline: $888,794 on $2.63M revenue is roughly 34 percent owner earnings, which is excellent for a construction trade where 15 to 20 percent is more typical. At a 2.36x multiple, the stated yield is attractive if the earnings prove durable through the construction cycle. The business is also lender pre-screened at only $220K down, which signals the SBA underwriter saw clean enough books to finance.
Electrical work is genuinely essential and non-deferrable in large part: safety-critical wiring, code compliance, and construction completion all require licensed electricians. A 26-year reputation with local general contractors creates a referral moat that is hard for a new entrant to replicate, since GCs award repeat work based on reliability rather than low bid. The licensed journeyman team is itself a scarce asset in a labor-constrained trade.
Demand tailwinds are real and specific: electrical panel upgrades for EV chargers, solar and battery storage, smart-home technology, and agricultural automation all pull through electrical labor. The owner also flags a rebounding 2026 pipeline including ground-up medical and remodel projects, suggesting the backlog is filling after the 2025 construction slump. These are structural, not fad-driven, demand drivers.
The business is operationally mature with 10 full-time staff and an existing team that handles the work, which means the buyer is acquiring a running crew rather than a solo-operator job. There is clear low-hanging fruit a buyer can execute, such as hiring an estimator to capture more bids and adding emergency and maintenance-contract revenue. The retiring seller and trained team support a lower-risk transition.

How to improve it

Hire a dedicated estimator within the first 90 days, which the seller explicitly flags as missing. More bid capacity directly expands the top of the funnel in a business that is currently constrained by the owner's and team's time, and estimating is the single biggest bottleneck on contractor revenue growth.
Build a recurring maintenance-contract book targeting the local schools, churches, and small commercial shops the listing identifies. Shifting even 15 to 20 percent of revenue to annual service agreements smooths the seasonal spring-through-fall concentration and creates sticky, higher-margin revenue that raises the exit multiple.
Stand up an emergency and after-hours repair line charging premium rates for storm-damage and power-failure work. This captures demand at the highest-margin moment, fills the slow winter months, and differentiates from competitors who only chase construction projects.
Diversify away from general contractor dependence by growing direct commercial and residential channels, since GCs generate a generous portion of revenue and that concentration is a cyclical risk. A targeted outreach program to property managers and business owners reduces exposure to a single construction downturn like the one that hit 2025.
Add renewable and EV-charger installation as a formal service line with its own marketing. Solar, battery storage, and EV infrastructure carry rebates and incentives that drive demand, and the existing licensed crew can deliver them with modest training and certification.
Tighten job costing and project-level margin tracking so the buyer knows which work types and which GCs actually drive the profit. Many contractors run blended numbers that hide money-losing jobs, and cleaning this up can lift margin without adding a dollar of revenue.
Use the slow winter season deliberately for indoor commercial upgrades and panel work, as the seller suggests. Scheduling discretionary projects into the off-season levels crew utilization and reduces the hire-and-fire pressure that plagues seasonal trades.

Diligence notes

Pin down exactly which period the $888,794 cash flow and 2.36x multiple reflect. The listing openly says 2025 was a down year with contracts pushed into 2026, so if the cash flow figure is a peak or a blended normalization, the real forward multiple could be materially higher. Request trailing-three-year financials and tie the number to a specific tax year.
Quantify general contractor concentration precisely, since GCs generate a generous portion of revenue. Identify the top five customers by dollar volume and tenure, and understand what happens to the pipeline if one or two major GCs shift to another electrician after the owner retires.
Verify the licensing structure and whether the business's electrical license travels with the entity or with the retiring owner personally. In many states a qualifying individual must hold the master license, so confirm the buyer or a retained employee can legally keep the company bonded and permitted post-close.
Assess key-employee retention risk among the journeymen, since the entire value proposition rests on a scarce licensed crew. Confirm wages, tenure, non-competes, and whether any key journeymen might follow the owner out the door, and budget retention incentives into the deal.
Confirm the lease terms on the 3,900 square foot leased facility, including remaining term, renewal options, and rate. A short or expiring lease with a landlord who shares parking with other tenants is a real continuity risk for a business that needs shop and storage space.
Review work-in-progress and backlog quality as of the 6/30/2026 $1.26M YTD figure. Confirm the ground-up medical and remodel projects are under signed contract with realistic margins, and verify there are no underwater fixed-price jobs or warranty liabilities on completed work.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →