Premium Early-Education Center, Eagle Idaho Childcare

$2.8M

Revenue

$676K

SDE

14.1x

Multiple

Subscribe Free

Read the full deal writeup

Get Free Access

Already a member? Sign in

Full Editorial Writeup

This is a single-unit premium early-education and childcare center in Eagle, Idaho, an affluent, fast-growing suburb in the Boise corridor. The business runs on an established, proven operating system with a recognized brand, a defined curriculum, staff training infrastructure, and an enrollment-marketing engine, meaning a buyer inherits a running concept rather than building from scratch. It reportedly generates roughly $2.8M in annual revenue against approximately $360K of EBITDA, with a stated Cash Flow (SDE) figure of $676,000.

The economics are what make childcare attractive to buyers who understand recurring revenue: tuition is billed in advance and renews across the year, producing predictable cash flow with minimal receivables risk. The Eagle demographic backdrop supports demand, with rising household formation, high median incomes, and a persistent shortage of premium childcare seats in the submarket.

The listing prices the business at $9.5M, a 14.05x multiple on the $676K SDE and a steep 26x on the $360K EBITDA. Real estate status is muddled in the listing (Real Estate shows both Not Disclosed and Owned), and full unit economics are only released under NDA to qualified, capitalized principals. SBA 7(a) financing is noted as available for qualified buyers.

Why we like it

Tuition-in-advance economics are the best part of this deal: parents prepay, enrollment renews through the year, and receivables risk is minimal, which produces the kind of predictable, sticky cash flow we want in a services business. Childcare demand is non-discretionary because working parents need care regardless of the macro cycle.
The moat here is a combination of physical capacity, licensing, and location. In a supply-constrained affluent submarket, a fully licensed premium seat count with a waitlist is genuinely hard to replicate, and regulatory barriers keep new competitors slow to enter.
The demographic tailwind is real and specific. Eagle sits in one of the fastest-growing high-income pockets of the Boise corridor, so household formation and median income both point toward sustained, willing-to-pay demand for premium care.
For an operator who can push utilization, this is a lever-rich asset. Enrollment sits below full capacity in many single-unit centers, and every incremental seat drops almost entirely to the bottom line given the fixed-cost base of facility and core staff.

How to improve it

Reconcile SDE versus EBITDA before anything else, because the gap between the $676K SDE and $360K EBITDA is enormous and drives the entire valuation debate. Understand exactly what owner add-backs, real estate rent, and management salary sit between those two numbers so you know which figure a buyer actually earns.
Attack enrollment utilization in the first 90 days by auditing licensed capacity versus actual enrolled seats. Build a waitlist funnel and tighten conversion from tour to enrollment, since filling empty seats is the single fastest path to margin expansion.
Raise tuition on the next enrollment cycle and test it. Premium positioning in a high-income, supply-short market almost always leaves pricing power on the table, and even a modest annual increase compounds directly into EBITDA.
Reduce teacher turnover with retention bonuses and clearer career ladders, because staffing churn is the number one operational risk in childcare and directly caps how many classrooms you can legally open.
Add high-margin ancillary programs such as extended hours, summer camps, enrichment classes, and meal plans. These monetize the existing facility and family base without new customer acquisition cost.
Formalize the enrollment-marketing engine into tracked channels with cost-per-enrollment metrics. If the current owner drives leads informally, documenting and systematizing this protects the growth engine through the transition.
Clarify and separate the real estate structure. If the property is owned, negotiate a clean lease or purchase allocation so the operating multiple is transparent and financeable under SBA terms.

Diligence notes

The valuation is the headline issue: $9.5M against $676K SDE is 14x, and against $360K EBITDA it is roughly 26x, both far above normal single-unit childcare comps of 3x to 5x SDE. You need to understand what is being priced in, likely real estate, and whether the asking price is anchored to reality.
Resolve the real estate contradiction immediately. The listing shows Real Estate as both Not Disclosed and Owned, and FF&E of $383K is stated as included. Determine whether the building is in the asking price, because that alone could explain and justify a large chunk of the $9.5M.
Verify licensed capacity, current enrollment, and the waitlist with actual state licensing records and enrollment rosters. Confirm the center is in full compliance and understand how close it is to capacity, since that dictates both risk and upside.
Scrutinize staffing: ratios, wage rates, turnover, and dependence on the owner or a key director. In childcare, an owner who also serves as the license holder or lead administrator can leave a costly hole if not properly transitioned.
Confirm the seller transition and financing terms, both of which are undisclosed. SBA 7(a) eligibility, seller support duration, and any required equity injection materially affect deal structure and your downside protection at this multiple.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →