SW Florida Street Sweeping & Site Cleanup, 2009 Fort Myers Contractor

$1.1M

Revenue

$579K

SDE

3.0x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a Southwest Florida operator providing commercial pavement sweeping, construction site cleanup, and pressure washing. Established in 2009, it serves a diversified client mix spanning residential communities, municipalities, and active construction sites, running vacuum trucks and broom tractors on both day and evening schedules. The recurring nature of the work stems from the fact that property owners and contractors must keep sites compliant with environmental and municipal standards, which drives repeat revenue without heavy selling.

The economics are attractive on paper: $1.14M in revenue against $578,925 of owner cash flow, a 51% SDE margin that is rich for a services business and worth pressure-testing. The asking price of $1.75M represents roughly a 3.02x multiple on SDE, with $430,000 of FF&E (the truck and tractor fleet) included in the price. That equipment-heavy structure means a meaningful portion of the purchase is hard assets rather than pure goodwill.

What makes this notable is the combination of essential, compliance-driven demand and a growth market. Southwest Florida's ongoing commercial and residential development feeds a steady pipeline of new construction sites needing cleanup, and the municipal contracts provide a stickier baseline. The obvious concern is the tiny headcount: just 2 full-time employees, which raises questions about how much of the operation depends on the owner personally driving trucks and managing accounts.

Why we like it

The 51% SDE margin on $1.14M of revenue produces $578,925 of owner cash flow, which is exceptional for a services business and covers debt service comfortably at a 3.02x multiple. If those margins are real and durable, the payback period is fast and the downside is protected by $430,000 of included fleet value.
Street sweeping and construction site cleanup are compliance-driven, not discretionary. Municipalities and contractors must keep sites meeting environmental and stormwater standards, so the revenue tends to be repeat and recurring rather than project-dependent one-offs that vanish in a downturn.
Southwest Florida remains one of the fastest-growing metros in the country, and every new commercial and residential development creates fresh sweeping and cleanup demand. This is a rising tide that expands the account pipeline without the owner needing to fight for market share.
The business comes with a real fleet of vacuum trucks and broom tractors valued at $430,000, so a buyer is not paying pure goodwill. A capable operator who can add a second or third crew has a clear path to scale the same asset base across more accounts.

How to improve it

Audit the revenue mix between municipal contracts and construction-site work in the first 30 days, then lock in the municipal accounts with multi-year renewals. Recurring government contracts are the stickiest revenue here and anchoring them protects the base while you grow the construction pipeline.
Add a second sweeping crew and truck to capture the construction growth the listing describes. With only 2 employees today, the operation is capacity-constrained, and incremental crews on an already-owned equipment platform should drop meaningfully to the bottom line.
Build a simple route-density and scheduling system to maximize trucks-per-day utilization. Sweeping economics live or die on minimizing dead miles between accounts, and tightening routes in a concentrated SW Florida footprint directly lifts margin.
Layer in recurring pressure washing and periodic maintenance contracts for the residential communities and HOAs already in the book. Cross-selling existing accounts is the cheapest revenue available and turns one-time cleanups into scheduled recurring work.
Formalize the sales function that clearly does not exist with a 2-person team. Even a part-time estimator calling on general contractors and property managers across Lee, Collier, and Charlotte counties could materially expand the account base in a growing market.
Reduce owner dependency by documenting routes, pricing, and client relationships and promoting a lead operator. The tiny headcount suggests the seller is deeply hands-on, so building a management layer is essential before any second location or exit.

Diligence notes

Scrutinize the 51% SDE margin closely. A margin that high on a fleet-based services business usually means owner labor is embedded (the owner is driving a truck), so normalize for a replacement operator's salary and confirm what real cash flow looks like to a passive owner.
Verify the condition, age, and maintenance history of the vacuum trucks and broom tractors carried at $430,000. Sweeping equipment is capital-intensive and wears hard; a near-term replacement cycle could turn stated cash flow into a much lower true free cash figure.
Get the customer concentration breakdown and contract terms. With only $1.14M of revenue, a single large municipal or construction account walking away could erase a chunk of earnings, so confirm contract length, renewal history, and how much of the book is truly recurring.
Test the reason for selling, listed vaguely as 'other interest.' Understand why a seemingly cash-generative business is being sold, whether the owner is the primary operator or salesperson, and how the account relationships transfer with only 2 weeks of training offered.
Confirm compliance, licensing, and any environmental permitting tied to the sweeping and pressure-washing work. Wastewater and debris disposal from these operations can carry regulatory obligations, and any lapses would be a hidden liability for a buyer.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →