• SMB Deal Hunter
  • Posts
  • New Deals: A commercial kitchen safety training school, landscaping business, and 3 other finds

New Deals: A commercial kitchen safety training school, landscaping business, and 3 other finds

Plus, new SBA rules concerning citizenship and residency requirements

Hello SMB Deal Hunters!

First off, Happy New Year! Iโ€™m excited to be back to share 5 new businesses for sale worth checking out in this Market Watch issue. Each was handpicked from hundreds of fresh listings, with our quick take on why it stands out. First upโ€ฆ

COMMUNITY WINS

Hereโ€™s what one SMB Deal Hunter Pro member shared this past week:

Want me and my team to work with you to find, finance, and acquire a million-dollar cash-flowing business in the next 6-12 months?

NEW DEALS

These deals span the country. For custom-sourced deals in your area, click here.

1/ Commercial Kitchen Safety Training School

๐Ÿ“ Location: Florida
๐Ÿ’ฐ Asking Price: $5,200,000
๐Ÿ’ผ EBITDA: $976,867
๐Ÿ“Š Revenue: $2,400,000
๐Ÿ“… Established: 2014

๐Ÿ’ญ My 2 Cents: This business owns the gateway to a niche trade that most people don't know exists but every commercial kitchen legally depends on. The school holds a near-monopoly position as one of the few accredited providers of certification training required by NFPA Code 96 for kitchen exhaust hood cleaning and related kitchen equipment maintenance, credentials mandated by fire inspectors, insurance carriers, and municipalities across the U.S. and Canada. That regulatory moat creates a captive student base of aspiring technicians and established cleaning companies needing to certify their crews, which explains the impressive 41% EBITDA margin. The hybrid model is particularly smart: three-quarters of the coursework is delivered online at high margins, while the smaller hands-on component runs through a leased training facility and commands premium pricing for experiential learning. With a largely remote team, documented systems, and steady inbound leads, the owners work minimal hours, which tells me the infrastructure is mature and the brand does most of the heavy lifting. I'd want to understand the competitive landscape among other accredited schools, renewal rates for recertification courses, and whether there's room to expand into related trades like fire suppression or grease trap maintenance. As commercial construction rebounds and fire code enforcement tightens nationwide, this business sits at the intersection of regulatory compliance and skilled trade education, two forces that rarely move backward.

2/ Landscaping Business

๐Ÿ“ Location: Texas
๐Ÿ’ฐ Asking Price: $3,950,000
๐Ÿ’ผ EBITDA: $921,974
๐Ÿ“Š Revenue: $3,910,105
๐Ÿ“… Established: 1997

๐Ÿ’ญ My 2 Cents: Landscaping is a grind-it-out business that rewards consistency and reputation, and this Texas operation has been doing exactly that for nearly three decades. The company handles both commercial properties and residential clients year-round, which smooths out seasonal cash flow swings and reduces dependence on any single customer type. With 21 full-time employees and $300K in equipment and vehicles already in place, the infrastructure is built to handle the current workload without major capital outlays, and the loyal client base tells me the quality and service delivery are solid. What's particularly attractive is the location in a high-growth Texas market where affluent homeowners prioritize curb appeal and commercial property managers need reliable maintenance partners. The business has clearly built a strong local reputation, though I'd want to understand crew retention and wage pressures in a tight labor market, the mix between recurring maintenance contracts versus one-time project work, and whether pricing has kept pace with rising labor and fuel costs. The real edge here is that 27 years of trust and reliability can't be bought or replicated quickly, which matters in a fragmented industry where most competitors are still running two-truck operations without the capacity to service larger commercial accounts.

3/ Multi-Location Auto Body Shop

๐Ÿ“ Location: California
๐Ÿ’ฐ Asking Price: $3,500,000
๐Ÿ’ผ EBITDA: $1,076,439
๐Ÿ“Š Revenue: $7,192,267
๐Ÿ“… Established: 1994

๐Ÿ’ญ My 2 Cents: Auto body repair is one of those steady cash flow businesses where regulatory barriers create real value, and this Orange County operation benefits from perhaps the most powerful moat of all: new collision center permits are no longer being issued in the area. That effectively caps competition and protects market share in a region where traffic density and vehicle volume ensure consistent demand. Operating three fully equipped locations with 30 full-time employees and a general manager handling day-to-day oversight, the business runs largely without the owner, which tells me systems and processes are mature enough to support a smooth transition. The direct repair program relationship with Mercury, along with developing partnerships with Toyota and Acura, positions the business to capture higher-margin referrals directly from dealerships and insurers rather than competing for one-off walk-ins. I'd want to understand the revenue mix across the three locations, whether capacity constraints limit growth or if there's room to add shifts or technicians, and how pricing and cycle times compare to competitors given the insurance-driven model. With over $500K in equipment included and 10-year leases locking in occupancy costs, this deal offers a rare combination of regulatory protection, operational scale, and hands-off management in a market where barriers to entry only get higher as California's permitting and environmental requirements continue to tighten.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Michael was a corporate accountant who had seen firsthand how powerful small businesses can be, but like most first-time buyers, he struggled to figure out how to actually break in.

