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This is a full-service HVAC and refrigeration contractor operating across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, serving both residential and commercial customers with installation, repair, and maintenance work. Founded in 2013, the company runs a genuinely asset-light model: no warehouse, no office lease, and materials ordered per job and shipped directly to customer sites. That structure is what drives the reported 20%+ net margins on $3.5M in revenue, well above the typical HVAC operator that carries fixed facility overhead.
The business carries authorized dealer status with Trane plus supplier access to Lennox, Carrier, and Goodman, giving it flexibility on equipment selection and insulation from single-vendor supply risk. Fourteen employees (12 full-time, 2 part-time) handle service and installation, supported by internal software for scheduling, job tickets, and customer orders. Refrigeration adds a commercial service line beyond standard residential comfort HVAC, which broadens the customer base and adds work that is less seasonal than pure cooling.
With $827K of SDE and $707K of EBITDA, this is a well-run, profitable operator in a fragmented market where competition is based on responsiveness and workmanship rather than scale. The seller is retiring but has agreed to stay on as an employee post-close, which de-risks the transition materially for a buyer without deep HVAC operating experience.
Why we like it
- Earnings quality is strong for the category: $827K SDE and $707K EBITDA on $3.5M revenue implies roughly 20% EBITDA margin, driven by an asset-light model with no facility overhead. The gap between SDE and EBITDA is only $120K, suggesting owner comp is modest and the reported earnings are close to true operating profit rather than heavily add-back dependent.
- HVAC and refrigeration are among the most recession-resistant home service verticals because failed heating, cooling, and commercial refrigeration are non-deferrable repairs. Texas climate drives heavy cooling load and continuous maintenance demand, and commercial refrigeration adds a stickier, less seasonal revenue line than pure residential comfort work.
- The Trane authorized dealership plus Lennox, Carrier, and Goodman access is a real asset, giving equipment flexibility and brand credibility that independents often lack. In a fragmented DFW market of small contractors, being a multi-line authorized dealer with 14 trained staff is a meaningful differentiator on larger commercial jobs.
- The seller is retiring but staying on as a W-2 employee post-close for several months, which is the ideal setup for a buyer who lacks trade licensing or field operating experience. Combined with existing scheduling software and installation crews already equipped with tools and vehicles, the operating platform can run without the buyer swinging a wrench.
How to improve it
- Build out recurring maintenance agreements aggressively in the first 90 days, since the listing flags this as the top growth lever. Converting even a fraction of the existing project and repair base into annual preventative maintenance contracts smooths cash flow, reduces cyclicality, and raises the multiple a future buyer will pay.
- Cross-sell adjacent trades to the existing customer base, including controls, building automation, and energy efficiency upgrades on the commercial side. Selling more to customers you already have avoids customer acquisition cost and lifts revenue per account, which flows almost entirely to margin given the low overhead structure.
- Institute disciplined lead tracking and a simple digital marketing engine, since 100% of revenue is DFW and the model is home-based with no consumer-facing footprint. A basic Google Local Service Ads and review-generation program can capture emergency-repair demand that currently goes to competitors ranking higher online.
- Pursue tuck-in acquisitions of smaller local contractors to solve the labor bottleneck and add technicians, customers, and territory in one move. The listing itself names this as a growth path, and a fragmented DFW market means there are numerous sub-$1M shops whose owners are also aging out.
- Formalize a technician recruiting and retention pipeline, including apprenticeship and licensing support, because skilled labor is the binding constraint on scaling any HVAC business. Locking in the current 14-person team with retention incentives during the ownership transition protects the earnings you are paying for.
- Tighten pricing and job costing analytics using the existing internal software to ensure the 20%+ margin holds as volume grows. Standardizing markup on materials, especially given multi-supplier flexibility, and reviewing labor efficiency per job ticket protects profitability against wage inflation.
Diligence notes
- Verify the 20%+ net margin and $707K EBITDA against three years of tax returns and bank statements, since the asset-light narrative sounds compelling but is easy to overstate. Confirm the SDE add-backs and understand exactly what owner compensation and personal expenses are being normalized to bridge from EBITDA to SDE.
- Scrutinize the revenue mix between residential, commercial, and refrigeration, plus the split between one-time project revenue and recurring service. A business heavy on new-installation projects is more cyclical and harder to underwrite than one anchored by maintenance contracts, which changes the durability of the $827K.
- Confirm trade licensing structure and whether the required Texas HVAC and refrigeration licenses are held by the owner personally or by a technician who stays. If the licensed master leaves, a buyer without their own license could be unable to legally operate, so nail down the license continuity before closing.
- Assess customer and referral-source concentration within the DFW footprint, including any large commercial accounts that drive a disproportionate share of revenue. With 100% of revenue from one metro, understand how many customers and what percentage of jobs come from the top handful of relationships.
- Validate the condition, ownership, and value of the service vehicles and equipment, given FF&E is listed at only $11,000. A fleet of technician trucks is essential to operations, so clarify whether vehicles are owned, leased, or personally held by the owner and whether they transfer in the deal.
- Since asking price is not disclosed and the broker is Generational Equity, get the price and deal structure early and test the implied multiple against HVAC comps of roughly 3x to 4.5x SDE. Confirm whether any working capital, warranty liabilities, or unfinished project obligations transfer at close.
Source
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