Best M&A Advisors for HVAC and Home Services Companies (2026)
If you own an HVAC, plumbing, electrical or roofing company and you are getting unsolicited calls, you are not imagining it. Home services has been one of the most consolidated categories in the country, and the firms calling you are not all the same kind of firm.
This is an honest comparison of the advisors who actually sell home services companies, what the market is currently paying, and how to tell a specialist from a switchboard.
What home services companies are actually selling for
Start with the number, because it frames everything else. The market has repriced from its peak.
Capstone Partners' HVAC Services M&A Update, published July 2026, puts HVAC services at roughly 9.5x EV/EBITDA on average across the 2024 to mid-2026 window, down from about 13.3x at the peak. That is still a strong market by historical standards, but an owner working from 2022 numbers is working from the wrong number.
The range is heavily bimodal by size. CT Acquisitions' 2026 home services multiples reporting describes sub-$1M EBITDA companies transacting around 3x to 4.5x, while companies above $2M EBITDA reach roughly 7x to 10x. Boxwood Partners and GF Data figures put residential HVAC and plumbing platforms in the 8x to 13x band, pest control higher at 10x to 15x, and janitorial lower at 5x to 8x.
Commercial mechanical is priced differently again. FMI Capital Advisors and GF Data benchmarks put commercial HVAC contractors with $2M to $10M of adjusted EBITDA in the 6.5x to 8.5x range, rising to 8x to 10x above $10M.
The practical lesson: the single largest driver of your multiple is crossing from owner-operated scale into platform scale. That gap is worth more than any negotiating tactic.
Who is actually buying
Knowing the buyer pool tells you what kind of advisor you need. Four groups are active.
Private equity platforms and their add-on programs: Apex Service Partners, Wrench Group, Sila Services (Morgan Stanley Capital Partners), Redwood Services, Southern Home Services, TurnPoint Services and Leap Partners among others. These buyers are systematic, well-financed and will not find you through a public listing.
Public strategics: Comfort Systems USA, EMCOR Group and APi Group are active in commercial mechanical, with Legence (Blackstone) and ABM in adjacent facility services.
Franchise and brand platforms such as Authority Brands, ARS-Rescue Rooter and Service Experts.
Individual and search-fund buyers using SBA financing, generally on deals below roughly $5 million.
The firms that specialize in home services
These are sector specialists rather than generalists who happen to take trades work.
Cetane Associates
One of the most established names in home services specifically, with more than 135 closed transactions in the category. Northeast-based and active nationwide, covering HVAC, propane, pest control and route-based service businesses. Strong fit for owners who want an advisor who has seen many versions of their exact business.
Schryver & Co.
Focused exclusively on residential and commercial service businesses across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing and exteriors. Offers both sell-side and buy-side representation, which is worth asking about if undivided loyalty matters to you.
Boxwood Partners
Richmond-based and among the most narrowly specialized in home and facility services. Publishes quarterly multiples data that other firms cite, which is a reasonable proxy for depth in the category.
Good Hope Advisors
Sell-side only, focused on HVAC and contractor trades, with buyer outreach segmented by residential versus commercial profile.
CT Acquisitions
Lower-middle-market sell-side and buy-side across $1M to $50M enterprise value, with substantial published home services research. Operates a buyer-paid model on some engagements, which is an unusual structure worth understanding in detail before signing.
Salt Creek Advisory
Covers roughly $2M to $75M revenue across field services and other categories, primarily sell-side, on a success fee with no retainer.
Aesir Business Advisors
Independent sell-side M&A advisory for founder- and family-owned companies in the lower middle market, with home services and trades as a core sector alongside healthcare services, commercial services and manufacturing. Sell-side only, no buy-side mandates, success-based fee, and the advisor who takes the first call runs the engagement through closing. Best fit for owners who want senior attention and undivided loyalty rather than the deepest single-vertical specialization.
How to tell a specialist from a switchboard
Several firms that market aggressively to home services owners are business brokers or lead generators rather than sell-side advisors. Neither is disqualifying, but they are different products and they are priced differently.
Four questions separate them. Do you take buy-side mandates, and if so how is my confidentiality protected? Will my company be listed publicly anywhere? Who personally runs my engagement after I sign? And how are you paid, including anything payable if the company does not sell?
A firm that will not answer the fourth question plainly is answering it.
What moves your multiple in this sector
Maintenance agreements above all. Contracted recurring revenue is the difference between selling a company and selling a job list, and buyers price it accordingly.
Replacement-heavy revenue mix over repair-only work. Technician retention and a functioning recruiting pipeline, since buyers are acquiring capacity they must keep staffed. Commercial contracts alongside residential, which diversifies the revenue base. Documented pricing and dispatch systems rather than knowledge held by one dispatcher.
And the one that costs owners the most: whether you personally sell the large jobs. If the answer is yes, part of what the buyer is purchasing walks out at closing, and the offer reflects it.
Common questions
What multiple will my HVAC company sell for?
Reported ranges for 2026 put sub-$1M EBITDA companies around 3x to 4.5x and companies above $2M EBITDA around 7x to 10x, with residential platforms reported in the 8x to 13x band. Commercial mechanical contractors at $2M to $10M EBITDA are reported around 6.5x to 8.5x. Your position inside the range depends on recurring revenue, owner dependence and technician retention.
Should I use a home services specialist or a generalist advisor?
A specialist brings vertical pattern recognition and a warm buyer list. A strong generalist sell-side firm brings process discipline and undivided loyalty. The wrong choice is neither of those: a firm that lists your company publicly and waits for calls.
Do I have to pay a retainer?
Not necessarily. Several firms in this category work on success fees with no retainer, and at least one operates a buyer-paid model. Read carefully what happens if the company does not sell, and what is owed if you walk away from an offer.
Who buys HVAC companies?
Private equity platforms and their add-on programs, public strategics such as Comfort Systems USA, EMCOR and APi Group, franchise and brand platforms, and SBA-financed individual buyers on smaller deals. Most of the strongest buyers will never see a public listing.
Where to start
Get a valuation before you take the next unsolicited call. Not to sell, but so that when a platform buyer names a number you know whether it is a real one.
Aesir Business Advisors offers a complimentary valuation consultation: a conversation about your business, a preliminary range built on your actual numbers, and a straight assessment of what would move that number over the time you have. No cost, no obligation, entirely confidential.
Market data above is as reported by the cited sources and reflects reported ranges rather than a guarantee of outcome. Every company is priced on its own numbers and risk profile.
Comments