Opportunities
Painting Contractor with 85% Reccurring Clients
Focused on NYC Municipal & Infrastructure Work
Specifications
This New York based industrial painting company receives approximately 40 projects a year in municipal infrastructure! Boasting an experienced team of over 90 employees, including 3 project managers, 8 foremen, more than 75 painters and 6 administrative employees, 15 years of quality work has resulted in strong relationships with general contractors and a competitive bidding process that brings in $500K - $1M per project. Included in the purchase is a current backlog of $73M and $2.8M of assets, which includes safety equipment, rigging, and supplies, plus $680K in trucks and trailers. The company’s services include industrial painting and site preparation for jobs such as bridges, tunnels, and transit stations. The company also offers lead abatement and shield integration, services which keep workflow high during the winter months. Service area is 90% in the state of New York and 10% in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Ohio. Operations are managed from the Ohio office and supplies are stored in a New York area warehouse. There are additional field offices for each project where location-based staff report daily.
Increasing capital to increase bonding capacity would certainly lead to growth in revenue, as well as expanding services to include outdoor painting of private buildings. Both owners currently work within the business. The majority owner focuses on financial oversight and business management and is willing to stay on for 20 hours a week during an 18 month transition period. The other owner is the lead estimator and oversees field operations, and he is willing to stay on with the company for several years after closing. The sellers are willing to roll equity for 12.5% of the purchase price, then do a seller carry for another 12.5% for a total of 25%, as a sign of good faith in the business.
Business Highlights
- Years in Operation: 15+
- Location: New York & Ohio
- Service Area: 90% in New York, 10% in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware
- Clients: General contractors working on infrastructure and municipal projects
- Services: Industrial painting and site preparation such as bridges, tunnels, & transit stations, lead abatement and shield integration
- Building: Main office: 2,000 sq. ft.: 5 Offices, conference room; NY Warehouse: 5,000 sq. ft.: Storage, office
- Employees: 92: 6 Administrative, 3 Project Managers, 8 foremen and 75 painters
- Seller Training Period: 3-5 years
- Growth Opportunities: Increase capital to increase bonding capacity, private buildings for outdoor paint
- Current Owners’ Responsibilities: Majority Owner: 20 hours – Financial oversight, business management; Owner 2: 40 hours – Estimates, field operations management
Financial Highlights
- List Price: $18,750,000
- Gross Sales:
- 2019: $33,225,739
- 2018: $25,281,685
- Cash Flow:
- 2020: $3,893,977
- 2019: $4,437,549
- 2018: $3,640,128
- Assets Included in Purchase:
- Equipment: $2,165,000: Painting supplies, safety equipment, rigging, tools, scaffolding, mobile tool shed, 375 compressor, office trailers, office equipment
- Trailers: 2001 Reel Cable Puller Trailer, 2014 Brindle Trailer, 2017 Gator Gooseneck Trailer, water trailer, 2018 Lo Pro Power Split Tilt Trailer
- Vehicles: 2017 Ford Super Duty F-250, 2018 Genie Forklift, Tractor Sleeper, Truckster
- Work-in-progress: $73,775,848
- Intangible Assets: Positive reputation for completing large-scale projects
- CAPEX: $100,000 or less annually
*amounts may vary
Revenue Growth
Typical Clients and Services
Typical Clients:
- General contractors working on large infrastructure projects
- Local government projects
- State government projects
Services:
- Industrial painting
- Site preparation
- Sheeting
- Remediation
- Lead abatement and shield installation in winter months
Specific information regarding clients is available upon the receipt of a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement.
Job Life Cycle
RFP / Job Bidding Process:
The company chooses the jobs to bid based on the scope of work of that specific project. If it lines up with the type of work that they do, they study the specifications and plans. They create an activity chart based on how they see the project being completed. They estimate how many days and how many workers would be required for each activity. They place the information from the activity chart into a program to get labor costs. They add in all incidental costs into the program, i.e., tools, materials, lodging, tolls, fuel, etc. and then prepare a quote for submission.
After successful bidding, there is a contract review to make sure the terms of the project match with what they bid. From that point, they develop plans – shielding, lead, paint, safety (as applicable), mobilize to the site and execute the work.
- Duration: Varies per project – 1 to 8 years.
- Need to locate field staff, if any: Same staff used throughout. Labor is union labor.
- Material sourcing: Material usually consists of paint and shielding material. Paint is generally through Carboline, Sherwin Williams or PPG. Shielding material is generally through Safespan.
Employees
Total Employees: 92
- 6 Administrative
- 3 Project Managers
- 8 Union Foremen
- ~75 Union Painters
Union Facts
We understand that buyers generally shy away from union-based companies.
- In this case, it is a “Must-Have” in order to get federal & municipal work.
- They are the strongest union market in New York
- Levels the playing field for labor
- Simplifies bidding process
- Only 2-3 companies bidding the same jobs in New York due to the union market; whereas, if they were in Ohio, they would have 13-15 companies bidding the same projects
- On a big project, you can call to Union Hall and they supply labor.
- All labor is trained and tested through the Union, which saves on HR costs.
MBE Designation
This company is the largest union painting company in the Northeastern states. It is understood that a new owner may not be able to obtain the MBE certification, and currently 80%+ of the business is MBE work.
The primary contractors (“prime”) for municipal/government jobs are required to credit 10% of each job to a minority contractor. For example, if there is a bridge project for $10M, $1M of that work needs to be from an MBE certified business.
On average, there are 25+ subcontractors for each project. This can be anything from general labor, engineering, staffing, procurement, trades, etc. Any one of these, or a combination of these, could be the 10% minority that the prime contractor must fulfill.
The current owners are very confident that the business would continue running with the same success rate, even without the MBE certification. This is due to the fact that, again, they are the largest union painting company in the surrounding area, with 90+ employees. There is no other union company that can complete these massive projects with the same level of manpower, reputation, equipment, and know-how.
To show how confident the sellers are that very little, if any, revenue would be lost, they are willing to retain 51% equity to keep the MBE if desired. If the buyer prefers to own the majority of the company, the sellers will do up to 30% on a performance-based earn out to show their level of confidence in the ongoing success of the company.
Primary contractors are calling this company for work not because of the MBE status, but because of their size, the projects they have completed, and 90+ laborers they have to complete the project timely & successfully.
Areas of growth include getting into private buildings and other structures (stadiums, for example). The owners are willing to stay on for up to 3 years to help build the private sector.
Growth Opportunities
- Increase capital to increase bonding capacity
- More private work – painting buildings
Valuation
Funding Example
Owner's Notes
Since the owner who oversees field operations is Hispanic, this business has MBE certification and, as such, is given priority when given projects with state and local governments. A large portion of the business’s current work-in-progress and backlog are contracts that were awarded on the basis of the business’s MBE certification.
If there is an interested buyer who is not a minority, the owner is willing to retain equity roll in the business for up to three years after closing. This will preserve the company’s MBE status until the current contracts are completed. During this time, the owner will also help the buyer increase the business’s bonding capacity and acquire more contracts that do not require MBE certification. Once the transition and backlog are completed, the buyer can purchase the owner’s remaining equity and own the business completely.
This method will allow the buyer to retain all of the business’s work-in-progress and backlog ($73M) and transition the business for future success before taking over the reins completely.
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