Before a buyer visits your yard
- Signed backlog by job, with contract value and percent complete
- Foremen and crew leaders, their tenure and whether they plan to stay
- Share of work from your top general contractors
- Bonding capacity and who signs the indemnity today
- An equipment list with age, condition and any liens
Why buyers want masonry companies
A masonry contractor is the kind of steady, necessary business buyers look for. Buildings need repointing, restoration and new brick every year, whatever the news says.
That demand helps, but the price still comes down to what the company earns and how much of it a new owner can keep.
Crews are the hardest thing to replace
Skilled masons are scarce. A buyer will ask for a roster with roles, years with the company and pay. Foremen who run jobs without you on site are worth a lot, because they show the company can work without its owner.
Keep the sale confidential until it is nearly final. When the time comes, present it as continuity: the new owner needs the crews as much as you did.
In the District, a buyer who keeps your employees and continues the business is usually treated as a successor for unemployment tax and takes on your rate history. See how the DOES account moves.
Who you work for
Many masonry contractors get most of their work from a handful of general contractors. If two or three of them make up more than about 15 to 20% of revenue, buyers see risk and often lower the price or tie part of it to keeping those relationships.
A mix of general contractors, property managers and direct owners reads better. So does a record of being invited back to bid.
Backlog and margins
Buyers read your job list closely: contract value, billed to date, cost to date and expected margin. Jobs that are running over show up quickly. Have clean job cost reports ready, and know where retainage stands on each project.
Bonding
If your work needs bonds, a buyer has to set up its own surety relationship, and the surety will look at the buyer's finances.
Bring your bonding history and current limits so the buyer can start early. Your personal indemnity on existing bonds should be part of the closing plan.
Equipment and the DC filings that follow it
Mixers, lifts, scaffolding and trucks are part of the sale. A buyer of equipment in the District must send OTR a bulk sale notice before paying, and will usually hold back money until your tax accounts are clear.
Your tools and machinery also sit on the yearly FP-31 personal property return, which you mark final when the business stops operating.
Ask your CPA how the equipment is treated for sales tax. A yard in Maryland or Virginia follows that state's rules instead.
Pricing a masonry company
Most sales in this range are asset sales priced on owner cash flow, often around 2 to 3 times that figure. The valuation guide covers how buyers recast the books, including trucks and phones the family uses.
For a straight answer on where your company might price, send a request or call (202) 555-0174.