This is Mike’s story.
How to sell a plumbing business at the right time, to the right buyer, for the right price is the question Mike had been turning over for two years before he picked up the phone. When the right time came, he called CGK Business Sales. Mike ran an $8M plumbing & drain operation outside a major Texas metro: 38 employees, 22 service vans, residential service-on-demand on weekdays, commercial maintenance contracts paying the steady freight, and an on-call rotation he had stopped trying to escape. His kids had built careers in software and teaching, neither was coming home for the truck, and his wife had quietly started planning the trip they kept not taking. He came to us at 58, in early 2024, because his back hurt and he did not know who else to talk to about how to sell a plumbing business this size. This page is what happened next, and what could happen for you. Mike is a composite, not a single real CGK seller, but the patterns and details are pulled from real plumbing engagements.
The night before Mike called us.
Most owners who decide to sell a plumbing business have been thinking about it quietly for a year or two before they pick up the phone. Mike was no different. He was 58. For 26 years he had been the first to know when a midnight burst-pipe call came in, the last one to leave the shop on a Friday, and the only person in the company who knew what every commercial maintenance contract actually required. The business did $8 million in revenue, had 38 employees, dispatched 22 service vans out of one shop, and split its book of business roughly 70/30 between residential service-on-demand and commercial maintenance contracts.
Why owners decide to sell a plumbing business
His son was a software engineer in Austin. His daughter taught third grade. Neither was going to put on a pair of work boots and take over the truck rotation. His wife had stopped asking when he was going to slow down and had quietly begun planning a trip he kept not taking. His knees ached from twenty-six years of crawl spaces and slab leaks. He had been approached twice in the prior nine months by private-equity-backed plumbing platforms that wanted to call him directly, both of them friendly and a little too eager. He did not know what his business was actually worth, did not know whether the buyers calling were the right buyers, did not know what he would do with himself if he sold, and did not have a single person in his life who had ever sold a business at this size.
That is the night he found CGK and submitted the form. We called him back at 9:08 the next morning.
The conversation we had on the first call.
The first call was 41 minutes. We did most of the listening.
Mike talked about his lead technician of 17 years, his dispatcher who handled both residential and commercial routing, the master plumber license tied to him personally, and the fact that he had not taken a real vacation since his daughter graduated college in 2018. He talked about ServiceTitan and the maintenance agreement portfolio he had spent the last decade rebuilding. We asked about the business in the way you would ask if you were trying to understand it, not in the way you would ask if you were trying to win the engagement. What we were listening for was not just the financials. We were listening for whether Mike was actually ready to sell, what he was working toward, and whether his expectations on price were grounded in what the market would actually support.
At the end of that call, we set up a working session: an in-person conversation where one of our Managing Directors would walk Mike through our valuation model and tell him honestly what his business was likely to command. We did not promise him a written report. Written valuations involve substantially more work, and we charge for those when a seller actually needs one for estate planning, a partner buyout, a divorce, or other documentary purposes. The walkthrough was free because Mike was clearly thinking seriously about selling, the way someone thinks about it before they actually do it. Whether that ends up being in a year, three years, or longer, we make the same call.
The valuation session was the following Thursday at 8 a.m. in the conference room above his shop, before his crews rolled out.
Mike was not ready to sell a plumbing business yet. He went home and waited eleven months.
The valuation session showed Mike that his business was worth meaningfully less than he had been hoping. Two issues were dragging the number down. The first was Mike himself: the master plumber license was in his name, the long-tenured commercial customers all knew him by first name, and on the technical edge cases the team still pulled him in. To a sophisticated buyer, that looked like key-person risk. The second was the maintenance agreement book: Mike had a healthy commercial portfolio, but the contract files were inconsistent and a few of the largest agreements were month-to-month rather than annual.
We told Mike honestly: he could go to market now and accept the discount, or he could spend nine to fifteen months elevating his lead technician into a real operations role, getting his maintenance agreements onto annual paper, and tightening up the financials so they would tell a clean story under buyer scrutiny. We said the second path would likely command a meaningfully better number from the platform buyers active in his space.
This is the part most brokers skip. Most brokers would have signed Mike that day, taken him to market, and made the commission whether or not the deal was the best one for him. We told him to wait, even though it meant we did not get paid for eleven months and might never get paid at all if he changed his mind.
Mike went home and waited. He spent the next year promoting his lead technician into a true operations manager who took over dispatch, scheduling, and field-level technical decisions. He renegotiated his largest commercial maintenance agreements onto annual auto-renew terms with clean cancellation language. He cleaned up the financials and got his ServiceTitan reporting tight enough to tell a real KPI story. He read up on what the platform buyers were paying for plumbing through resources like the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association. He called us back in February 2025 and said he was ready to sell a plumbing business that was finally in the shape it needed to be in.
