House Doctors

Location

North of Boston, MA

Industry

Construction and Specialized Trades

Business Broker

Ed Burkhart

Situation

The owner of the House Doctors franchise in eastern Massachusetts was looking to retire. He contacted BayState Business Brokers to help him market the business to find a new owner who could take the business to the next level, building on his legacy.

BayState Business Broker Ed Burkhart met with the owner and prepared to take the business to market.

BayState Business Brokers’ Approach

The owner had developed a good handyman business with a solid team in place and more business than they could handle. There were no other House Doctor franchisees in the area which presented opportunity for growth.

Burkhart evaluated the local market and the broader opportunity for a buyer to take advantage of the support that the franchise would offer a qualified seller. While buying into a franchise does not appeal to everyone, it does present an opportunity not to have to start from scratch, leveraging the systems, processes and marketing support to grow a business and learn from the available training.

Additionally, for the right buyer, there was significant upside in building on all that the owner had put in place, including tools, trucks, and a customer base.

Ed guided and advised the seller throughout the process including advising him not to move forward with one interested buyer due to deal terms. The seller agreed with Ed who continued to market the business to secure additional interested parties. Rising to the top in terms of prospective sellers, a husband-wife couple expressed interest as they saw a unique opportunity to acquire the House Doctors franchise as an add-on to their existing and successful house flipping business.

The young couple had a lot of energy along with strong business skills, he in marketing and sales and her in finance. Their instincts, business acumen and local market knowledge identified significant market upside to this potential add-on and valued the support of buying into the franchise to fast-track growth.

As part of the vetting process, the couple travelled to Charlotte to meet with franchisor leadership and to complete initial training. With the franchisor in support of the prospective buyers, Ed was able to move the process forward to guide the couple in securing financing.

As can be the case in current economic times, securing financing took longer than planned as the lender wanted additional assurance from the seller in the form of a small seller note that would be subordinate to the loan to the two buyers. The buyers intended to pay off the loan within the next two years after selling two properties, so the seller was reassured that the note would unlikely be a risk.

Results

The couple purchased the House Doctors franchise and immediately secured office space and storage nearby to consolidate all existing assets from the seller who had operated the business out of his home. All existing workers were thrilled to continue working in the franchise with expected growth opportunities. The franchisor was pleased with new owners who embraced the systems, processes and support that the franchise had to offer.

The prior owner celebrated the benefit of having two capable, energetic and committed new owners who would grow the business and extend his legacy. He entered retirement having peace of mind that the business he had run for many years was in good hands to grow and prosper for many years to come.