Sell your business
Sell your Construction business without breaking up the team.
We buy 40% to 100% of owner-managed specialist contractors, drylining, fit-out and Construction services businesses with £1m to £80m revenue. We run a Construction business ourselves, so we understand retentions, main contractor relationships and what keeps a good site team together.
No NDA at this stage. No accounts required. No obligation.
Who buys Construction businesses
Who buys Construction companies in the UK?
Verdani Capital buys 40% to 100% of owner-managed UK Construction businesses with £1m to £80m revenue, keeps the team and the name, and runs them for the long term. Larger contractors and private equity backed groups are the other buyers you are likely to meet.
Construction is the trade most buyers are nervous of. Thin margins, pay-when-paid, retentions that take years to come back, and the memory of main contractors going under. So many buyers walk away, or offer a low number and push most of it into an earn-out.
We see it differently because we run a Construction business ourselves. JMC Drywall, a drylining and plastering contractor, is the platform company for our Construction group. We know the difference between a contractor with a real cash problem and one with a normal retention ledger. We know that a good supervisor is worth more than a new contract.
That means a fairer offer, fewer surprises in due diligence, and a buyer who will still be there when the last retention on today’s jobs is released.
Due diligence, in plain terms
What a buyer looks at in a Construction business
Construction buyers spend most of their time on cash and contracts. These are the four areas that move the price.
How much of your turnover comes from your biggest two or three clients, how long you have worked for them, and whether you hold framework or preferred supplier positions.
Debtor days, the age of your retention ledger, and any disputed final accounts. A clean cash cycle is the single strongest signal of a well-run contractor.
Secured work, the margin it was priced at, and a track record of delivering jobs at or above tender margin.
The balance of directly employed staff and subcontractors, CIS compliance, and supervisors and site managers who can run jobs without the owner.
Want to know where your business sits? Get a free Construction business valuation.
After completion
What happens to your team, your name and your customers
They carry on as before. We retain the brand and the team in 99% of our acquisitions, and main contractors keep dealing with the people they already trust.
Main contractors put you on their tender lists because of your name and your site record. We keep both. Your directly employed staff keep the same employer and terms in a share sale. Your CSCS-carded operatives, supervisors and apprentices stay with the people they work for now, and your regular subcontract gangs keep the work they rely on.
In most owner-managed contractors the owner is still pricing jobs, chasing valuations and deciding which tenders to go for. We do not expect that to change on day one. We agree with you how it is handed on, and over what period, and we write it into the heads of terms. Alongside the capital, we bring operational resources to grow the business and to streamline its operations, systems and processes.
Find out more about Verdani Capital and the people you will deal with.
More than capital
The operational resources behind every Construction business we buy.
Verdani is an operating group, so a business that joins us gets people, systems and finance behind it from day one: operators who have scaled businesses in these trades, a group services company that provides management support and resource, in-house IT and cyber security, and finance leadership that builds the reporting a growing business needs.
Sales leadership, cross-selling across the group, framework and tender support, and bolt-on acquisitions funded and run by us.
Scott has led teams of 500+ and scaled a contractor from £20m to £80m. Job costing, scheduling, fleet, procurement and margin discipline, improved from experience rather than from a consultant’s deck.
Operational technology, IT and cyber security through Verdani Solutions, and the finance systems and monthly reporting we put in so decisions are made on real numbers.
Verdani Services Limited provides management and resource across the portfolio: HR, compliance, accreditations, insurance and back-office, so your team can concentrate on the work.
None of it is imposed. We agree with you what the business needs, and the team keeps running the business. Meet the people who do this on the team page.
The process
How the sale works
Three steps, from a confidential conversation to completion, usually in 8 to 14 weeks.
A confidential conversation
No NDA at this stage, no pressure, no financial information needed. We get to understand your business, what you want out of the next few years, and whether there is a natural fit.
Valuation and heads of terms
We ask for three years of accounts and produce an honest valuation. We propose the deal structure, the ownership split and your role after completion, before anything is signed.
Completion
Experienced M&A solicitors and our own in-house deal team move it through. You deal with the same people from the first call to the final signature.Most deals complete in 8 to 14 weeks.
The detail is on how we buy businesses.
Selling in a different sector?
We buy across the trades we operate in ourselves. Start with the guide for your sector:
Fundable. Backable. Verifiable.