What we did when Mike came back.
What it takes to sell a plumbing business properly
When an owner is ready to sell a plumbing business with CGK, the speed surprises them. We took Mike’s business to market in just under three weeks once he got us his updated financials, maintenance agreement portfolio, customer mix breakdown, fleet inventory, and technician roster with license status. The blind teaser went out to 67 buyers we had pre-qualified across four buyer types: PE-backed plumbing roll-up platforms, strategic acquirers in residential and commercial service looking for a Texas footprint, financial buyers building plumbing-and-HVAC dual platforms, and adjacent service-business strategics for whom plumbing was a wedge into a broader home-services play.
Forty-eight of those buyers signed NDAs and received the full Confidential Information Memorandum. Thirty-five entered our structured data room. Eighteen submitted Indications of Interest. Nine advanced to Letters of Intent. We narrowed to six for management presentations. Four re-submitted refined LOIs after the management meetings.
Mike decided between two of the top LOIs. They were materially different. One was a higher headline price with a large earnout tied to maintenance agreement retention and technician retention over three years. The other was a lower headline price with most of the value in cash at close and a smaller, cleaner working-capital adjustment. We walked Mike through what each would actually deliver to him under realistic and pessimistic scenarios. The lower headline price was the better deal. He took it.
Through the whole process, the same CGK Managing Director who had taken Mike’s first call eleven months earlier was the person walking him through every conversation.
What the deal actually looked like.
How the deal looks when you sell a plumbing business with CGK
Mike’s deal closed roughly six months after we restarted the engagement. The buyer was a PE-backed plumbing roll-up platform that had been acquiring high-quality service businesses across the Sun Belt. The deal was structured as a stock sale (which had real tax implications Mike worked through with his CPA before signing).
The headline price was meaningful but not the highest LOI he received. About 82% of it came as cash at closing. About 12% was held back in escrow for 18 months to cover indemnification claims and a working capital adjustment. About 6% was a small rollover equity stake in the buyer’s platform, which gave Mike continued upside if the platform did well over the next three to five years and gave the buyer reassurance that Mike would stay engaged through the license-transition period. Wire hit on a Tuesday morning in March.
Mike stayed on as a paid advisor to the buyer’s platform for four months after closing, which let him introduce his lead technician, his commercial customers, and his maintenance agreement contacts to the new owners on his terms. He worked out the master plumber license bridge with the buyer’s regional license holder during that period. After that, he was done.
What happened to Mike’s people.
Mike cared more about his technicians and his commercial customers than he cared about almost any other variable in the deal. We had screened buyers partly on this dimension from the start: we excluded two early bidders whose track records on operational integration suggested they would push out the long-tenured field staff in the first 90 days post-close.
The buyer Mike chose kept all 38 employees, honored the existing pay structure, and rolled the apprentice pipeline forward. Mike’s lead technician, who had stepped into the operations role during the eleven-month wait, was given the title of Regional Service Manager inside the platform’s broader plumbing business and a meaningful comp bump. Mike’s commercial maintenance customers were retained at well above the typical platform-acquisition retention rate, partly because Mike personally introduced them to the buyer’s account team and partly because the buyer recognized the value of those agreements and built incentives around keeping them.
Mike’s son, who had been clear that he wasn’t moving home from Austin to take over the truck rotation, was relieved. Mike’s daughter sent flowers. Mike’s wife pulled the trip itinerary out of the kitchen drawer where it had been waiting for two years. They flew to Portugal in May.
What Mike told us afterward.
Why owners who sell a plumbing business with CGK keep coming back
About four months after closing, Mike called the Managing Director who had run his deal. He said two things that the Managing Director still tells new sellers about.
The first was that the eleven-month wait between his first call and his actual engagement was the most valuable part of the whole relationship. He said: “If you had taken me to market that first day, I would have left a lot of money and a lot of credibility on the table. Telling me to wait, and telling me exactly what to fix in the meantime, is what made you the firm I trusted when I was ready.”
The second was about the structure of the deal. He said: “I almost took the higher LOI because the number on the top line looked better. The fact that you walked me through what each deal would actually pay out, year by year, in good and bad scenarios, including what would happen to the maintenance agreement portfolio under each, is the thing my CPA and my attorney both told me they had not seen any other broker do.”
This is what we mean when we say we sit with you in the decision, not just the transaction. Mike is one composite story, but the pattern is real. The owners we work with who decide to sell a plumbing business usually find their way to us through versions of Mike’s situation, and the relationships start with a long listening session and a free valuation, not a pitch.
