Acquisitions · Diligence & Valuation
Know what it's actually worth before anyone signs anything.
Whether you're a seller who wants an honest number or a buyer sizing up a deal, we look past the top-line revenue to what's actually driving — or threatening — the value of a trades or home-service business.
What we evaluate
The things a top-line revenue number hides.
Revenue quality
How much is recurring or repeat versus one-off, and how it trends over the last 3 years, not just the best one.
Margin structure
What's actually flowing to the bottom line once you normalize for owner comp and one-time items.
Customer concentration
Whether the business depends on a handful of accounts or a healthy, diversified base.
Owner dependency
What breaks if the owner steps back — sales relationships, technical knowledge, or key vendor terms.
Digital & demand health
Brand presence, reviews, lead flow, and whether growth is systemized or purely word-of-mouth.
Working capital & seasonality
Cash flow timing, receivables, inventory or truck fleet condition, and seasonal swings that affect real value.
How we value it
Plain English, not a black box.
Most trades and home-service businesses get valued off a multiple of normalized earnings (seller's discretionary earnings or EBITDA, depending on size). The multiple itself moves with trade, geography, growth rate, and quality of earnings — there's no single "right" number the internet can give you. We show you the comparable range and exactly what's pulling your business up or down within it.
What you get
Deliverables, not just an opinion.
- A confidential valuation range grounded in comparable trades and home-service transactions
- A diligence checklist scoped to your specific business, not a generic template
- A deal-structure recommendation — what mix of cash, financing, earnout, or rollover fits the numbers
- A plain-English readout you can use even if you decide not to move forward with us
FAQ
What do owners ask about diligence and valuation?
- Do you use a fixed multiple to value every business?
- No. Multiples in trades and home-service M&A vary widely by trade, geography, growth rate, and quality of earnings. We walk you through comparable ranges and what's driving your specific number — not a rule-of-thumb sticker price.
- Is this only for businesses that are for sale?
- No. Owners use this to plan an exit years out, benchmark an unsolicited offer, or just get an honest read on where they stand.
- Can you help if I'm the buyer, not the seller?
- Yes. We support diligence for other buyers evaluating trades and home-service acquisitions, whether or not Catalyst is involved as a principal.
- Is a valuation a guarantee of what I'll get paid?
- No. A valuation is a defensible range based on the information available — actual price and terms are negotiated and depend on structure, financing, and both parties' goals.
Two doors in
Which side of the table are you on?
I want to sell my company.
A confidential, no-pressure conversation. Bring your real numbers when you're ready — not before.
Start a confidential conversationI want to buy or partner.
Tell us what you're looking at. We'll tell you honestly whether it fits how we structure deals.
Talk deal structureExplore the acquisitions practice
Buy-Side Advisory
How Catalyst sources, screens, and structures acquisitions — and how we help other buyers run the same playbook.
Read more →Sell-Side / Exit Advisory
For owners who are ready — or getting ready — to exit on their own terms, with the business intact.
Read more →Post-Close AI Integration
The web, marketing, ops, and leadership stack we install after close — the part that pays for the deal.
Read more →Keep exploring Catalyst