Specialized Commercial Pool Service Company
This acquisition centered on a niche commercial pool service company operating in a tri-county region in the southwestern United States, with an exclusive focus on apartment complexes, HOAs, hotels, and municipal pools. The company provided ongoing maintenance, equipment repair, water quality management, and seasonal compliance inspections in accordance with local health department codes. With annual revenue of $2.75 million and adjusted EBITDA of $480,000, the company’s operations relied on long-term recurring service contracts with property management companies, augmented by seasonal capital improvement projects like filter replacements, resurfacing, and leak detection.
The seller, a second-generation owner whose father founded the business in 1998, had grown the company steadily over 15 years by consolidating smaller pool service operators under a unified brand and pricing model. By the time of sale, the company had over 110 commercial accounts, 70% of which had been with the business for more than five years. The seller’s exit was motivated by a desire to pursue a new business venture unrelated to the service trades. The business employed 11 field technicians, three route supervisors, one operations manager, and one bookkeeper, and ran 12 branded service trucks outfitted with chemical storage and mobile diagnostic equipment.
The buyer, a multi-site HVAC and facilities service operator seeking to expand its commercial services footprint, identified the pool service niche as a high-recurring revenue, compliance-driven space with significant potential for regional roll-up. The transaction closed at a purchase price of $2.1 million, representing a 4.37x EBITDA multiple, funded via an SBA 7(a) loan for $1.575 million (75%), buyer equity injection of $210,000 (10%), and seller financing of $315,000 (15%). In addition to the standard note structure, the parties negotiated a technician revenue retention guarantee to hedge against the risk of staff attrition post-close.
Under the terms of the agreement, the seller note was structured as interest-only at 6% for 12 months, followed by 48 months of amortization. However, the note balance could be reduced up to 40% if gross route revenue dropped by more than 20% due to technician turnover or failure to reassign routes profitably within the first nine months post-close. This clause was critical, as technicians had strong client familiarity and were considered the core delivery asset of the business.
Each route technician was responsible for 12 to 16 pools, visited 2–3 times per week, with daily testing, treatment, skimming, and system diagnostics. More complex repairs were handled by floating repair techs dispatched through the central scheduling system. All staff were certified pool operators (CPO), and several held advanced state-level licenses. The average tenure of field techs was 4.3 years. The buyer pre-negotiated employment agreements and stay bonuses for seven key employees, structured as $2,000 retention payments after six months with satisfactory performance reviews.
The company operated from a leased 5,000 square foot facility that included warehouse space for chemical storage, a dispatch office, and parking for the fleet. The lease was assignable and extended three more years at $5,700/month gross. All vehicles and major equipment were included in the sale, though five of the service trucks had outstanding leases that were assumed by the buyer. Separately, the buyer negotiated an equipment financing facility of $160,000 post-close to replace aging pool vacuums, chemical feeders, and handheld testing equipment over the following six months. This supplemental financing was not part of the SBA package and was secured by the new entity’s equipment and future service receivables.
All customer contracts were reviewed during due diligence and confirmed to be assignable, with 92% including 30-day cancellation clauses but no exclusivity restrictions. The remaining 8% were on informal or legacy agreements and were converted to standardized contracts during the first 60 days post-close. The seller personally introduced the buyer to 35 of the top accounts during this window, including walkthroughs of high-profile municipal and multi-family properties. This created relationship continuity and protected against immediate churn.
The company’s billing model was monthly recurring, with invoices sent out the first of each month and payments typically received within 25 days. The AR aging was clean, with less than 2% delinquency over 60 days. Billing was handled via QuickBooks Online, while service documentation and technician dispatching were managed through Skimmer, a specialized pool service SaaS platform that enabled route optimization, chemical logs, and real-time technician updates from the field.
The buyer retained the operations manager and promoted a senior technician to field lead, with the goal of reducing owner-dependency. Training manuals were updated, and weekly tech huddles were initiated to review route changes, equipment performance, and client feedback. The company also began offering seasonal prep packages and water quality audits as upsells, with a dedicated sales tech following up on service leads generated by technicians in the field.
Growth opportunities identified by the buyer included:
Territory Expansion: Adding new service routes into two adjacent counties with high apartment growth and low commercial pool coverage.
Compliance Services: Offering third-party monthly compliance audits and pre-inspection services for health department certifications.
Water Conservation Upgrades: Promoting automation, leak detection, and smart sensor installations to reduce water usage particularly attractive to HOAs and green buildings.
Winterization Packages: Bundling off-season pool closures with spring openings to create predictable shoulder-season revenue.
Commercial Bundle Sales: Partnering with existing HVAC and janitorial clients to offer full facility maintenance packages inclusive of pool services.
Within five months of closing, the company had grown revenue by 12%, added 14 new properties, and achieved route density improvements that allowed one full-time route to be split between two new part-time technicians. The average revenue per technician increased from $120,000 to $134,000 annually, while upsell revenue from repair and compliance services grew by 31%.
The seller remained available by phone and Zoom as needed but was not actively involved in operations after 60 days. Client satisfaction remained high, with service call response time averaging 2.2 hours and completion time within 24 hours for 88% of repair requests. The company’s Google reviews improved from 4.2 to 4.7 stars, and a new commercial client referral program generated five new account leads in the first quarter post-close.
Legal diligence covered state CPO compliance, chemical storage regulations, and fleet liability exposure. All state licenses were transferred, and the buyer obtained necessary business permits and water district filings. The company’s E&O policy and umbrella coverage were increased to reflect new ownership and ensure contract eligibility with larger HOAs and government properties.
Ultimately, this transaction illustrates the acquisition of a specialized, compliance-driven recurring revenue business with field labor at its core. By structuring downside protections around technician retention, leveraging SBA financing, and layering in equipment financing and real estate lease assignment, the buyer preserved cash while acquiring a high-margin, route-dense operation poised for regional growth. The transaction has since served as the basis for a broader buy-and-build strategy within the facilities services vertical.
