FOR WATERPROOFING & FOUNDATION REPAIR BUSINESS OWNERS EXPLORING AN EXIT
Selling your waterproofing business 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
Large waterproofing and foundation repair companies are actively acquiring businesses like yours, and the buyers behind them are organized, well-funded, and experienced at structuring deals. TriStar gives waterproofing business owners the market knowledge, the buyer relationships, and the financial planning guidance to meet them as equals.
THE WATERPROOFING M&A MARKET RIGHT NOW
Well-funded buyers are actively pursuing waterproofing and foundation repair businesses.
At least five well-funded companies (each backed by its own group of investors) have been actively acquiring waterproofing and foundation repair businesses over the past two years, and some have said so plainly in their own announcements: they’re building a national presence one acquisition at a time. Groundworks, U.S. Waterproofing, Vanterra Foundation Solutions, AnchorPoint Foundations, and Solid Ground Solutions are all running acquisition strategies in this trade right now, not someday.
That kind of activity doesn’t happen by accident. What draws these buyers in is a strong base of repair, service, and warranty work (the kind that keeps customers coming back) rather than one-time installation jobs alone. Several of these buyers have also chosen to keep the local brand name and leadership in place after a sale, recognizing that the relationships an owner built over years are worth protecting, not erasing. The owners who come out ahead are the ones who understand what these buyers are looking for, and who have time to prepare for it before they go to market.
WHAT DRIVES VALUE IN A WATERPROOFING BUSINESS 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 waterproofing businesses in the $5M–$20M range are selling for 4x–8x earnings, with installation-heavy businesses landing at the low end and those with strong repair and warranty revenue reaching the high end. What separates those outcomes is what buyers see when they look closely at your business. TriStar knows what they’re looking for.
Repair & Service vs. Installation
The first thing a prepared buyer looks at is how much of your revenue comes from repair, service, and warranty work versus one-time installation projects. Repair and service revenue tends to repeat with the same customers and referral sources. Installation jobs are valuable, but they don’t repeat the same way.
Warranty Book Quality
A buyer inherits every warranty you’ve issued, so the size, age, and claims history of that book matters. A clean, well-documented warranty program with a low claims rate signals strong installation quality. A thin or poorly tracked one raises questions a buyer will want answered before they commit.
Licensing & Certification Clarity
Licensing rules for this trade vary widely by state, and buyers want to know exactly what licenses and certifications your business holds, and whether they belong to the company or to one person. A business with certifications held by the company, and more than one trained person who can use them, is easier for a buyer to take on with confidence.
Financing Partnerships
Foundation and waterproofing projects are often unplanned and expensive, so established financing relationships help close more deals at higher average tickets. A business with financing partnerships already in place looks more capable to a buyer than one without them.
Customer Concentration
A large share of revenue tied to one or two referral sources or commercial accounts makes buyers nervous about what happens to that revenue after the sale. A diversified mix of repair, service, and installation work, with no single source driving an outsized share, is a more comfortable story for a buyer to take on.
Deal Structure
Most waterproofing business deals close with 60–90% cash at signing, with the rest in seller notes or performance-based payments tied to how the business does after the sale. Those payments (“earnouts”) often protect buyers against revenue tied to the prior owner’s licenses, referral relationships, or an installation backlog that won’t repeat. Knowing what that means for your retirement income before you sign anything matters.
WHAT TRISTAR BRINGS TO A WATERPROOFING SALE
Waterproofing deals have specific complexity. TriStar is built to navigate it.
Most brokers will list your waterproofing business, find offers, and help you close. What they won’t do is help you understand how your warranty book and licensing structure affect what a buyer is actually willing to pay, whether unclear certification ownership is narrowing the buyer pool without you knowing it, or what an earnout tied to post-sale performance means for your retirement income. TriStar’s financial planning perspective means those questions get answered before you’re asked to decide anything (making your exit plan part of the conversation, not an afterthought).
TriStar maintains direct relationships with the large waterproofing and foundation repair companies actively acquiring businesses like yours. We know which buyers have strong records of keeping your name on the door and your people on the payroll, which ones value warranty programs and will work to preserve them, which ones are building out financing capabilities, and which ones will honor the culture you built. That knowledge shapes who we take your business to and how we negotiate.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
The right sale for your waterproofing business starts well before you go to market.
Most waterproofing business owners who contact us aren’t ready to sell tomorrow. They’re thinking carefully about what the process looks like, what their business is actually worth, and what happens to their people on the other side of it. Download our free guide, “Are You Ready to Sell Your Business?”. Get the 10 questions every home services owner should answer before going to market. No obligation. No sales pitch. What you learn is yours to keep.
Confidential. You set the pace. No pressure, no obligation.
