Organic Dry Cleaner, Absentee-Run Hudson County NJ Plant

$1.3M

Revenue

$519K

SDE

2.9x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is an organic dry cleaning operation in Hudson County, NJ, running out of a 4,000 sq ft plant equipped with a serious hardware stack: a Fulton 20 HP boiler, two 60lb Natura hydrocarbon dry cleaning machines, wet cleaning systems, Unipress shirt and collar presses, Wascomat washers and dryers, four pressing stations, plus shoe repair equipment. The business was established in 2011 and includes an additional drop store, on-site alterations, and shoe repair. It is fully staffed with 12 full-time employees and a manager, which is what allows the current owner to run it absentee.

The positioning is around "organic" and hydrocarbon-based cleaning rather than traditional perc solvents, which appeals to a health and environment conscious residential base while still serving commercial clients on a busy road near both residential and commercial areas. Revenue is roughly $1.25M with reported cash flow of $518,945, a healthy 41% margin for a services operation, and the listing emphasizes that garments are prepaid, which is meaningful for working capital.

The asking price is $1.5M at a 2.89x cash flow multiple, with $550k of FF&E included and SBA financing available. The seller is exiting because they are moving out of state, not retiring, and the real estate is leased with a long runway through September 2036. This is a boring, cash-generative, manager-run local service business with a route-and-repeat customer base.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong for the category: $518,945 of cash flow on $1.25M revenue is a 41% margin, and the prepaid garment model means customers pay before service is rendered, which is favorable for working capital and cash conversion. The 2.89x multiple is reasonable for a business throwing off this kind of owner earnings.
Dry cleaning is a repeat-visit, habit-driven service where the same households and commercial accounts come back week after week without a re-sold transaction each time. Local density and switching friction give it defensible, recurring-style revenue rather than one-off project income.
The equipment package is real and expensive: $550,000 of FF&E including a Fulton boiler, two Natura hydrocarbon machines, Unipress and Wascomat gear, and shoe repair stations. A buyer is acquiring a turnkey, fully outfitted plant rather than building one from scratch, and that hard-asset base supports SBA lending.
The business is already manager-run with 12 full-time staff and a current absentee owner, which de-risks the transition and opens two paths: an owner-operator who steps in to cut overhead and drive growth, or a portfolio buyer who keeps the manager and treats it as a passive cash line.

How to improve it

The listing itself flags underused capacity and light marketing, so a disciplined local advertising push (Google Local, direct mail to nearby residential blocks, commercial account outreach) could fill the plant without adding fixed cost. This is the clearest near-term lever since the equipment can absorb more volume today.
Launch pickup and delivery routes for both residential and commercial clients. Route density in a dense county like Hudson turns occasional walk-ins into standing weekly stops, raises revenue per customer, and builds the exact recurring, contract-style base that lifts a future exit multiple.
Pursue B2B accounts: restaurants, salons, medical offices, hotels, and corporate uniform and linen contracts. These are volume, predictable, and less price-sensitive than one-off retail drop-off, and they smooth seasonality.
Audit and optimize pricing and the prepaid program. Confirm the prepaid balances are being recognized correctly and test modest price increases plus prepaid packages or memberships to lock in recurring commitments and improve cash timing.
Cross-sell the on-site alterations and shoe repair harder at the counter and on receipts. These are high-margin add-ons already staffed and equipped, so incremental attach rate flows almost straight to cash flow.
Tighten labor scheduling against actual throughput. With 12 full-time employees on a plant that reportedly has excess capacity, matching staff hours to volume, or growing volume to justify the current headcount, directly protects the 41% margin.

Diligence notes

Verify the $518,945 cash flow with tax returns and bank statements, and confirm whether the current manager's full compensation is already in the P&L. If a new absentee owner needs to keep or upgrade that manager, the true owner-benefit could be lower than stated.
Scrutinize the lease. Rent is $17,508 per month running through September 2036, which is a large and long fixed obligation. Confirm escalation clauses, assignability for an SBA buyer, and whether the drop store is a separate lease with its own terms.
Confirm the condition, age, and remaining useful life of the $550k equipment stack, especially the Fulton boiler and the two Natura hydrocarbon machines. Get a maintenance history and check for any environmental, solvent handling, or permitting liabilities tied to a cleaning plant.
Understand the prepaid model in detail. Quantify the outstanding prepaid liability at closing, how it is accounted for, and whether unearned prepaid obligations transfer to the buyer, because that is a real liability that can offset the headline cash flow.
Validate the growth claim. The listing says revenue is growing quickly, so pull monthly revenue trends to confirm direction and check customer concentration between retail walk-in versus any commercial accounts.
Since the seller is moving out of state rather than staying involved long term, pin down the exact training period, ensure the manager and key staff are retained through transition, and assess key-person risk on the manager who effectively runs the operation.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →