Exceptional Restoration & Disaster Recovery, California Contractor

$2.6M

Revenue

$691K

SDE

5.4x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a California-based restoration and disaster recovery contractor generating $2.59M in revenue and $691K in cash flow, roughly a 27% margin. The business handles the full spread of restoration work: fire and smoke damage, water damage, mold remediation, storm damage, and personal content cleaning, serving residential, commercial, and institutional clients. It comes with a 9-person team including a Project Manager and an Estimator/QA Specialist who are committed to staying on post-close.

Restoration is one of the more attractive service niches for an acquirer because the demand is non-discretionary and insurance-funded. When a pipe bursts or a fire hits, the homeowner or property manager does not shop on price or wait for a better economy, they call whoever responds fast and can navigate the insurance claim. That insurance-pay dynamic insulates the category from the discounting pressure that plagues other home services.

The asking price of $3.75M against $691K of cash flow works out to a 5.43x multiple, which is full for a services business of this size, though the seller financing offer and the intact management team soften the risk. The included assets (a 4-vehicle fleet at $200K, $150K of specialized equipment, $50K of office gear) represent real but modest hard-asset value that does not materially inflate the multiple. The location in a high-net-worth California market is a genuine tailwind given the higher-value claims that come with premium properties.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is solid for the category, with $691K of cash flow on $2.59M of revenue producing a healthy 27% margin. Restoration revenue is largely insurance-funded, which means the customer's willingness to pay is decoupled from their personal budget, a rare quality in home services.
The moat here is response time, insurance relationships, and certifications, not brand. An intact team with a dedicated Project Manager and an Estimator/QA Specialist staying on preserves the operational muscle and the payer relationships that make this business bankable rather than owner-dependent.
Demand for restoration is structurally rising in California given increasing wildfire, storm, and water-event frequency, and the listing sits in a high-net-worth market where claim values run higher. This is a category where volume grows with climate volatility and property values, not with consumer confidence.
The seller offers 3 to 6 months of hands-on training and is willing to finance a significant portion of the deal. Meaningful seller financing aligns incentives and signals the seller's confidence that the cash flow is real and sustainable through transition.

How to improve it

Lock down and expand the insurance carrier and TPA relationships in the first 90 days. Getting on preferred vendor and managed-repair programs (Alacrity, Contractor Connection, carrier direct-repair networks) creates a steady inbound claim pipeline that reduces reliance on marketing spend.
Build a commercial and institutional sales motion beyond the current residential base. Property managers, HOAs, schools, and healthcare facilities generate larger and more repeatable jobs, and a single dedicated business developer can materially shift the revenue mix upward.
Implement job-costing and project management software if not already in place. Tighter tracking of labor, equipment utilization, and per-job margin will surface which service lines and job types actually drive the 27% margin and where scope creep is eroding it.
Add or deepen 24/7 emergency dispatch and guaranteed response-time commitments. In restoration the first responder usually wins the whole job, so investing in on-call crews and fast mitigation directly converts more inbound calls into full restoration contracts.
Formalize recurring commercial maintenance and preventive offerings such as mold inspections, moisture monitoring, and post-remediation testing. These smooth out the lumpy, event-driven revenue and create predictable baseline cash flow between catastrophe surges.
Recruit and certify additional field technicians (IICRC and related credentials) ahead of demand to remove the capacity ceiling. The listing frames scale as the opportunity, and in this trade the binding constraint is usually trained crews, not lead flow.

Diligence notes

Verify the $691K cash flow with tax returns and bank statements, and understand how heavily it depends on one or two large catastrophe events. Restoration revenue can be lumpy, so confirm whether the trailing year reflects a normal baseline or a spike from a specific fire or storm season.
Confirm the concentration of revenue by payer and by client. Understand what share comes from insurance versus cash-pay, and whether any single carrier, TPA, adjuster relationship, or property manager drives an outsized portion of jobs.
Validate all IICRC and state restoration certifications, licensing, and whether they attach to the owner personally or to staff who are staying on. Certification and licensing gaps can halt the ability to bid work immediately after close, so confirm who holds what.
Nail down the seller financing terms early: the amount, rate, term, and any performance conditions. Also confirm the retention commitments of the Project Manager and Estimator/QA Specialist in writing, since the business's transferability hinges on them staying.
Inspect the condition and true value of the $400K in included assets, especially the specialized drying, dehumidification, and remediation equipment. Confirm whether the fleet and equipment are owned free and clear or carry any liens or lease obligations.

Source

Originally listed on BusinessBroker.net. View original listing →