How Much Is a Small Roofing Business Worth?(And How to Build Real Value)
It’s one of the most common questions I see and hear from roofing business owners:
“What’s my company worth?”
If you’re doing less than $5 million in annual revenue, you may not love the answer. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a valuable business, it just means you might not yet have the kind of business that buyers are actively pursuing.
Here's why.
Why Size Matters (to Buyers)
Roofing companies under $5M in annual revenue typically generate less than $500K in normalized EBITDA. That level of profitability puts them below the threshold where most private equity-backed buyers or strategic platforms get involved.
At this stage, most buyers see a few common risks:
The owner is the business. If you disappear, does the company keep running?
There’s often no leadership team or scalable process.
The business is usually more reactive than strategic.
As a result, these companies often trade for 2x–3x EBITDA, and not to institutional buyers, but to individual operators or local investors.
What Institutional Buyers Are Looking For
When a private equity group or strategic buyer evaluates an acquisition target, they aren’t just looking at revenue. They’re looking at what that revenue represents, and how reliably it can grow with the right resources.
They’re asking:
Is it owner-dependant?
Are there systems in place that create predictable outcomes?
Is the leadership team strong enough to support growth?
Is there a track record of profitability, not just busy months?
If your company can’t answer “yes” to most of those questions, it’s not ready for institutional capital. Yet.
How to Build a Business That Attracts Buyers
If you’re doing $2M–$5M and want to eventually position your business for sale, or simply build something more stable and scalable, here are a few moves that matter:
Get Yourself Out of the Center
If every big decision, every customer call, and every job runs through you, you’ve got a job, not a company. Start delegating. Build systems. Make the business less reliant on your personal involvement.
Build a Leadership Layer
Even one or two strong leaders in sales, operations, or production can make a major difference. Buyers want to see a team that’s ready to take the reins.
Clean Up Your Financials
Accurate, timely, and organized financials are non-negotiable. Understand your margins. Track labor and materials. Get familiar with what your P&L actually tells you.
Focus on Consistency Over Growth Spurts
Buyers prefer steady, reliable performance over volatile up-and-down years. Avoid chasing every lead or job type. Double down on what you do best and build a reputation around it.
What’s the End Goal?
Even if you’re not ready to sell today, building a more scalable and predictable business will benefit you in the short term. It reduces stress, increases profit, and puts you in control, whether you choose to sell, scale, or stay.
The more your company can run without you, the more valuable it becomes, to a buyer and to you as an owner.
Curious Where You Stand?
If you’re unsure what your roofing company might be worth, or want to understand what it could be worth with a few key changes, I’m happy to have a conversation.
You can also use my free valuation tool to get a better idea of your business’s current position and what it might look like if you keep growing.
