FOR MULTI-TRADE AND SPECIALTY CONTRACTOR BUSINESS OWNERS EXPLORING AN EXIT
Selling a business that doesn’t fit a single category calls for more than a broker.
75%
of business sellers experience regret after the sale… most often because they never clearly defined what they wanted from life afterward, not because the deal terms were wrong.
Source: Exit Planning Institute
Whether your business spans multiple trades (ex. plumbing and electrical, roofing and waterproofing) or works in a specialty category most brokers have never sold before, you need more than generic advice. TriStar gives owners of multi-trade and specialty contracting businesses the market knowledge, the buyer relationships, and the financial planning guidance to meet sophisticated buyers as equals.
THE MULTI-TRADE M&A MARKET RIGHT NOW
Buyers are actively building platforms that span multiple trades, and paying more for them.
Private equity-backed platforms are building entire strategies around bundling multiple trades to increase the value of their customer relationships. Neighborly has assembled plumbing, electrical, restoration, and over a dozen other trades under one roof through franchise acquisition, and standalone consolidators increasingly buy their way into categories they don’t already own. Certus, a pest control platform, acquired National Pool Partners, a pool service consolidator, a deliberate move outside its own trade to become what it now calls a diversified home services leader across pest, pool, lawn, and mosquito service.
That same buyer appetite extends to specialty trades that haven’t had a dedicated spotlight of their own: restoration and remediation, tree care, septic and environmental services, fencing, painting, window and door replacement, chimney and hearth, and home security among them. Each of these categories has real consolidation activity behind it, certified crews, recurring maintenance and membership revenue, and buyers who already know the trade’s specific risks and opportunities. Whether your business blends trades or operates in one of these categories, the owners who come out ahead are the ones who understand what buyers are actually paying for before they’re sitting across the table from one.
WHAT DRIVES VALUE IN A MULTI-TRADE OR SPECIALTY CONTRACTING SALE
The price a buyer is willing to pay depends on factors most owners don’t fully understand until they're already in the process.
Well-positioned multi-trade and specialty contracting businesses in the $5M–$20M range are selling for 4.5x–6.0x earnings, with businesses that combine complementary trades, strong recurring revenue, and clean per-trade financials reaching 6.0x–8.0x or higher. What separates those outcomes isn’t luck. It’s what buyers see when they look closely at your business. TriStar knows what they’re looking for.
Revenue Clarity Across Trade Lines
Buyers evaluating a multi-trade business want clean, separate financials for each trade, not muddled totals. A business that can show exactly how much revenue and margin each trade contributes, and how much of that revenue is genuinely recurring, is easier to underwrite and commands a stronger offer than one where the trades blur together on paper.
License and Certifications
Every trade carries its own licensing and certification requirements, and in many states those credentials belong to an individual, not the company. A business that depends on one or two license holders across several trades is a riskier acquisition than one with qualified backups in place for each trade it operates in. Buyers price that risk in immediately, and it’s one of the easiest things to fix well before you go to market.
Recurring Revenue and Service Agreements
Multi-trade businesses that convert customers into ongoing service or maintenance relationships across more than one trade are worth more than any single trade would justify on its own. Buyers look at what percentage of revenue is contracted or repeat business within each trade, not just company-wide, because one strong trade can mask a weaker one if the numbers aren’t broken out.
How Your Trades Fit Together
Buyers don’t just add up your trades, they evaluate whether they fit together. Electrical and plumbing under one roof reads differently to a buyer than electrical and landscaping, because the first creates natural cross-sell into the same service calls. Businesses with complementary trades, and a clear story for why they work together, are easier for buyers to understand and value.
Customer Concentration
A business built primarily on one large customer, one builder relationship, or one property management contract carries the same risk buyers price into any home services acquisition: what happens when that relationship ends. Buyers want to see a diversified customer base across each trade you operate in, with evidence that your reputation and lead sources belong to the business, not to any single relationship.
Deal Structure
Multi-trade and specialty acquisitions are typically structured with 60 to 80 percent of the purchase price paid at closing, with the remainder as a seller note, an earnout tied to revenue retention, or a combination of both. Buyers may structure an earnout around the specific trades they value most in your business, so understanding what’s driving their offer before you negotiate matters.
What Tristar Brings To A Multi-trade Or Specialty Contracting Sale
Most brokers try to fit your business into one category. TriStar knows how to value what you’ve actually built.
Most business brokers are built to sell a single kind of business, and they default to cramming yours into whatever category fits closest, even when that undersells what you’ve actually built. TriStar takes the opposite approach: understanding how your trades work together, which parts of your revenue are recurring versus one-time, where your licensing depth stands, and which buyers are actually looking for a business like yours before a number ever gets discussed.
That market knowledge matters more in a multi-trade or specialty sale than almost anywhere else, because the buyer pool isn’t always obvious. A platform building out a home services footprint may value your business differently than a strategic operator in just one of your trades, and knowing which conversation to have, and when, can change your outcome meaningfully.
Combined with CFP-level financial planning, TriStar makes sure the number you land on works for your life after the sale, not just for the deal itself.
READY TO FIND OUT WHERE YOU STAND?
Start with a free readiness guide, not a sales pitch.
Most owners who contact a broker for the first time aren’t ready to sell tomorrow. They’re trying to understand what their business is worth, what buyers will actually look at, and whether the timing is right. That’s exactly what the TriStar readiness guide is designed for: honest answers, at your pace, with no obligation to move forward until you’re ready.
Confidential. You set the pace. No pressure, no obligation.
