What is my roofing business worth

Roofing multiples sit lower than HVAC for one reason: much of the revenue is one-off, weather-driven and storm-chased. Buyers pay more for the roofing companies that look least like that.

2.0x–3.4x
Multiple we apply: 6
Questions: $0
Cost to you

Applied to profit before your own pay, then moved inside that range for the size of the earnings and the years you have traded. It is a range, not an appraisal.

Your range, in six questions

What moves the number in roofing

Retail and commercial against storm work

A storm year flatters the numbers and a buyer knows it. Steady retail replacement and commercial maintenance are what they will pay a multiple on.

Warranty and manufacturer status

Certified installer status and a clean warranty history transfer and are worth real money. An open warranty tail is a deduction.

Crews on the books against subcontracted

Employed crews mean control and capacity. Fully subcontracted labour means the buyer is buying a sales operation, and it prices like one.

Insurance and claims exposure

Loss runs, safety record and open claims move the number as much as the revenue does.

Questions owners ask us first

What multiple should I expect for a roofing company: We use 2.0x to 3.4x profit before the owner's pay for roofing, and move inside that range for size and years trading. If most of your last year was storm work, expect a buyer to normalise it downward.
My last year was unusually good. Does that help: It helps if it repeats and it hurts if it does not. Buyers look at three years and weight the trend, so one exceptional storm year raises the range less than owners expect.

Before you trust the number

We publish the arithmetic in full: the earnings a buyer prices, the multiple for each trade, the two adjustments, and the things we deliberately leave out. How buyers value a trades business.

Other trades