Premier Pool Construction & Service Company, 15-Year Long Island Contractor

$8.0M

Revenue

$3.0M

SDE

4.0x

Multiple

Subscribe Free

Read the full deal writeup

Get Free Access

Already a member? Sign in

Full Editorial Writeup

This is a full-service pool company operating out of two locations serving Long Island and Queens, one of the wealthier and more densely populated suburban markets in the country. The business does new pool construction, renovations, ongoing maintenance, repairs, outdoor living design, and seasonal open/close services. With roughly 40 employees, about $2 million in equipment, and an almost 5-star Google rating across 100-plus reviews, the operation has built durable local brand equity over 15-plus years.

The key to the story is the mix. Construction is lumpy, project-based, and discretionary, but the maintenance, repair, and seasonal service arms generate the recurring, sticky revenue that keeps crews busy year over year and smooths the cash flow. On $8M in revenue the business throws off $3M in owner cash flow, a 37.5% margin that is unusually strong for a construction-heavy home services company and suggests either heavy service mix or efficient project execution.

At $12M against $3M of cash flow, the deal is priced at 4x, with the seller offering up to 50% financing for qualified buyers and staying on in a business development role. The seller is exiting for other business interests rather than retirement, which is worth probing. The pitched upside is textbook home-services roll-up logic: expand recurring maintenance contracts, chase commercial accounts, extend geographically, tighten digital marketing, and bolt on acquisitions.

Why we like it

The earnings quality is anchored by a $3M cash flow on $8M revenue, a 37.5% margin that is exceptional for anything touching construction. Management-provided figures plus a recurring service base suggest the profit is not entirely dependent on winning new pool builds each year, but this margin is high enough that you must verify how much is construction versus service.
The service and maintenance side creates real durability. Pool owners in Long Island and Queens pay every season for opens, closes, cleanings, and repairs, and that returning customer base with a near 5-star reputation is expensive for a competitor to replicate. The moat here is local density, brand, and 40 trained employees in a market with high pool concentration.
The geography is a genuine tailwind. Long Island and Queens have high-income homeowners with existing installed pool bases that require perpetual servicing, and outdoor living spend has stayed elevated post-2020. Density of pools in the service radius directly compounds route efficiency and referral flywheel.
The operator advantage is clear: the current owner is exiting to focus on other interests and is willing to stay on in marketing and business development. That means the operational core (crews, techs, scheduling) can run without the seller, and a buyer who professionalizes sales, pricing, and recurring plan attach can pull real upside without reinventing the business.

How to improve it

Segment and grow the recurring maintenance base in the first 90 days. Move one-off service customers onto annual or seasonal contracts billed on autopay, because contracted revenue smooths the construction lumpiness and lifts the multiple at your eventual exit.
Attack commercial accounts explicitly. Condos, HOAs, hotels, gyms, and municipalities need contracted pool service and pay reliably year-round, and a dedicated B2B rep could add high-margin recurring revenue that is less discretionary than residential new builds.
Tighten pricing and job-level margin tracking on construction and renovation work. Project businesses hide margin leakage in materials and labor overruns, so install job-costing so every build and reno is measured against target gross margin before you scale volume.
Rebuild the digital marketing funnel around the near 5-star reputation with 100-plus reviews. Systematize review generation, run paid search for high-intent pool construction and repair queries in the Long Island and Queens ZIPs, and convert the brand strength into a predictable lead machine.
Cross-sell outdoor living design into the existing service and maintenance base. Every pool you already service is a warm lead for patios, hardscape, lighting, and renovation, and mining that installed base is cheaper than buying new leads.
Formalize a second-in-command operations leader if the seller is truly exiting to other interests. His willingness to stay only for a transition means you need a durable GM or ops manager in place before close so the business does not depend on his relationships.

Diligence notes

Break the $8M revenue and $3M cash flow into construction, renovation, maintenance, repair, and seasonal service. The whole thesis rests on how much is genuinely recurring service versus one-time project work, because a 37.5% margin built mostly on lumpy construction is far riskier and more cyclical than the same margin built on contracted maintenance.
The figures are management-provided with no disclosed EBITDA, so demand three years of tax returns and financials to confirm the $3M cash flow and understand the addbacks. Verify whether the $2M of equipment and $2M inventory line are real, current-value assets or inflated numbers propping up the $12M ask.
Probe the real reason for selling. The listing cites other business interests rather than retirement, so confirm the owner is not exiting ahead of a known problem such as key employee departures, a large warranty liability on installed pools, or an expiring lease at one of the two locations.
Both locations are leased, so review lease terms, remaining years, renewal options, and rent escalations. With no real estate in the deal, the operating leases are a core part of continuity and a short or expiring lease at a strategic Long Island or Queens location is a material risk.
Assess customer and revenue concentration and seasonality. A Northeast pool business is heavily weighted to spring through fall, so understand the winter cash flow gap, how the 40-person workforce is retained off-season, and whether any single builder relationship or referral source drives an outsized share of construction revenue.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →