Market-Leading Flooring Business, Knoxville TN Design & Install Contractor

$3.8M

Revenue

$552K

SDE

4.3x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a Knoxville-based flooring retailer and installer positioned as one of the market leaders in its region. The product mix is broad: hardwood, tile, vinyl, carpet, and laminate flooring, plus wall tile and brick, countertops, and full design and install services. The business runs roughly 30 or more jobs per week at an average 38% margin, generating about $3.84M in 2025 revenue and $552K in net income (cash flow to owner).

The model blends showroom retail with a services arm, which is typical of full-service flooring operations. The stated growth story is a push into commercial sales, an underdeveloped channel that could add meaningful volume with a dedicated estimator and sales team. Revenue today appears to lean on residential remodel and new-construction demand, both of which move with housing turnover, interest rates, and discretionary home-improvement budgets.

What makes this deal notable is the flexible structure. The seller offers 100% at $2.4M or an 80% partnership buy-in at $1.8M, where the incoming partner runs day-to-day operations while existing leadership drives growth. That optionality lets an operator get in with less capital and a de-risked handoff, but it also signals the seller wants to retain upside and stay involved.

Why we like it

The financials are clean and specific: $3.84M revenue, $552K cash flow, and a stated 38% average margin across roughly 30-plus jobs a week. At a 4.35x multiple on SDE, the ask is in line with flooring and home-improvement comps, and seller financing plus a partnership option let a buyer control the asset with meaningfully less cash down.
The business claims market leadership in a specific, defensible geography (Knoxville), which for a flooring installer means brand recognition, contractor relationships, and repeat referral flow. That local density is the moat in this category, since flooring is bought locally and reputation drives the phone ringing.
Knox County sits in one of the faster-growing metros in the Southeast, and Tennessee has benefited from sustained in-migration and homebuilding. Housing formation and remodel activity feed directly into flooring demand, giving a competent operator a real tailwind if rates ease.
There is an obvious, seller-flagged growth lever in commercial sales, a channel the business has barely tapped. A buyer who adds a commercial estimator and bids into property managers, builders, and GCs could grow revenue without cannibalizing the existing residential book.

How to improve it

Stand up a dedicated commercial sales function in the first 90 days: hire or assign one estimator to bid property managers, apartment turns, general contractors, and builders. Commercial work smooths the seasonality of residential remodel and provides repeat volume from a small number of accounts.
Attack the 38% margin by tightening material purchasing and installer labor. Renegotiate volume pricing with hardwood, tile, and vinyl suppliers and audit subcontractor versus in-house crew economics on the 30-plus weekly jobs to find gross margin points.
Build a systematic referral and review engine. Flooring buyers research locally, so a disciplined process for Google reviews, past-customer referrals, and builder relationships converts the market-leader reputation into lower customer acquisition cost.
Add a financing offer at the showroom point of sale. Consumer financing on higher-ticket hardwood and countertop jobs lifts average order value and close rates, and the interest income or promo economics can be captured with minimal operational lift.
Formalize the sales pipeline and CRM so quotes, follow-ups, and job scheduling are tracked. Many owner-run flooring shops leak revenue on unquoted or un-followed leads, and a simple CRM discipline recovers close rate immediately.
Layer in adjacent recurring-adjacent services such as maintenance, refinishing, and warranty programs on installed hardwood. These bring past customers back and create a modest repeat revenue base in a business that is otherwise transactional.

Diligence notes

Confirm exactly what the $552,189 represents: the listing labels it both Net Income and Cash Flow (SDE). Get the add-back schedule, owner compensation, and whether current leadership's salaries are in or out, because under the 80% partnership structure existing owners stay involved and their pay directly affects go-forward economics.
Scrutinize the revenue mix between showroom retail sales and installation services, and the split between residential and commercial. Flooring is cyclical and tied to housing turnover and rates, so understand how 2025 revenue held up versus prior years and what drove the stated strong growth.
Vet the labor model: how many jobs are done by in-house crews versus subcontractors, installer availability, and key-person risk. A market-leading flooring shop lives or dies on reliable installation capacity, and losing a lead installer or crew can crater on-time completion.
Understand the partnership buy-in mechanics in detail. If buying 80% at $1.8M with sellers retaining 20% and shifting to growth, define roles, capital calls, distribution policy, buyout terms, and what happens if the growth initiatives underperform.
Since real estate is leased, review the showroom and warehouse lease term, rent, renewal options, and whether the location is central to the brand's foot traffic. A short or above-market lease is a hidden cost and a relocation risk in a location-dependent retail business.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →