National General Contractor, 50-State Licensed Retail & Commercial Build-Out, Texas

$84.3M

Revenue

$3.1M

SDE

7.5x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

Founded in 1999 and based in Harris County, Texas, this national general contractor delivers ground-up construction, remodels, and interior build-outs for retail, restaurant, and commercial brands across the country. The model is subcontractor-based and asset-light: instead of carrying crews and heavy equipment, the company runs national account rollout programs through four project-management teams (roughly 48 of its 76 employees), led by a V.P. of Operations and a V.P. of Construction. FY2026 audited revenue hit $84.3 million, up 18.9%, with validated Seller's Discretionary Earnings of $3.1 million per a July 2026 Quality of Earnings report.

What separates this business from a typical GC is its infrastructure and preparation. It is licensed as a general contractor in all 50 states, carries substantial bonding capacity backed by a clean 27-year surety history, and holds $28.1M of signed backlog with repeat multi-project relationships with national brands. The balance sheet is pristine: roughly $11 to 12 million of cash and investments included in the purchase price, zero funded debt, and receivables 100% under 60 days.

The deal is structured as a 100% stock sale to preserve license, contract, and bonding continuity, which matters because those three things are the real moat here. A fresh audit, fresh QoE, and complete data room are done, and the seller is retiring. Headquarters real estate is offered separately at market value, with a long-term lease in place either way, so the asking price is a going-concern operating business plus a large cash cushion.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is unusually well-documented for a business this size, with a fresh independent Quality of Earnings report validating $3.1M SDE, an audited FYE 5/31/26, and receivables 100% under 60 days. That level of preparation strips out much of the surprise risk buyers normally price in, and the clean 27-year surety history reinforces the numbers are real.
The moat is regulatory and relational rather than physical: licensure in all 50 states, substantial bonding capacity, and repeat multi-project relationships with national brands are hard to replicate and take years to build. The 100% stock sale structure preserves that license, contract, and bonding continuity, which is the entire reason a buyer would pay up here.
This is a genuinely asset-light model that throws off cash without heavy capex, since the work is delivered through subcontractors while the company controls the customer relationship and program management. Combined with $28.1M signed backlog and PM capacity to absorb more jobs today, revenue can scale without a proportional cost build-out.
The management bench is deep enough to run without the owner, with a V.P. of Operations and V.P. of Construction leading four PM teams. For a financial buyer or a strategic rolling up national account contractors, that means the seller's retirement does not gut operating capability on day one.

How to improve it

Underwrite the real purchase price net of the $11 to 12 million of cash and investments included in the deal. Backing that out against $3.1M SDE tells you the operating multiple you are actually paying, and lets you negotiate a cash-adjusted price or a working-capital peg rather than accepting a headline 7.45x.
Push national account penetration by cross-selling existing repeat brands into additional program categories: a client using you for remodels may not know you can run their ground-up or interior build-out rollouts. Deepening wallet share with brands who already trust the bonding and delivery is the cheapest revenue in the building.
Formalize a recurring backlog pipeline by converting one-off project relationships into master service agreements and multi-year rollout commitments. Contracted, scheduled program work smooths the lumpiness inherent in project-based GC revenue and makes the earnings stream far more financeable and defensible at exit.
Tighten subcontractor management and margin discipline across the four PM teams with standardized bidding, change-order capture, and vendor scorecards. In a subcontractor-based model, a couple points of gross margin recovered on $84M of revenue is worth more than the entire SDE line, so this is where operator leverage lives.
Given a first-year backlog of $28.1M against $84M revenue, build a dedicated business development function to feed the pipeline rather than relying on inbound repeat work. Even one experienced national account salesperson could meaningfully accelerate program wins with the existing 50-state licensure as a differentiator.
Use the pristine balance sheet and bonding capacity as an acquisition currency to roll up regional GCs or specialty build-out firms serving the same national brands. The infrastructure exists to absorb additional programs immediately, so tuck-ins can be integrated onto a fixed overhead base.

Diligence notes

Interrogate the $3.1M SDE against $84M revenue, because a sub-4% owner-earnings margin is thin for a GC and leaves little room for cost inflation or a bad project. Confirm what the QoE normalized out, whether any large one-time projects inflated the 18.9% growth, and how much of SDE is genuinely transferable after the owner leaves.
Scrutinize the $28.1M signed backlog for concentration, gross margin at bid, and completion risk. Determine what share of revenue comes from the top handful of national brands, since losing one repeat account in a project-based model can swing a year materially.
Validate that the 100% stock sale actually transfers the 50-state licensure, bonding lines, and key contracts without triggering change-of-control termination or re-qualification. Change-of-control notices and surety re-underwriting are the single biggest execution risk, so get the surety and top clients comfortable before closing.
Confirm the $11 to 12 million of cash and investments is truly excess and included per the definitive agreement, and separate operating working capital from surplus cash. Understand how much cash the bonding program requires to be posted or restricted, because restricted cash is not the same as distributable cash.
Assess dependency on the two named executives (V.P. of Operations and V.P. of Construction) and the PM teams, since the asset-light model concentrates institutional knowledge in people rather than equipment. Line up retention agreements and understand compensation before assuming the management team stays post-close.
Model the separately-offered HQ real estate and the $33,750 per month lease running to 2032. Decide whether buying the building at market value or continuing the lease is better for your return, and confirm the lease terms are arm's length and not inflated to benefit the departing owner.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →