Union Electrical Contractor, 25-Year Long Island Commercial & Residential Shop

$3.2M

Revenue

$555K

SDE

2.5x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a union-shop electrical contracting business operating across Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island for over 25 years. It serves a mix of commercial and residential clients including developers, property managers, general contractors, and private homeowners, with work spanning multifamily builds, office fit-outs, restaurant buildouts, and ongoing service and maintenance. The operation carries roughly 20+ skilled field employees plus a full supervisory structure, meaning the crew and management layer are already in place for a buyer.

The economics are attractive on the surface: $3.2mm in revenue, $555k in cash flow, and an asking price of $1.399mm for a 2.52x multiple. Management reports year-over-year growth since 2019 (excluding 2022, attributed to a project cycle wrap-up), 80% revenue growth in 2024, and a forecasted 36% additional growth in 2025. The sale includes a clean vehicle fleet, indoor lifts, and well-maintained tools, with the real estate leased and not part of the deal.

The seller is retiring and offering a short transition plus a regional non-compete. The listing flags recurring contracts with storage centers, property managers, and mid-to-large developers, which gives the revenue base more durability than a pure project-bid shop. The catch is the union structure and the Nassau/Suffolk licensing requirements, both of which narrow the buyer pool to licensed operators or strategic acquirers who can carry the labor model.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is solid for the price: $555k cash flow on $3.2mm revenue at a 2.52x multiple is below the typical range for a 25-year contractor with a supervisory structure already in place. The buyer is not paying up for the recent growth spike, which leaves room if the numbers hold on normalized diligence.
Electrical work is genuinely non-discretionary. Multifamily builds, office fit-outs, and service and maintenance keep flowing through downturns because code compliance, repairs, and existing project pipelines do not pause, which underwrites the durability of the base.
The recurring contract layer with storage centers, property managers, and developers is the most valuable asset here. Repeat maintenance and service relationships with property managers create a base of work that does not have to be re-bid from scratch each cycle, softening the boom-bust nature of new construction.
The team transfers with the business: 20+ field electricians plus supervision means a buyer inherits capacity and licensing infrastructure rather than rebuilding a crew in a tight Long Island labor market. That is the real barrier to entry and the reason a strategic buyer would pay for this rather than start cold.

How to improve it

Segment revenue between one-time project work and recurring service/maintenance contracts within the first 90 days. If the maintenance base is larger than assumed, lean into it with formal service agreements and predictable billing, which raises exit multiple and smooths cash flow.
Institutionalize the estimating and bidding function away from the retiring owner. Document how jobs are priced and won so the growth is repeatable under new ownership, because a 36% forecast means nothing if it lives in the seller's head.
Push preventive maintenance contracts on the existing property manager and storage center relationships. Convert reactive service calls into scheduled recurring agreements, which locks in labor utilization and creates a predictable revenue floor between construction cycles.
Audit and expand the union labor productivity metrics. With 20+ field employees, small gains in job costing, crew scheduling, and material waste flow straight to the 17% cash flow margin, and there is likely slack in a founder-run shop.
Diversify beyond the concentration of mid-to-large developers. If a few developer relationships drive a large share of revenue, build out the residential and small-commercial service channel to reduce dependence on cyclical construction and single-customer risk.
Formalize the supervisory succession plan. Identify and lock in the key foremen with retention agreements before close, since the whole value proposition collapses if the crew and supervisors walk when the owner leaves.

Diligence notes

Scrutinize the growth story hard. 80% revenue growth in 2024 and 36% forecast for 2025 against a 2022 dip attributed to project wrap-up screams project-based lumpiness, not steady compounding. Pull three to five years of monthly revenue and backlog to see whether the recent spike is durable or a one-off large project.
Quantify the recurring revenue precisely. The listing claims recurring contracts but gives no dollar figure, so demand the actual maintenance contract schedule with terms, renewal history, and revenue attributable to each. Recurring is the thesis, and it must be verified, not assumed.
Model the union cost structure and any pension or multiemployer plan obligations. Union shops can carry withdrawal liability and benefit costs that materially change the real earnings and can create a hidden liability at closing. Get the collective bargaining agreement and any pension funding status.
Confirm licensing transferability in Nassau and Suffolk. The listing explicitly requires proper licensing to operate, so verify whether the master electrician license is held by the owner personally or by a retained employee, because if it leaves with the seller the business cannot operate.
Verify customer concentration among the developers and property managers. Establish what percentage of revenue and cash flow comes from the top three to five accounts, and whether those relationships are contractual or personal to the retiring owner.
Normalize the $555k cash flow for owner add-backs, vehicle costs, and the fleet condition. Confirm the fleet and lifts included are actually owned free and clear, and separate genuine SDE from aggressive add-backs before accepting the 2.52x multiple.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →