Construction and trade businesses for sale

The first question is always how much of the business lives in the owner’s head and phone. In many small Danish trade firms the owner prices every job, runs the sites, knows the clients and still works on the tools. If the owner leaves, the work can leave too. Ask who prepares quotes and estimates, who clients call, and how many hours the owner bills personally.

Then look at the people. Experienced journeymen who have stayed for years and apprentices part-way through training are often the most valuable thing you buy — skilled tradespeople are hard to hire. Ask about age, length of service, collective agreements and who could act as site foreman. Finally, the clients: regular commercial clients, housing associations and framework agreements give steadier revenue than many small private jobs, but check whether one or two clients dominate.

Smaller owner-run trade businesses are usually priced on profit. Sitavo’s indicative range is 2–3.5 times annual profit (SDE: profit plus the owner’s own salary and one-off items), cross-checked against 0.2–0.6 times revenue. Skilled staff who stay, well-maintained equipment and regular commercial clients push the price up; heavy owner dependence and a few large clients pull it down. These are indicative market ranges, not a valuation — use Sitavo’s price estimate for a specific firm, and compare with market data for trades.

• Revenue and profit for the last three years — trades move with the seasons and the building cycle.
• Order book: agreed but unfinished work on the handover date.
• Margin by type of work (service, renovation, new build).
• Receivables and work in progress, and how they are settled at handover.
• Equipment and vans, with age, condition and any leasing or finance.

• Annual accounts, a trial balance and a list of the largest clients with revenue per client.
• A staff list with role, length of service, pay, collective agreement and apprenticeship contracts.
• Order book and work in progress, with contracts, quotes and stage invoicing.
• Warranty obligations and defect claims: open complaints and completed work still under liability.
• Authorisations and the responsible qualified person, if the firm does electrical, plumbing or drainage work.
• Equipment and vehicle register with leases, insurance and service history.

Sellers can place client lists and accounts in a data room behind an NDA, so you can review the numbers before you make an offer. See also the pre-purchase checklist.

Under Danish law, employees transfer with the business on their existing terms, so you take over their length of service and related obligations. If the firm carries out regulated work, check that a qualified person holding the right authorisation from the Danish Safety Technology Authority (Sikkerhedsstyrelsen) is in place after the handover; if that person is the selling owner, a replacement is needed. Agree who carries liability for defects in work completed before the handover, and how jobs in progress are settled.

In an asset purchase you choose what to take over: equipment, vans, stock, client agreements, the trading name and phone number. In a share purchase, every contract and liability stays with the company, including warranties on past work. A transition period in which the seller introduces you to the regular clients is often what keeps them. Buyers from abroad should expect Danish contracts, Danish VAT and Danish authorisation rules, and a local adviser is usually worth it. Read more about the handover.

Trade businesses are often bought with a mix of own funds, a bank loan and vendor financing, where part of the price is paid over a couple of years. That keeps the seller committed to a good handover. Messaging sellers and making offers on Sitavo is free, and an offer is valid for 7 days. You agree price and terms in the deal workflow, which keeps the purchase agreement and handover in one place. The purchase price is paid directly from buyer to seller — Sitavo never holds the money. Set up a search alert if the right firm is not listed yet, or browse all businesses for sale.