Multi-Location ServiceMaster Clean Franchise, 20-Year Hampton Roads Commercial Janitorial

$7.8M

Revenue

$860K

SDE

Subscribe Free

Read the full deal writeup

Get Free Access

Already a member? Sign in

Full Editorial Writeup

This is a scaled ServiceMaster Clean franchisee operating across the Greater Hampton Roads and Tidewater region of Virginia, providing recurring commercial janitorial and specialty facility cleaning services. Founded in 2005, the company runs roughly 241 employees (47 full-time, 194 part-time) who service more than 2.27 million square feet of commercial space daily across 19 cities. Its end markets are diversified across healthcare, education, industrial, office, financial, hospitality, government, and institutional accounts.

The earnings profile is what makes this notable: more than 85% of revenue is contractually recurring janitorial work, and the top 10 customers average roughly 10.3 years of tenure, with some relationships nearing two decades. That is the kind of sticky, boring, mission-critical spend that survives downturns because buildings still need to be cleaned every night regardless of the economy. Reported figures are a little scrambled (the headline shows $7.75M gross revenue and $860K EBITDA, while the narrative cites TTM revenue near $5.75M with $860K adjusted EBITDA and a 2026E of $6.52M revenue / $1.10M EBITDA), so normalizing which number is real is job one.

Operationally, the business runs on proprietary job costing, disciplined pricing, KPI tracking, and role-based staffing, which is exactly what separates a durable cleaning platform from a low-margin body shop. The sellers are seeking to sell a controlling stake and flag multiple growth paths: building an outbound sales team, deepening penetration in existing under-served territories, expanding specialty services, and acquiring adjacent franchise territories. This looks like a genuine platform rather than a lifestyle janitorial contract book.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong for the category, with 85%+ of revenue coming from recurring janitorial contracts and adjusted EBITDA of roughly $860K on the TTM basis (guided to $1.1M in 2026E on new contract wins). Recurring, contracted nightly cleaning throws off predictable cash flow that you can underwrite and lever against with far more confidence than project-based service work.
The moat here is switching cost and tenure, not technology. The top 10 customers average 10.3 years of relationship and some span two decades, which means clients have integrated this vendor into their facility operations and rarely re-bid. Combined with the ServiceMaster Clean brand and a 2.27M square foot daily footprint across 19 cities, displacing this incumbent is a real headache for any competitor.
Commercial janitorial is about as recession-resistant as services get. Healthcare, schools, government, and institutional facilities must be cleaned regardless of the economic cycle, and this book is diversified across all of those non-discretionary verticals. That downside protection is exactly what you want when you are putting acquisition debt on a deal.
The operator advantage is a stated, credible growth plan against an admittedly thin sales function. Management says outbound sales capacity is limited today and area managers have room to scale from $1.2M to $2M in book, so a buyer who simply adds sellers and works the existing territory can grow without reinventing operations. The disciplined job costing and KPI infrastructure make margin control repeatable rather than founder-dependent.

How to improve it

Build the outbound sales team the seller never invested in. The listing explicitly notes limited outbound capacity and under-penetrated territories, so hiring even two to three commercial hunters targeting schools, medical, government, and financial verticals could convert existing brand equity into new logos quickly. This is the single highest-ROI lever in the first year.
Push area managers toward their stated capacity ceiling. Management says each area manager can scale from a $1.2M book to $2M, implying significant unused operating leverage on existing overhead. Filling that capacity before adding management headcount drops incremental revenue toward the bottom line at high margins.
Attack labor as a percentage of revenue with better scheduling and job costing. Cleaning is a labor business, and the company already runs proprietary job costing and KPI tracking, so tightening staffing to actual square footage requirements and reducing overtime and turnover directly expands EBITDA. Even a one to two point COGS improvement on $6M+ of revenue is meaningful.
Expand into higher-margin specialty and project services. The plan cites fire watch, specialty cleaning, and a reorganized project division, and these services carry better margins than base janitorial. Cross-selling existing recurring clients into project work raises revenue per account with almost no new customer acquisition cost.
Roll up adjacent ServiceMaster Clean territories and Southside licenses. The seller flags acquiring other franchise territories as a growth path, and a well-capitalized buyer can execute tuck-ins at low multiples to add density and back-office leverage. Consolidating fragmented single-location franchisees into this platform is a classic value-creation playbook.
Formalize contract escalators and pricing discipline on legacy accounts. With customers averaging over a decade of tenure, some may be priced below current market. A structured re-pricing and annual CPI escalation review can recover margin on the stickiest accounts with minimal churn risk.

Diligence notes

Reconcile the conflicting revenue figures immediately. The headline lists $7.75M gross revenue and $860K EBITDA, while the narrative cites TTM revenue of roughly $5.75M with the same $860K EBITDA and a 2026E of $6.52M / $1.1M. You must establish which number reflects actual trailing performance versus projection before assigning any value.
Scrutinize the H1 2026 large contract wins that justify the higher run-rate. The seller leans on recent recurring wins to support a go-forward EBITDA run-rate materially above baseline, so verify these are signed, funded, ramped, and reflected in actual billings rather than pipeline. Underwriting the deal on projected run-rate rather than trailing results is where buyers overpay.
Stress test customer concentration and contract terms. Top 10 customers average 10.3 years of tenure, which is a strength, but you need to know what percent of revenue those 10 represent and whether the contracts are cancellable on 30 to 60 days notice, as most janitorial agreements are. Long tenure does not equal long contractual lock-in.
Examine the labor base and franchise agreement in detail. With 194 part-time employees, verify wage rates, turnover, worker classification, and any wage inflation exposure, plus confirm the ServiceMaster Clean franchise transfer terms, royalty rate, remaining term, and consent requirements for a change of control. The franchise agreement can materially affect deal economics and go-forward flexibility.
Clarify the real estate and how it is priced. The 7,500 sq ft Class A office is owned and the seller is open to selling it to the buyer or separately, so confirm whether it is inside or outside the asking price and get an independent appraisal. Do not let real estate quietly inflate the operating multiple.
Confirm whether this is a controlling stake or full buyout and the seller's post-close intent. The listing says shareholders are seeking to sell a controlling stake, which raises questions about who stays, at what economics, and whether management continuity is contractually secured. Structure and rollover terms will drive both risk and price.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →