Sell Your Pest Control, Security, Exterior Cleaning, or Holiday Lighting Business

Categories we buy

Four specialty categories, one acquirer

Each category has its own economics. Together, they share the operating profile we look for: recurring or seasonal-recurring demand, high gross margins, and businesses that don't depend on the owner doing every job.

Pest control

One of the most attractive recurring-service categories we buy. Quarterly residential plans and monthly commercial accounts produce highly predictable monthly revenue. Margins are excellent (often 25–35% SDE), capex is light (trucks + chemicals), and customer retention regularly clears 85% year-over-year. Multiples for profitable pest control businesses run 3–5× SDE — among the highest in service.

Contract security & guard services

Labor-intensive but capital-light. Recurring monthly invoicing on multi-year commercial contracts. Margins are thinner (typically 8–15% SDE) but the revenue is sticky and the operating model is clean once a strong scheduling and supervisor layer is built. Multiples for profitable security businesses run 2.5–3.5× SDE; depend heavily on contract diversification and license / clearance depth.

Residential exterior cleaning (pressure / soft wash, window cleaning, gutter)

Route-based, B2C-anchored, increasingly subscription-style. The category has been professionalizing rapidly — operators offering annual plans for soft-washing, gutter clearing, and window cleaning are building genuinely sticky books. Margins run 18–28% SDE; multiples typically 2.5–4× SDE.

Holiday lighting

Highly seasonal but highly retained. Customer install & removal contracts during a 60-day annual window produce concentrated revenue but exceptional margins (often 25–40% SDE during the season). The best operators have year-round retention bookings and a multi-year customer database. Multiples typically 2.5–3.5× SDE on full-year SDE — we adjust for storage, working capital, and seasonal labor.

Acquisition criteria

What a Stockton fit looks like

These traits apply across all four categories. A strong fit usually has at least four of the six.

$500K–$4M annual revenue

Established team, established route or contract base, clean financials.

Recurring or repeatable revenue base

Quarterly contracts, annual plans, multi-year accounts, or returning seasonal customers — anything that creates revenue predictability.

A field manager or supervisor

Someone running scheduling, training, and customer service day-to-day. Not just the owner doing every role.

Multi-year profitability

Three years of clean financials with healthy SDE margins (varies by category, usually 12–30%).

Required licenses in the company name

Pest control applicator licenses, security guard agency licenses, etc. — held by the operating entity, with multiple qualifying employees.

A reason you're ready to sell

Retirement, succession, partnership exit, or just done with the seasonality grind.

How a sale works

Three steps. Sixty to ninety days.

Same process across all four categories. We adjust the diligence depth based on the specific business.

1

Initial conversation

30 minutes, fully confidential, no NDA. We learn about your team, your customer base, and what you want from a sale.

2

Diligence + offer

Three years of financials, customer database review, license / certification roster, equipment list. Typically 2–3 weeks.

3

Close + transition

Cash at close. Transition support timed around your category's seasonality. Brand, team, and licenses preserved.

Questions

Selling a specialty service business: FAQ

What multiples do specialty service businesses sell for?

It depends on the category. Pest control: 3–5× SDE. Residential exterior cleaning: 2.5–4× SDE. Holiday lighting: 2.5–3.5× SDE. Contract security: 2.5–3.5× SDE. The biggest swing factors across all four are recurring revenue percentage, customer concentration, and how independent the business is from the owner.

Do you buy seasonal businesses like holiday lighting?

Yes. Seasonality is normal in this category. We look at trailing twelve-month revenue and full-year SDE, and we work with you on how to structure working capital so the off-season doesn't strain post-close cash flow.

What about pest control applicator licenses?

Required, and we want to see at least 2–3 qualifying employees beyond the owner. State requirements vary, but a single-license business introduces real continuity risk. We adjust the structure (often a transition period during which the owner remains the qualifying applicator) when needed.

Will you keep my crews and supervisors?

Yes. Across all four categories, the team that does the work is what makes the business valuable. We protect existing pay structures and typically pay retention bonuses to key supervisors and field managers at close.

How do you handle contract concentration in security businesses?

Concentration in contract security is more common than in other categories — many guard businesses anchor on one or two large industrial or residential complex contracts. We don't avoid it, but we adjust the offer structure: more upfront if the contracts are institutional and well-documented; some seller financing or rollover if the relationship is owner-driven.

I'm not ready to sell yet — is it worth talking now?

Yes. In specialty service categories specifically, simple operational improvements (adding a recurring service plan, building a second qualifying employee, diversifying contract concentration) can lift the multiple by 0.5–1.0× over 12–24 months. A conversation now helps you focus on what matters.

Other verticals we buy

Adjacent service businesses we acquire

Ready to talk about your business?

Whether you're ready to sell now or 18 months out, the first conversation is the same: confidential, 30 minutes, no obligation.

Book a confidential call

leo@stocktonvc.com · LinkedIn

Selling a specialty service business? We buy them.