There is no doubt that HVAC companies (Air Conditioning Contractors) in Florida have always been a popular listing with buyers. However, right now in this booming market, they are one of the most sought-after and desirable business listings on the market. If you own an HVAC business and are thinking of selling it in the near future, there has truly never been a better time to sell. If you are looking to purchase an HVAC company, this information will be helpful too. Below we will explain in detail about the current demand for HVAC businesses and what we are seeing in the marketplace.
Essential Business
There is one thing that you can always count on in Florida, and that is the necessity of Air Conditioning (for obvious reasons, like our 8 months of summer weather). This is true for all homes and businesses. So, it is no surprise that HVAC companies are busy, always in demand, and are deemed an essential business. Floridians rely on these HVAC companies to keep them cool throughout most of the year, and then we also need them during our few weeks of “winter” when we all have to turn on our heaters for the first time. There is no real seasonal downturn for these businesses, and no matter what happens to the economy, Floridians will still need to have their A/C running smoothly. This makes an HVAC business recession-resistant, which is traditionally the most desirable type of businesses to own. In a post-pandemic world, essential businesses are more popular to own than ever, and the buyer demand for good HVAC business listings has never been greater than it is right now.
HVAC Buyer Interest
At Green & Co. we carefully track and analyze all of the buyer inquiries on our listings. We noticed that the HVAC businesses we have listed have gotten more buyer interest, compared to most of the other listings in varying industries. We calculated the average number of buyer inquiries for listings that came onto the market at around the same time as one of our HVAC listings. Then we compared the average number of buyer inquiries for the other listings vs the number of inquiries the HVAC listing has gotten in the same amount of time on the market. The results completely supported our suspicions that the HVAC listing was getting significantly more buyer inquiries. In fact, the HVAC listing received 68% more inquires than the other businesses (averaged together), and there is no special reason that it is so popular, other than the industry it’s in. 68% percent more is truly an incredible difference in the number of buyer inquires, and proof that HVAC business listings are in very high demand.
Lack of Inventory
In most of those buyer inquiry instances, the HVAC business they inquired about is either, for whatever reason, not right for them, or as it is in many cases for HVAC listings, under contract and no longer available. So, what do we do with all of those buyers who are looking for the perfect A/C business to purchase? We try to help them find an alternate HVAC listing, because we can help buyers purchase any business in Florida, not just our own listings. However, when we go to send them over other HVAC business options, there really aren’t that many to choose from. We are dealing with a huge lack of inventory on the business sales market right now, and we desperately need more businesses to sell. Especially when it comes to HVAC companies. We have so many ready, willing, and able buyers at our fingertips, but we don’t have many viable HVAC business listings to offer them. We want to take advantage of this massive wave of buyers in the marketplace, and we want to help all of them find their perfect HVAC business, but we really need more HVAC companies who are ready to sell. If that is you, then please do get in touch with us today, as we have hundreds of buyers in our database, specifically looking for a Florida HVAC company to purchase.
HVAC Business Buyers
For buyers, here are some important things to keep in mind. First, this is a very competitive arena, so be prepared to move quickly and make a strong offer if a new HVAC business listing does become available. Your business broker can put you on an auto-notification so that if anything new does become available, you will be notified right away. Green & Co. specifically is actively prospecting for HVAC companies who are ready to sell, so we will always let you know if we find an opportunity that hasn’t even hit the market yet. One important thing to remember about purchasing an A/C company in Florida is that the company will need to have a licensed employee/or license qualifier registered and currently active with the Florida DBPR (Department of Business and Professional Regulation) in order to operate lawfully. So, the buyer needs to hold the FL HVAC contractor’s license, a key employee needs to have it, or you can employ/pay a license qualifier. Sometimes a seller will qualify the business for a certain period of time, for a fee, until the new owner has a chance to sort out the licensing aspect, but that is something that you would need to agree on in the purchase contract. Furthermore, if you are going to be borrowing, using an SBA loan, sometimes it can be problematic if the buyer does not hold the appropriate state license. However, it depends on the situation, and an SBA lender will be able to give you more information about that…it’s just something to be aware of, keep in mind, and you will want to make sure it won’t be an issue with your lender, before you make an offer.