Ready to sell a plumbing business? Where are you in Mike’s story?
If you are starting to think about how to sell a plumbing business, we should talk. There is no commitment and no pressure. The first conversation is free. The valuation walkthrough that follows is free when you are seriously thinking about selling, whether that is in a year, five years, or longer. We only charge for formal written valuations, and only when you actually need one for estate planning, a partner buyout, or another documentary purpose. Submit the form and a senior CGK Managing Director will reach out within one business day.
If you are Mike at month 1: just exploring
You are not sure if you want to sell yet. You are tired of the on-call rotation, curious about what your maintenance agreement portfolio might be worth, or you have just been approached by a PE-backed plumbing platform and want to understand what you might actually have. Most of our best engagements start here. Submit the form and we will schedule a working session. You walk away with a real number and a clear sense of what to do next, with no obligation to do anything.
If you are Mike at month 11: ready to go
You have done the work to clean up the business. The financials are tight. Your operations manager can run the day without you. Your commercial maintenance agreements are on annual paper. Maybe you have a roll-up buyer who has been calling you. You want to run a real process. Submit the form and we will be in touch within a business day to talk about timing, scope, and what your first 30 days as a CGK seller would look like.
If you are not sure where you are
Most owners are not sure. Submit the form and start with the conversation. We will figure out together where you are. We are equally happy to tell you to wait twelve months as we are to take you to market in three weeks.
Or call us directly at (888) 858-7191.
Start your own story
A senior CGK Managing Director will respond within one business day. Strictly confidential. For owners of plumbing businesses doing $1.5M+ in annual revenue. The first conversation and the valuation walkthrough that follows are free for any seller seriously thinking about selling, on any horizon.
Confidential. No obligation. Direct routing to a named CGK business broker, not a junior screener.
One of these eight people would lead your engagement.
When you decide to sell a plumbing business with CGK, one named senior Managing Director stays with you from the first call through the wire transfer, just like Mike’s Managing Director stayed with him for eleven months and then for the engagement that followed. Our Managing Directors come from Wall Street investment banks, hedge funds, Fortune 500 corporate finance, and operating-business leadership. Cornell MBA. U Chicago Booth MBA. CFA. CMT. Naval Academy. Goldman Sachs. Merrill Lynch. Deutsche Bank. AIG. T. Rowe Price.
What sellers say after they sell a plumbing business (and other businesses) with CGK
I could not be happier with the experience I had selling my business with CGK. Greg did a detailed analysis of my business and helped me price and position it right for the market. After receiving multiple offers at full asking price, the rest of the process went very smoothly, and we closed in less than two months.
Hanna M.Selling my business was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m incredibly grateful to have had Wes by my side throughout the process. He brought perspective, pushed when necessary, and always had my best interests in mind. His experience and strategic approach allowed me to maximize the sale price while minimizing long-term risk and obligations. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose him as my broker.
Adam NevilleDerik located multiple interested strategic buyers that produced more than one serious offer. The negotiations were tough but Greg and Derik’s experience helped us overcome. We got a great result for our employees and for the owners. We would recommend them without reservation.
Bob TaylorWe sold a business that was 47 years old and being run by second generation within a year of working with Wes. CGK has a system that attracts serious prospects to review opportunities. Wes was able to make the overwhelming feeling of selling easy and to a certain extent enjoyable. I never felt alone or in the dark throughout the entire process.
Jennifer WilliamsWe decided to sell our company in 2025. Talked to another M&A company in the Houston area. We felt very comfortable with Greg and Matthew at CGK. Could not have made a better choice. From day 1 till final closing and even after 30+ days, they have been here helping us with documents and support during the transition. Thanks can not be said enough.
Rickey ThomasInside the Blueprint, on Bloomberg TV and Fox Business News.
Mike’s wife is the one who first sent him a clip of CGK on Bloomberg. She recognized the firm name from a podcast about how to sell a plumbing business and texted it to him before he had decided to do anything. CGK Business Sales is featured on Inside the Blueprint, the syndicated business television series. Our episode aired on Bloomberg TV and Fox Business News. Watch the segment, then start a confidential conversation.
The CGK office Mike called was in his local Texas market. Yours might be one of these.
When you sell a plumbing business with CGK, whichever office you reach, you get the entire firm. Mike worked with a CGK Managing Director based out of his local Texas market, but his deal benefited from a buyer pool we sourced firm-wide. Click any city to learn about our local presence and the named Managing Director leading that market.
Other Questions Mike and Other Plumbing Sellers Ask Us
Practical answers to what comes up before, during, and after the kind of engagement Mike went through.