Why owners trust us with what they built.
Everything below can be checked. Companies House filings, a trading group you can visit, and named people you can call.
- Track record
- 32 completed acquisitions over 12 years, across HVAC, M&E, Renewables and Construction.
- Trading group
- £25m group revenue and £3m group EBIT across operating companies, not a shell or a special-purpose vehicle.
- Legal entities
- Verdani Capital Two Limited (13658177) and Verdani Services Limited (11718358), both filed at Companies House.
- Investor partners
- Private investors who want a good return on their money and want to own business assets across our sectors, as equity, secured debt or a blend.
- Funding
- Acquisitions are funded by a network of private investors and lenders alongside group cash flow, structured as equity, debt or a blend to suit each deal.
- Pipeline
- A live pipeline of acquisition opportunities in HVAC, M&E engineering, Renewables and Construction at every stage from first conversation to heads of terms.
- Named people
- Lee Smith and Scott Adams lead every deal personally. The people you meet are the people who decide.
- Professional execution
- Experienced M&A solicitors and an in-house deal team, with the structure and timetable set out in writing at heads of terms.
Your options
Selling to Verdani vs a trade consolidator vs private equity
How the main buyer types typically differ for an owner-managed Construction business.
| What happens to | Verdani Capital | Trade consolidator | Private equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your name and brand | Kept in 99% of cases | Often absorbed into the buyer’s brand | Usually kept, sometimes rebranded for a platform |
| Site teams and office staff | Retained, by design | Estimating and commercial roles often merged | Usually kept, with cost targets in the plan |
| Your involvement | Your choice: stay, step back gradually, or go | Usually a short handover | Often required to stay and hit targets |
| Timeline | 8 to 14 weeks typically | Varies with the buyer’s integration plans | Often longer, with committee sign-off |
| Who decides | The people on your first call | A corporate development team and board | An investment committee you rarely meet |
| Exit horizon | Long-term hold, no planned resale | Long-term, as part of a larger group | Typically a sale within three to seven years |
See the rest of the group on our portfolio page.
Straight answers
Selling a Construction business, answered.
Who buys Construction companies in the UK?
Construction businesses are bought by larger contractors, private equity backed groups and operator-led acquirers such as Verdani Capital. Verdani buys 40% to 100% of owner-managed specialist contractors, drylining, fit-out and Construction services businesses with £1m to £80m revenue, and runs JMC Drywall as the platform company for its Construction group.
How much is my Construction business worth?
Most owner-managed specialist contractors are valued as a multiple of sustainable EBITDA. Construction multiples are lower than service trades because profit depends on winning and delivering projects. Repeat work from several main contractors, framework positions, a clean retention ledger and a management team that runs sites without you all push the number up.
What happens to retentions when I sell my Construction company?
Retentions stay with the company and are part of the working capital in the deal. A buyer will want to know how much is owed, how old it is and how much is likely to be paid. We agree a fair approach up front so you are paid for retentions you have earned, rather than losing them in a late price adjustment.
Can I sell my Construction business and keep my site teams?
Yes. Supervisors, site managers and a reliable trade workforce are what win repeat work from main contractors, so we keep them. In a share sale employees keep the same employer and terms, and your regular subcontractors keep working with the people they know. We retain the team in 99% of our acquisitions.
Is my Construction business too dependent on me to sell?
Probably not. Most owner-managed contractors rely heavily on the owner for pricing, main contractor relationships and cash control. A buyer prices that risk, but a partnership sale lets you stay on while a second tier of management takes over, so the dependence reduces over time and you share in the value that creates.
Do you buy underperforming Construction businesses?
Yes, where we already operate in the sector, and Construction is one of them. Verdani has turnaround experience and runs JMC Drywall, our Construction platform company, so we can put real operating support behind a contractor that has lost its way. An underperforming Construction business is worth a conversation. Outside the sectors the group already trades in, we only buy profitable businesses.
Start here
Have one honest conversation. Decide from there.
Tell us about your business. We will give you a straight view on whether there is a fit, and what a partnership with Verdani could look like for you.
- No NDA at this stage and no obligation
- Completely confidential. Nothing goes further
- You will speak to Lee or Scott, not an analyst
- We reply within one working day
Prefer to talk? Call 020 3475 5475
or email info@verdanicapital.co.uk
or message us on WhatsApp