Marine Construction Company, 20-Year South Florida Seawall & Dock Contractor

$5.0M

Revenue

$1.4M

SDE

8.9x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a 20-plus year marine construction contractor serving the Broward and Miami-Dade waterfront corridor, one of the densest canal-front and coastal real estate markets in the country. The company builds and repairs seawalls (new construction, caps, and repairs), custom docks, waterfront decking, structural pilings, and sells and installs boat lifts. It operates as a turnkey contractor handling everything from permitting through completion, which is meaningful in a permit-heavy coastal jurisdiction where that capability is a barrier to entry.

The business does roughly $5M in trailing revenue at about $1.35M in cash flow, a 27% margin that is strong for construction and reflects the specialized, permit-gated nature of the work. Management reports $6M to $7M in contracted backlog, including municipal and town contracts, much of which is moving through permitting and expected to bill through 2026. The 2026 plan targets roughly $8M in revenue at a 25% to 30% cash-flow margin, though a buyer should treat that as a forecast rather than a fact.

The asking price of $12M includes roughly $500k of equipment and vehicles plus an owned shop/storage yard with a residence valued around $800k. At 8.89x trailing cash flow, this is priced aggressively for a project-based construction business, with much of the thesis leaning on backlog conversion and forecast growth rather than proven run-rate earnings.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is respectable for construction: roughly $1.35M cash flow on $5M revenue is a 27% margin, well above typical general contracting. Seawall and dock work in this corridor carries specialized pricing power because few contractors can navigate the permitting and marine engineering, which supports the margin.
The moat is regulatory and reputational. A 20-year track record, active licensing, and turnkey permitting capability in Broward and Miami-Dade create real switching friction, and the $6M to $7M contracted backlog including municipal contracts shows the pipeline is not built on a single relationship.
Market tailwinds are structural. Aging seawalls across South Florida's canal-front housing stock, sea-level and storm-driven repair demand, and rising waterfront property values all push non-discretionary replacement and repair work. This is a consolidating, fragmented industry where a well-run platform can bolt on smaller operators.
The deal structure de-risks the buyer meaningfully. Seller financing at 50% down over a 7-year note aligns the owner's incentives, and a willingness to stay up to two years to train an operations manager addresses the biggest risk in an owner-dependent trade business.

How to improve it

Convert the backlog into disciplined billing and cash collection. Put a project-management system in place to track the $6M to $7M pipeline through permitting to invoice, and tie the operations manager's comp to on-time completion and gross margin per job rather than revenue.
Formalize a repair and maintenance recurring layer. Offer seawall inspection contracts, boat lift service plans, and annual maintenance agreements to the existing customer base, turning one-time project clients into a recurring revenue stream that smooths the lumpy construction cash flow.
Reduce owner dependence immediately. Use the two-year transition window to document estimating, permitting relationships, and municipal bidding processes, and to fully empower an operations manager so the business survives the owner's exit without a revenue cliff.
Build a second crew to lift capacity toward the $8M plan. The 2026 target requires throughput the current team may not deliver, so invest in hiring, additional barges or equipment, and permit-processing staff early rather than treating growth as automatic.
Systematize lead generation. Marine construction demand is often referral and permit-driven, so add a digital presence, realtor and marina referral partnerships, and a bidding cadence for municipal RFPs to make the pipeline repeatable rather than dependent on reputation alone.
Pursue tuck-in acquisitions in adjacent counties. Use the platform, licensing, and permitting expertise to roll up smaller seawall and dock operators in Palm Beach and the Keys, buying at lower multiples and consolidating overhead and estimating capability.

Diligence notes

Scrutinize the backlog quality and the 2026 forecast. Verify the $6M to $7M in contracts are signed, funded, and permit-progressing, not verbal or contingent, and understand why trailing revenue is $5M while the plan jumps to $8M. Backlog that is stuck in permitting or concentrated in a few municipal jobs is a different risk profile.
Test the 8.89x multiple hard. Project-based construction typically comps at 3x to 5x cash flow, so this price is nearly double the norm and leans on forecast growth. Strip out the $800k real estate and $500k equipment and re-underwrite the operating business on trailing earnings to see what you are actually paying for the goodwill.
Confirm licensing and permit transferability. Marine construction requires specific contractor licenses and standing with local permitting authorities, so verify these transfer to a new owner or that a qualifying license holder stays on. Loss of the license or permitting relationships would gut the business.
Assess owner and key-employee concentration. Quantify how much revenue, estimating, and municipal relationships run through the owner personally, and lock in the crew leads and estimators with retention agreements. The two-year transition only helps if the institutional knowledge actually transfers.
Review margin durability and cost exposure. Verify the 27% cash-flow margin is normalized and not inflated by one large job or under-counted owner labor, and stress test for concrete, steel, and labor cost inflation plus weather and hurricane disruption that can delay marine projects.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →