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This is a 15-year HVAC and refrigeration services business operating out of Hialeah, FL and serving the broader South Florida market across Miami-Dade, Broward, and surrounding counties. The combination of climate control and commercial refrigeration is a smart mix in this geography. South Florida runs the air conditioning year-round, and refrigeration adds a layer of recurring commercial demand from restaurants, grocers, and food service operators who simply cannot afford downtime.
The business reports $650,000 in cash flow against a $4,000,000 asking price, putting it at roughly 6.15x. That is a full multiple for an HVAC service business, which typically trades in the 3x to 5x range on SDE, so the price implies either a meaningful recurring or commercial maintenance contract base, real estate, or significant equipment. None of that is disclosed in the listing, which is the central question a buyer needs answered before getting excited.
What makes this attractive is the structural demand. South Florida heat is relentless, the installed base of equipment is enormous, and refrigeration work is non-discretionary for commercial clients. A 15-year operating history in a fragmented market suggests an established reputation and repeat customer flow, both of which are the foundation of durable cash flow in trades businesses.
Why we like it
- Earnings quality looks real on the surface with $650k in stated cash flow and a 15-year operating history, which is long enough to have survived a full economic cycle. The mix of HVAC and refrigeration diversifies revenue across residential, commercial, and food service customers rather than relying on a single demand driver.
- The moat here is climate plus market density. South Florida runs cooling year-round, the installed equipment base is massive, and refrigeration is a sticky commercial niche where downtime costs the customer money, so they pay fast and rebook. Fifteen years in business builds the referral network and brand recognition that new entrants cannot buy.
- Market tailwinds favor this asset. South Florida population growth, an aging equipment base needing replacement, and rising temperatures all push demand higher, while refrigeration regulatory changes drive recurring retrofit and repair work. This is structural, not cyclical, demand.
- Operator advantage is strong for a buyer who can install systems. Trades businesses of this size are usually run on the owner's relationships and gut feel, which means a buyer with dispatch software, financing offers at the point of sale, and a real recurring maintenance program can expand margins without inventing demand.
How to improve it
- Build or expand a recurring maintenance membership program in the first 90 days. Annual service agreements smooth out cash flow, lock in repeat customers, and dramatically increase the multiple on resale because they convert one-off transactions into contracted revenue.
- Push commercial refrigeration contracts harder with grocers, restaurants, and cold storage operators. These customers need emergency response and scheduled maintenance, pay premium rates, and rarely shop on price when their inventory is at risk, so a dedicated refrigeration sales effort can lift average ticket and frequency.
- Layer in point-of-sale financing for replacement installs. Offering 0 percent or low-rate financing on full system replacements increases close rates and average job value, and the financing partner carries the credit risk while you keep the margin.
- Implement modern dispatch and field service software if it is not already in place. Better routing, automated follow-ups, and review generation can add billable hours per tech per day and improve close rates on quoted work without adding headcount.
- Tighten technician utilization and pricing. Many founder-run HVAC shops underprice service calls and leave margin on the table. A simple flat-rate pricing book and utilization tracking can move gross margin several points within a quarter.
- Invest in local SEO and review velocity across all five counties served. HVAC and refrigeration are search-driven emergency purchases, so dominating Google Local Pack and maintaining a high review count directly converts to inbound lead flow at near-zero marginal cost.
- Recruit and retain techs with a structured pay and bonus plan. The binding constraint on growth in trades is skilled labor, so a buyer who can attract and keep technicians through clear comp and career paths can scale revenue faster than competitors stuck on hiring.
Diligence notes
- Demand the revenue figure and full P&L immediately. The listing discloses $650k cash flow but hides revenue, which makes it impossible to assess margin quality or whether the 6.15x multiple is justified. A high revenue with thin margin tells a very different story than a lean, high-margin shop.
- Verify what justifies a 6.15x multiple on an HVAC service business when comps typically run 3x to 5x on SDE. Confirm whether the price includes real estate, a vehicle fleet, equipment, or a contracted maintenance base, because without those, the asking price looks rich versus market.
- Scrutinize customer concentration in the refrigeration book. Commercial refrigeration revenue can be lucrative but concentrated in a few accounts, so quantify what percentage of cash flow comes from the top five customers and how long those relationships have been in place.
- Assess owner dependence and the technician roster. Find out how involved the seller is in sales, dispatch, and key customer relationships, and confirm that licensed technicians and the master contractor license transfer or can be replaced cleanly post-close.
- Confirm licensing, permitting, and warranty liabilities. Florida HVAC contracting requires specific state and county licensing, and you need to understand any open warranty obligations, callback rates, and pending liabilities that could become your problem after closing.
- Note the discrepancy between the stated 15 years in business and the description's reference to a 13-year operation. Reconcile the actual founding date and verify continuous operating history, ownership changes, and any gaps that could affect goodwill and reputation.
Source
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