Commercial Modular Building Dealer, Houston Lease-Sell-Repair Operator Since 2011

$2.6M

Revenue

$650K

SDE

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Full Editorial Writeup

This Houston-based company launched in late 2011 as a dealer, lessor, and service provider for commercial modular and mobile buildings. It runs three revenue lines: leasing its own owned fleet of buildings, selling new and used units, and servicing third-party fleets. Customers span the general business, education, industrial and mining, commercial construction, and government agency segments, giving it a genuinely diversified demand base rather than dependence on a single vertical.

The model is attractive because it blends recurring lease income against an owned asset base with transactional sales and repair revenue. On roughly $2.6M in revenue the business throws off $650k in EBITDA, a 25 percent margin that reflects the annuity-like nature of the lease book. Management brings over 25 years of accumulated industry experience and has built a reputation for quality and service in a market the seller describes as consolidated and over-leveraged.

With only four employees (two full-time, two part-time) operating from two leased facilities, this is a lean, owner-driven operation. The lease fleet is the crown jewel: a depreciated pool of assets generating cash while the underlying units retain resale value. The primary question for a buyer is how much of the $650k EBITDA rests on the owner's relationships and technical know-how versus systems and staff that transfer cleanly.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong for the size: $650k EBITDA on $2.6M revenue is a 25 percent margin, and a meaningful slice comes from leasing an owned fleet that produces recurring cash while the underlying buildings hold residual value. That asset-backed annuity is far more durable than pure transactional resale.
The moat is the owned fleet plus 25-plus years of team experience in a niche the seller says was hollowed out by consolidation and over-leverage. Replacing a mature lease book and repair capability from scratch would take years and real capital, which protects pricing and share against new entrants.
Demand is genuinely diversified across education, industrial and mining, commercial construction, and government, with the listing stating no significant customer concentration historically. Modular space is a need-it-now product for capacity, temporary offices, and job-site facilities that persists through cycles as buyers flex space instead of building.
This is an operator's dream setup: only four employees, two leased facilities, and clear expansion levers the current owner has not pulled. A buyer with sales and marketing muscle inherits a cash-generating core and obvious white space in geography and adjacent markets.

How to improve it

Formalize and grow the lease book, since recurring lease revenue is the highest-quality dollar in this business. Audit fleet utilization, push idle units into contracts, and set utilization and rate targets so more of the $2.6M shifts from one-time sales to recurring income.
Build a real sales and marketing engine, which the listing flags as a growth lever the owner never developed. A dedicated outbound rep targeting construction GCs, school districts, and mining operators could fill fleet capacity and lift both lease and sales revenue within the first year.
Execute geographic expansion beyond Houston into adjacent Texas metros and the broader Gulf Coast energy corridor. The model is relocatable and the fleet mobile, so a second yard or delivery radius extension can add revenue without duplicating the full overhead base.
Expand into tangential markets the seller identified, such as storage containers, sanitation units, and modular complexes for permanent installs. Cross-selling repair and service contracts to existing lease and sale customers deepens wallet share on accounts already won.
Reduce key-person risk by documenting the technical repair processes and vendor relationships held in the owner's and management team's heads. Building an SOP library and cross-training the small staff protects the $650k EBITDA before it depends on any single departing individual.
Model a fleet reinvestment and financing plan, because growth here is capital-intensive on used and new inventory. Line up an asset-based lending facility against the owned fleet so expansion is funded efficiently rather than starving working capital.

Diligence notes

Separate the $2.6M revenue into lease, new/used sales, and repair, then confirm the margin and stickiness of each. Lease income deserves a higher multiple than one-time sales, so the mix directly drives what this business is worth and how durable the $650k EBITDA really is.
Get a full fleet inventory with age, book value, utilization rates, and estimated residual resale value. The owned buildings are the core asset and any deal price must be tested against fleet condition, remaining useful life, and near-term capex to keep units rentable.
Verify the claim of no significant customer concentration by pulling revenue by customer over the last three years. Government and mining accounts can be lumpy and project-driven, so confirm whether the diversified base holds on a recurring basis or masks a few large episodic contracts.
Assess key-person dependency given only four employees and management with the deep technical and relationship knowledge. Understand who actually sources deals, prices leases, and performs repairs, and whether those people stay post-close or walk out the door with the seller.
Review both facility leases for term, renewal options, and rent escalations, since the business operates entirely from third-party leased yards. A yard relocation or lease loss could disrupt fleet storage and delivery logistics, so lease continuity is a real operational risk.
Since asking price is undisclosed and seller financing is offered, pin down the valuation basis and how the fleet is being priced into it. Clarify whether EBITDA is normalized for owner comp and whether the seller note terms make the deal financeable on the cash flow.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →