Premium LED Retrofit & Lighting Integrator, NYC Commercial Contractor

$1.9M

Revenue

$975K

SDE

2.4x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a turnkey LED retrofit and lighting integration business serving high-end commercial clients across New York City, including Class A institutional landlords, premier sports venues, and top facilities. Founded in 2014, the company handles the full project lifecycle: audit, design, procurement, installation, controls integration, and optimization. It has carved out a defensible niche as one of only a handful of non-union electrical contractors granted access to institutional portfolios, which is a meaningful barrier given the design-sensitivity and access restrictions of fully occupied Class A buildings.

The model is capital-light and home-based, running on 38 contractors with minimal fixed assets and no owned real estate. On roughly $1.9M in revenue it throws off $975K in cash flow at 50%+ gross margins, which is a strong conversion rate driven by lean overhead and a project-management-first posture rather than volume chasing. Notably, the business does not hold an electrical license or permit itself, which is a structural point a buyer must understand before underwriting.

Demand here is described as structural rather than cyclical: tightening energy codes and corporate ESG/sustainability mandates force building owners to modernize lighting whether they want to or not. The owner works only part-time hours and regularly turns away work due to bandwidth, which is the classic setup where a full-time operator or a dedicated sales hire could unlock meaningful growth. Two active opportunities over $1M each are already in the pipeline, sourced through GC and project-management relationships rather than the anchor account.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is unusually strong for a contractor: $975K cash flow on $1.9M revenue implies roughly 51% owner earnings margin, backed by 50%+ gross margins and a QOE Lite offered up front. The willingness to support diligence with a quality-of-earnings document signals a seller who expects the numbers to hold, which is rare at this deal size.
The moat is access, not just capability. Being one of only a handful of non-union electrical contractors allowed into institutional Class A portfolios and premier venues is a real barrier that took years of preferred-vendor trust to build. Those relationships plus exclusive NYC distribution rights for commercial circadian lighting are hard for a new entrant to replicate.
Demand is genuinely structural. Energy code compliance and corporate ESG mandates mean building owners are required to retrofit, not choosing to, so revenue tracks regulation rather than discretionary capex. Even AI data center buildout requires compliant lighting infrastructure, which broadens the tailwind.
This is a textbook operator-advantage deal. The current owner runs it part-time and turns away work, so a full-time buyer or one sales hire could scale without inventing a new strategy. Two live opportunities over $1M each are already sourced through relationships outside the anchor account.

How to improve it

Hire a dedicated business-development or estimator role in the first 90 days to stop turning away work. The owner is currently the bottleneck at part-time hours, so converting even a fraction of declined jobs directly drops to the bottom line given 50%+ gross margins.
Systematize the existing client base into a proactive retrofit pipeline. Class A portfolios have dozens of buildings each, and once you are the preferred vendor for one, a structured account-mapping process can surface repeat retrofit and controls-upgrade work across the whole portfolio.
Build recurring revenue through lighting-controls maintenance and monitoring contracts. The business installs advanced controls but earns primarily on one-off projects; adding service and optimization agreements would smooth revenue and increase enterprise value at exit.
Resolve the licensing structure. The business currently holds no electrical license or permit, so formalizing a licensing relationship or bringing a licensed electrician in-house would reduce dependence on third parties, protect access to institutional clients, and de-risk the operation.
Cross-sell adjacent services identified by the seller: HVAC, electrical, and energy management. You already have trusted access inside these buildings, so bundling complementary energy work raises revenue per client without new customer acquisition cost.
Convert the 38-contractor model into a more predictable capacity plan. A blended model with a small core of employed project leads plus a contractor bench would improve execution reliability on the large $1M+ jobs now entering the pipeline.
Formalize the pipeline and CRM. The two active $1M+ opportunities came through informal GC relationships; institutionalizing lead tracking would make revenue less dependent on the owner's personal network and more transferable to a buyer.

Diligence notes

Scrutinize the revenue volatility. The listing cites $1.9M historical revenue but says 2026 is pacing for $1.5-2M, a wide and slightly lower range for a project-based business. Pull three to five years of revenue and gross profit by job to understand lumpiness and how much depends on a few large contracts.
Investigate the anchor institutional account concentration. The business leans on preferred-vendor status with a small set of Class A landlords and venues; quantify what percentage of revenue and cash flow comes from the top one to three clients and assess transferability of those relationships post-sale.
Verify the licensing arrangement in detail. The business holds no electrical license or permit, which is unusual for an electrical contractor. Confirm exactly who pulls permits, how liability flows, and whether institutional clients require the entity itself to hold credentials that a buyer would need to secure.
Validate the QOE and margin claims. Request the QOE Lite and reconcile the $975K cash flow to tax returns and bank statements, paying close attention to owner add-backs given the owner works only part-time. Confirm the 50%+ gross margin holds across job types and is not inflated by a single favorable project.
Test the durability of the circadian lighting exclusivity. Get the actual distribution agreement, its term, renewal conditions, and how much revenue it actually drives today versus positioning. Exclusivity is only valuable if it is contractually protected and transferable to the buyer.
Assess key-person risk on the 38 contractors. Determine whether project leads and skilled installers are loyal to the owner or the company, whether any are effectively subcontractors who could compete, and what retention looks like through a transition.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →