National Commercial Solar Installer & Funder, New Jersey

$1.3M

Revenue

$635K

SDE

5.5x

Multiple

Subscribe Free

Read the full deal writeup

Get Free Access

Already a member? Sign in

Full Editorial Writeup

This is a national commercial solar installer and project funder based out of Monmouth County, New Jersey. The business does more than swing panels: it structures financing for every project it touches, blending bank debt, power purchase agreements (PPAs) and monetized Investment Tax Credits (ITCs). The three proprietary PPA products (Super Saver, Zero Pay, and the NJ Re-Power Program) let commercial customers go solar with little or no upfront installation cost, which is a meaningful sales lever in a category where sticker shock kills deals.

The stated edge is a lean cost structure that lets the team deliver installs below prevailing market cost, plus an internal capability to monetize smaller tax credits that most competitors cannot bother with. On roughly $1.26M of revenue the business throws off $634,892 in cash flow, an unusually fat margin north of 50 percent for a construction-adjacent services company, which is worth stress-testing hard in diligence.

The listing points to a pipeline of largely cash-pay commercial projects for 2026 and 2027 with more prospects on deck, and the founding operators with 16 years of solar experience are willing to stay on to help close sales. At a $3.5M ask and a 5.51x cash flow multiple, this is priced as a proven, transferable model rather than a distressed flip, so the burden is on the seller to prove the earnings and pipeline are real and durable.

Why we like it

The margin profile is exceptional on paper: $634,892 of cash flow on $1.26M of revenue is better than 50 percent, which is rare for anything touching construction or installation. If that margin is genuine and not the product of unpaid founder labor or one-time credit monetization, the business is a cash machine worth owning.
The financing capability is the real moat, not the panels themselves. Owning three internal PPA products plus an in-house team that can monetize small ITC tax credits removes the number one objection in commercial solar (upfront cost), and that structuring expertise is far harder to replicate than the physical install.
Policy and cost tailwinds still favor commercial solar adoption, and New Jersey has among the more supportive solar incentive regimes in the country. A stated pipeline of mostly cash-pay projects for 2026 and 2027 suggests demand visibility that most project-based contractors never have.
The founding operators bring 16 years of solar experience and are willing to stay on to strategize and close sales. For a capitalized buyer without solar domain knowledge, that retained expertise materially de-risks the transition and keeps the sales engine running while you learn the model.

How to improve it

Immediately separate recurring, contracted PPA cash flows from one-time install and tax-credit revenue. If the PPA products generate ongoing energy payments over 15 to 20 year terms, formalize and package that annuity stream, because a book of contracted PPA payments is far more valuable and financeable than lumpy project revenue.
Build a repeatable outbound sales motion so the business is not dependent on the founders personally closing deals. Hire and script a commercial solar sales team targeting the specific customer profile the PPA products serve, so pipeline conversion survives the sellers' eventual departure.
Lock in subcontractor and installation crew capacity ahead of the 2026 to 2027 pipeline. The stated below-market install cost is the margin engine, so protect it with vendor agreements and standardized project templates before you scale volume and lose the cost discipline.
Diversify the tax-credit monetization channels and buyers. If ITC monetization depends on a narrow set of relationships, add multiple tax-equity buyers and credit-transfer partners so a single policy change or lost buyer does not choke the funding model that underpins every sale.
Systematize project management with software to track each deal from proposal through financing, permitting, install and commissioning. Cleaner pipeline reporting protects the earnings story, catches margin leakage, and makes the business dramatically easier to resell at a higher multiple later.
Expand geographically beyond New Jersey deliberately, using states with comparable solar incentive structures. The model is described as national, so codify which state incentive regimes make the PPA math work and only enter markets where the financing edge translates.

Diligence notes

Interrogate the 50 percent-plus cash flow margin line by line. Confirm whether the $634,892 includes revenue from tax-credit monetization or PPA financing gains that may be non-recurring, and whether founder labor is fully expensed at market rates, because an inflated SDE would blow up the 5.51x multiple.
Get the pipeline in writing with signed contracts, deposits, and stage of financing for each 2026 to 2027 project. A 'robust pipeline' of verbal prospects is worthless; separate contracted, funded work from hopeful leads and understand how much of stated revenue is already committed.
Understand the ITC and PPA financing dependency in detail. Map exactly how the ITC is monetized, who the tax-equity or credit-transfer buyers are, and how exposed the model is to federal solar tax policy changes, since the entire value proposition rests on those credits surviving.
Verify licensing, bonding, and warranty exposure. Commercial solar installs carry long-tail performance guarantees and roof-penetration liability, so confirm what warranty obligations transfer, whether the business self-performs installs or subs them out, and how much contingent liability comes with the deal.
Assess key-person risk around the two 16-year founders. Quantify how much of the pipeline and financing relationships live in their heads, negotiate meaningful earnout or extended consulting terms, and confirm the business functions once they leave beyond the 8-week training window.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →