Commercial Window Cleaning and Exterior Building Maintenance Company
This article details the acquisition strategy for a specialized commercial window cleaning and exterior building maintenance company that services office towers, healthcare facilities, hotels, universities, and mixed-use buildings. The company’s core offerings include high-rise window cleaning, facade pressure washing, building envelope inspections, and anchor system certifications. Additional services include solar panel cleaning, atrium glass polishing, and hard water stain removal.
The business produces $4.76 million in annual revenue and $1.02 million in adjusted EBITDA. Roughly 70% of the revenue is locked into annual or multi-year service contracts with property managers and facility services firms, many of whom represent national real estate investment trusts (REITs) and third-party building operators. Services are rendered on recurring cycles (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually), and the company’s union-certified, rope-access trained teams are OSHA and SPRAT compliant.
Because of the repeat contractual revenue, difficult-to-replicate technician certifications, and established relationships with property owners, this business is an excellent SBA 7(a) acquisition candidate. A buyer can scale quickly by adding regional routes, acquiring undercapitalized competitors, expanding into solar and glass restoration niches, and offering digital compliance documentation to increase account stickiness.
Proposed SBA 7(a) Deal Structure
The recurring contract base and long-term client relationships support the following SBA 7(a) structure:
Purchase Price: $4.08 million (4.0x EBITDA)
SBA Loan: $3.06 million (75%)
Buyer Equity Injection: $408,000 (10%)
Seller Financing (Subordinated): $612,000 (15%) amortized over 6 years with 12-month interest-only
Protective clauses:
25% clawback on seller note if contract renewal rate drops below 85% within the first 6 months
$50K seller bonus if buyer secures $500K in new commercial contracts in year one
Seller remains in operations and safety advisory role for 9 months post-close
Client Base and Revenue Composition
Client mix:
Office towers (Class A/B): 28%
Hospitals and healthcare campuses: 22%
Hotels and resorts: 18%
Universities and school districts: 13%
Mixed-use and residential towers: 11%
Government and civic buildings: 8%
Revenue segments:
High-rise and mid-rise window cleaning (interior + exterior): $2.68M
Facade pressure washing and building envelope cleaning: $810K
Solar panel and atrium cleaning: $510K
Compliance inspections and anchor testing: $420K
Glass restoration and hard water treatment: $340K
Most contracts are 1–3 years in length, with defined service intervals. Clients are billed monthly, per service, or quarterly depending on the structure of the contract. Anchor testing and compliance documentation are often billed as one-off engagements and serve as a gateway to deeper service agreements.
No client exceeds 7.1% of revenue. The top 40 clients represent approximately 67% of total revenue.
Technician Infrastructure and Operations
Personnel:
5 high-rise crews of 2–3 rope-access technicians (SPRAT/OSHA certified)
2 mid-rise and ground access crews with boom lift operators
1 full-time compliance and safety manager
2 dispatch and scheduling coordinators
1 general manager (non-owner)
All rope-access staff undergo annual SPRAT Level I/II/III recertification and hold valid OSHA 1910 fall protection compliance cards. Crews operate on fixed routes with service logs and photographic records maintained in the CRM. Onboarding for new hires includes 30+ hours of in-house simulation and shadowing.
Post-close technician plan:
Recruit 2 new trainees to enter SPRAT pipeline and alleviate seasonal bottlenecks
Introduce digital safety checklists and per-job audit bonuses
Launch bilingual crew training to better serve metro clientele and meet union DEI goals
Facility, Equipment, and Capital Investment
Facility:
7,200 sq ft industrial unit
Equipment staging and storage
Boom lift and aerial rigging dock
PPE compliance room and harness inspection bay
Admin offices and safety training classroom
Lease: $5,900/month with 3 years remaining and a 5-year extension option
Fleet and gear:
6 service vans with roof access and cleaning kits
2 trailer-mounted boom lifts (65’+)
Rigging kits, ropes, harnesses, water-fed poles, deionization tanks
FMV: ~$430,000
CapEx outlook:
Add 1 lift truck and vertical access lift: $52K
Update CRM with job photo tagging and route optimization: $14K
Replace 2 deionization tanks and 10 water-fed poles: $8K
Sales Process and Growth Opportunities
Sales channels:
RFPs through REITs and property management platforms
SEO and directory listings for “window cleaning + [city]” and “anchor testing services”
Referrals from general contractors, roofers, and safety consultants
Compliance-driven outreach to building engineers and property managers
Marketing budget: ~$38,000/year
Expansion strategies:
Acquire 1–2 underperforming cleaning firms with outdated safety protocols
Launch glass restoration and coating division targeting hard water/fogging
Create compliance documentation portal for clients to download reports/photos
Expand routes into adjacent suburbs and add a second operational base
Cross-sell anchor testing and OSHA compliance to solar panel installers and general contractors
Financial Overview
Revenue: $4.76M
COGS (labor, supplies, fuel, equipment): $2.18M
Gross Profit: $2.58M
SG&A: $1.56M
Adjusted EBITDA: $1.02M (21.4%)
Service margins:
Window cleaning: 60–65%
Pressure washing: 50%
Solar panel cleaning: 65–70%
Compliance and anchor testing: 75%
Glass restoration: 60–68%
Clients typically pay net-15 or net-30, with some paying via building vendor portals or REIT pay platforms. Some rooftop work includes milestone-based payments tied to phased access approval.
Compliance, Safety, and Risk Management
All crews OSHA 1910.27, 1926.500-503 compliant
SPRAT Level I/II/III certifications actively maintained and tracked
Anchor testing and rigging inspections meet ANSI/IWCA I-14.1 standards
Fully insured: $2M GL, $2M umbrella, $1M workers comp, $2M auto
Zero current OSHA citations or pending litigation. Crews operate with real-time check-in/check-out systems and wear ID badges and GoPro cameras for safety documentation.
Working Capital and Transition Budget
Payroll and gear float: $115K–$130K
CRM and dispatch system overhaul: $14K
Equipment and lift upgrades: $52K
Seller consulting and training phase: $28K
Crew onboarding and safety recertification: $22K
Ideal Buyer Profiles
SBA-qualified buyer with route-based or facilities service background
PE platform consolidating exterior building service verticals
Commercial real estate vendor with aspirations to bring services in-house
Entrepreneur with experience in compliance-heavy B2B field services
Post-Close Execution Plan
Transition top 25 clients via in-person meetings with seller and safety lead
Migrate all job data to updated CRM with route and compliance tracker
Hire 2 new rope-access crew members and begin certification process
Launch anchor testing and OSHA compliance advisory product line
Identify two tuck-in acquisitions under $1M in revenue for Q3 and Q4 integration
Conclusion
This commercial window and exterior maintenance business sits at the convergence of compliance, asset protection, and real estate service optimization. With repeat service contracts, trained rope-access crews, and a defensible client base, it presents a rare opportunity for SBA 7(a) buyers to acquire a business that is essential, respected, and scalable. With strong gross margins and room to expand into emerging verticals like solar and building envelope compliance, the business is positioned for both geographic and service-line growth under new ownership.