Just 2 months after joining SMB Deal Hunter Pro, we helped Michael source the off-market deal he ended up closing on, a $1.6M digital marketing agency serving law firms cash-flowing ~$400K/year with:

โœ… 3+ year average customer lifetime
โœ… Strong recurring revenue
โœ… Fully remote operations

Like almost every real acquisition, it wasnโ€™t smooth. He dealt with brokers and banks telling him to โ€œgo downmarket,โ€ sellers who didnโ€™t understand their own financials, and last-minute lender changes that reduced cash proceeds to the seller.

But Michael stayed disciplined, kept momentum, and closed.

4/ Specialized Hauling Services Company

๐Ÿ“ Location: Virginia
๐Ÿ’ฐ Asking Price: $13,975,000
๐Ÿ’ผ EBITDA: $2,666,907
๐Ÿ“Š Revenue: $22,855,117
๐Ÿ“… Established: 2017

๐Ÿ’ญ My 2 Cents: Building a $23M hauling operation in under eight years tells me this team knows how to win contracts and scale execution in a capital-intensive business where most operators struggle to get past a handful of trucks. The service mix is diversified across asphalt hauling, snow removal, and general materials transport, serving a solid customer base that includes VDOT, commercial contractors, and residential clients, which smooths out seasonal dips and reduces reliance on any single revenue stream. What really catches my eye is the fleet composition: 37 trucks from premium manufacturers like Peterbilt, Kenworth, and Mack, with 25 new Peterbilts added in 2024-2025 alone to meet growing demand. That level of recent investment points to real contract momentum and confidence in the pipeline, though it also raises questions about whether EBITDA margins are sustainable once those trucks need replacement or if the business is carrying significant debt from the recent fleet expansion. The asking price of roughly 5.2x EBITDA sits at the higher end for hauling businesses, but it's more reasonable when you factor in the $8.3M equipment value, which means you're effectively paying around 2x EBITDA for the operating business itself. I'd want to dig into the age and condition of the older International, Freightliner, and Mack units, understand maintenance costs as a percentage of revenue, and confirm whether the VDOT contracts are multi-year or subject to annual rebidding. The real opportunity here is that hauling businesses with this scale and equipment quality often become the go-to partner for larger infrastructure projects that smaller operators simply can't handle.

5/ Commercial Electrical Contractor

๐Ÿ“ Location: New York
๐Ÿ’ฐ Asking Price: $2,425,000
๐Ÿ’ผ EBITDA: $618,973
๐Ÿ“Š Revenue: $3,059,962
๐Ÿ“… Established: 1972

๐Ÿ’ญ My 2 Cents: Commercial electrical work is about relationships and reliability, and this contractor has spent over 50 years proving both in Central New York's construction market. They work across a healthy mix of local and national general contractors, retail property managers, and industrial facilities, which spreads risk and keeps the pipeline full even when one segment slows down. The business model centers on non-discretionary project work like renovations, tenant improvements, and infrastructure upgrades rather than chasing volatile new construction, which means steadier cash flow and less exposure to market swings. What stands out is the operational maturity: established estimating processes, a visible backlog of projects, and robust staffing that handles everything from bid prep to execution without the owner being on every job site. The 20% EBITDA margin is solid for a contractor doing $3M in revenue, though I'd want to understand bonding capacity limits, average project size and duration, and whether key client relationships live with the owner or the team. I'd also dig into technician wages and retention given the nationwide shortage of skilled electricians, and confirm whether the backlog includes signed contracts or just verbal commitments. With infrastructure spending and commercial retrofit activity remaining strong across upstate New York, this business offers a stable entry into a trade where decades of client trust and safety track record can't be replicated by new competitors.

THE BEST OF SMB TWITTER (X)

Why you need an attorney in M&A transactions (link)

Be careful if the seller is EBITDA stuffing (link)

Buy a good business at a good price that fits you (link)

Voices that keep you from making it (link)

Build your ability to manage these 5 things (link)

Why searching for a proprietary deal can be a waste of time (link)

New SBA rules concerning citizenship and residency requirements (link)

COMMUNITY PERKS

โ€ข Ready to buy and operate a $1M+ business? Partner with my team and get expert support at every step.

โ€ข Want to invest passively in SMB acquisitions? Get access to investment opportunities.

โ€ข Get a personal introduction to my preferred SBA 7(a) lender, non-SBA lenders, Quality of Earnings providers, or legal counsel

โ€ข Raising capital for your deal? Iโ€™ll connect you with investors from the SMB Deal Hunter Community.

โ€ข Interested in selling your business? Iโ€™ll help you connect with buyers from the SMB Deal Hunter Community.

RECENT PODCAST EPISODE

Imagine this. You buy an overnight delivery route business with somebody you met on Craigslist, and, on your first night, two of your key drivers donโ€™t show up.

That horror story was not imagination for Joe and Colin. But, after personally driving over 400 miles a night for the first few months, they made it work. Today, they've done 15 acquisitions across consumer brands, e-commerce, and financial services.

In this episode, Joe and Colin explain how they figured out how to work on the business instead of in it.

And for our audio-only listeners, jump in and listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

THATโ€™S A WRAP

See you tomorrow!

P.S. I'd love your feedback. Tap the poll below or reply to this email.

How was today's newsletter?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Disclaimer

This publication is a newsletter only and the information provided herein is the opinion of our editors and writers only. Any transaction or opportunity of any kind is provided for information only; SMB Deal Hunter does not verify nor confirm information. SMB Deal Hunter is not making any offer to readers to participate in any transaction or opportunity described herein.