Specialized Commercial Cleaning Company, ~18-Year Albuquerque B2B Operator

$1.7M

Revenue

$627K

SDE

4.4x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a commercial cleaning company that has served a growing Albuquerque metro market for roughly two decades. It provides specialized B2B cleaning services that hundreds of active commercial accounts schedule on recurring cycles, so the bulk of revenue repeats year after year rather than depending on one-time project work. The model runs on working team leads, each operating a company service vehicle and owning their customer schedule end to end, coordinated through a single field service software platform.

The financials are attractive for a services business of this size. 2026 pro forma revenue is roughly $1.68 million with SDE of about $627,000, a 37% margin that has climbed from 28% three years ago through pricing discipline and operating efficiency. Revenue is growing at a double-digit rate this year without any structured sales program, and the owner works only about 25 hours per week in an oversight role, which signals a business that already runs on systems and people rather than founder heroics.

What makes this notable is the combination of durable recurring demand, a fragmented competitive field dominated by small owner-operators, and a defensible position as one of the established leaders in its service area. Scheduling, pricing, and account history live in software rather than in the owner's head, and the trained field team stays with the business. That is exactly the boring, sticky cash flow profile that survives downturns.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong for a small cleaning business: a 37% SDE margin on $1.68M revenue, up from 28% three years ago on price discipline, shows real operating leverage and pricing power rather than one-time cost cuts. Most janitorial firms grind at thin margins, so this is a genuine outlier worth verifying.
The moat comes from recurring commercial contracts across hundreds of active accounts, a trained team-lead workforce, and roughly two decades of operating history in a fragmented market of small owner-operators. Contracts renew by default and account data lives in field service software, so switching costs and continuity favor the incumbent.
Commercial cleaning is about as recession-resistant as services get: facilities still need cleaning regardless of the economy, and B2B recurring cycles mean revenue does not have to be re-won each month. This is the durable, unsexy cash flow that compounds through cycles.
The owner already works only 25 hours a week in oversight, and the business is growing double digits organically with minimal paid marketing and no structured sales program. An operator who installs even modest sales effort inherits open field and a proven unit economic model on day one.

How to improve it

Execute the pricing headroom immediately. Management already lifted margins from 28% to 37% on price discipline, so audit the account base for below-market contracts and push measured increases at renewal, which drops almost entirely to the bottom line.
Build a structured sales program within the first 90 days. Revenue is growing double digits with no formal sales effort, so hiring or assigning one commercial rep with a defined pipeline and outbound cadence could accelerate new account wins meaningfully.
Cross-sell additional specialized services into existing accounts. With hundreds of active commercial customers who already trust the brand, packaging add-on services and setting a services-per-account target expands revenue without new customer acquisition cost.
Add crew capacity on the proven team-lead model. Each team lead runs a vehicle and owns a customer schedule, so recruiting and training additional leads is a repeatable playbook to convert demand into revenue without reinventing operations.
Pursue geographic expansion into adjacent Southwest metros within practical service range. The team-lead and field-software model is portable, so opening a nearby market replicates proven unit economics rather than building something new.
Formalize customer contracts and retention tracking. Codify renewal terms, measure churn by account, and lock in multi-year agreements where possible to harden the recurring revenue and improve the exit multiple for the next buyer.
Modernize the marketing engine. Marketing is largely organic with minimal spend, so a modest budget on local SEO, Google Business, and targeted B2B outreach could compound the existing organic growth at high ROI.

Diligence notes

The headline figures are 2026 pro forma, not trailing actuals. Demand full trailing twelve month and three-year P&Ls to confirm the $1.68M revenue, $627k SDE, and the margin expansion narrative, because pro forma numbers can overstate the run rate.
Verify the recurring revenue claim with contract documentation. Pull the actual customer agreements, measure what share is contracted versus month-to-month, and analyze account concentration and churn to confirm most revenue truly repeats year after year.
Scrutinize the team-lead workforce, since the business runs on it. Confirm tenure, compensation, whether leads are employees or contractors, and retention risk, because losing key team leads who own customer relationships could unwind the value fast.
Confirm the lease and the owner's true role. The facility is leased with a new lease merely expected, so pin down terms, and validate that the owner really only works 25 hours in oversight rather than holding critical customer relationships personally.
Validate the SDE add-backs and the $150k fleet and equipment value. Review the reconciliation from net income to SDE, confirm the vehicles and equipment transfer free of debt, and assess near-term capex needs for fleet replacement.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →