Restoration owners
Selling your restoration business
PE-backed platforms and franchise systems buy restoration companies with steady everyday losses and spread-out referrals.
By Axia Growth
What is my restoration company worth?
If you own a restoration company with under $2M of earnings, buyers price it on SDE (seller's discretionary earnings: profit plus the owner's pay and perks). In Axia Growth's analysis of closed small-business sales, Construction businesses with under $500K of SDE sold for a median 2.3x SDE (middle half 1.9x to 3.4x, 37 sales). Restoration companies are grouped in the Construction sector of that data; there is no figure for restoration companies alone.
| Earnings size | Median | Middle half | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $500K SDE | 2.3x SDE | 1.9x to 3.4x | 37 |
| $500K-$1M SDE | 2.7x SDE | 1.9x to 2.9x | 13 |
| $1M-$2M SDE | 2.5x SDE | 2.3x to 3.0x | 12 |
| $2M-$3M EBITDA | 2.1x EBITDA | 1.8x to 3.0x | 11 |
Larger businesses, with $2M or more of EBITDA, are usually priced on an EBITDA multiple instead. For the Construction sector the median was 2.1x at $2M to $3M of EBITDA (11 sales). No figure is published for $3M to $5M, $5M to $10M and $10M+ of EBITDA: fewer than 10 sales.
Example
Take a restoration company with $400,000 of SDE. $400,000 x 2.3x (the median for under $500K of SDE) = about $920,000. At the middle half of sales (1.9x to 3.4x), the same business lands between about $760,000 and $1,360,000. This is arithmetic on a published median, not a valuation of your business.
What moves the price of a restoration company:
- A base of everyday water, fire and mold work that covers fixed costs in a quiet weather year.
- Referral relationships spread across multiple carriers, administrators and local plumbers, with none dominating revenue.
- Both mitigation and reconstruction capability, so the business keeps the full job.
- Technicians trained to recognized restoration standards, plus disciplined management of insurance receivables.
Source: Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified. Sector-level medians; a size band is published only when it has at least 10 sales. Data as of October 28, 2026. How the data is built.
Get an instant range with the business value calculator · Read the Restoration & Remediation industry guide
Not an auction.
One acquirer, one direct conversation. Our buyers typically keep the team and have the capital to close.
How long it takes to sell a restoration company
Axia Growth does not publish an average time to sell, because the honest answer depends on you more than on the market: a sale moves as fast as you can answer a buyer's questions. Every sale goes through the same five stages.
- Prepare. Separate personal and business expenses, pull two to three years of financials, and list what transfers with the business. The cleaner this is, the faster everything after it goes.
- First conversations. A buyer learns the business and your goals, and you learn what they plan to do with the restoration company and your team.
- Letter of intent. The buyer puts price, structure (cash at close, seller note, earnout) and your role after the sale in writing. It is usually non-binding, with a period of exclusivity.
- Diligence. The buyer checks financials, customers, staff and contracts, and will separate everyday losses from storm and catastrophe revenue, normalize earnings across several years rather than one strong year, check how concentrated referral sources are, and review technician training, lead-safe certification and receivables. Most delays happen here, and most trace back to missing records.
- Close and transition. Final agreements are signed, money moves, and you help hand over customers and staff for an agreed period.
Who buys restoration companies
- PE-backed residential restoration platforms. They want regional companies to add through buy-and-build, with steady residential work and strong referral relationships.
- Franchise systems with long-hold owners. They want established local operators that can grow within a franchise network.
- Commercial and large-loss platforms. They want commercial accounts and the capability to handle large losses.
- Public strategics that already own restoration brands. They want businesses that add everyday, non-storm revenue to the brands they run.
What buyers pay for
- Everyday water, fire and mold work that covers costs in a quiet weather year.
- Referrals spread across many carriers, administrators and plumbers.
- Both mitigation and reconstruction, so the business keeps the whole job.
- Trained technicians and disciplined collection of insurance receivables.
What hurts value
- Earnings that lean on storm and catastrophe years. Buyers price the everyday base of work, not the storm spike.
- One carrier or third-party administrator sending most of the work.
- Mitigation only, with reconstruction handed to others, so the business keeps only part of each job.
- Insurance receivables that are slow to collect and not actively managed.
- Technicians without standard water damage training, or no lead-safe certification for work in older homes.
How to prepare
- Get 2 to 3 years of books clean and separate.
- Split everyday-loss revenue from storm and catastrophe revenue.
- Document each referral program and the work it sends.
For deal activity, buyer types and every published size band, see restoration valuation multiples→ Or see every Home Servicesguide →
Common questions
What is my restoration company worth?
If you own a restoration company with under $2M of earnings, buyers price it on SDE (seller's discretionary earnings: profit plus the owner's pay and perks). In Axia Growth's analysis of closed small-business sales, Construction businesses with under $500K of SDE sold for a median 2.3x SDE (middle half 1.9x to 3.4x, 37 sales). Restoration companies are grouped in the Construction sector of that data; there is no figure for restoration companies alone. Larger businesses, with $2M or more of EBITDA, are usually priced on an EBITDA multiple instead. For the Construction sector the median was 2.1x at $2M to $3M of EBITDA (11 sales). No figure is published for $3M to $5M, $5M to $10M and $10M+ of EBITDA: fewer than 10 sales. Example: Take a restoration company with $400,000 of SDE. $400,000 x 2.3x (the median for under $500K of SDE) = about $920,000. At the middle half of sales (1.9x to 3.4x), the same business lands between about $760,000 and $1,360,000. This is arithmetic on a published median, not a valuation of your business. Source: Axia Growth analysis of 4,554 closed small-business sales over $500K, aggregated and de-identified. Sector-level medians; a size band is published only when it has at least 10 sales. Data as of October 28, 2026.
How long does it take to sell a restoration company?
Axia Growth does not publish an average time to sell, because the honest answer depends on you more than on the market: a sale moves as fast as you can answer a buyer's questions. Every sale goes through the same five stages. Prepare, first conversations, letter of intent, diligence, then close and transition. For restoration companies, the longest stage is usually diligence, where buyers separate everyday losses from storm and catastrophe revenue, normalize earnings across several years rather than one strong year, check how concentrated referral sources are, and review technician training, lead-safe certification and receivables.
Will a big storm year raise my price?
Usually not by much. Buyers separate storm and catastrophe revenue from everyday losses and price the everyday base. Many base the price on normalized earnings over several years rather than a single strong year.
Does it matter where my jobs come from?
Yes. Most residential work comes through insurance carriers, adjusters, third-party administrators and plumbers. Buyers want many referral sources, documented program relationships and no single carrier or administrator dominating revenue.
Do I need reconstruction as well as mitigation?
It helps. Buyers value companies that can do both, because the business keeps the full job instead of handing the rebuild to someone else. Commercial accounts and large-loss capability also draw interest from some buyers.
How do I get a number for my own business?
Enter your industry and annual earnings (SDE or EBITDA) in Axia Growth's free business value calculator for an instant range from the same closed-sales data. For a detailed valuation, continue from the calculator; it is free and confidential. The Restoration & Remediation industry guide shows every published size band for the sector.
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