Business acquisition opportunity
Water management and legionella compliance business, Texas and the Southwest
Anonymised as Project Cascade
Anonymised mandate, codename PROJECT CASCADE
Water management and legionella compliance business, Texas and the Southwest
Water management programs, cooling tower treatment and legionella testing
Why this business is called Project Cascade
Project Cascade is a working codename, chosen at random by DealFlowAgent (DFA) and standard practice in mergers and acquisitions. It exists so the business can be discussed with acquirers, funders and advisers without naming the company or alerting its staff, customers and competitors. The codename is not connected to the company, its brand or its trading name, and searching for it online will return nothing about this business. Everything you need in order to judge fit is on this page in banded form. The company is named to one verified acquirer only, after the owner approves that specific introduction in writing.
An owner-operated water management business serving hospital systems, universities, senior living operators and hospitality groups across Texas and neighboring states. The company writes and administers ASHRAE 188 water management programs, treats the systems it monitors, and handles the sampling and reporting the programs require. Not on the market, and no banker engaged.
Verified acquirers only. A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis. Identity is disclosed at the third gate, with the owner's written approval.
Indicative value range
$11M to $24M
Derived from comparable UK transactions in this sector over the last 24 months. This is a market reference, not the owner's number. The reserve is set separately and disclosed under non-disclosure agreement.
- Sector
- Water management and legionella compliance
- Region
- Texas and the Southwest
- Ownership
- Owner-operated
- Outside capital
- None
- Structure sought
- 60% to 100%
- Adviser status
- Unrepresented
$9-13M
Revenue
17-21%
EBITDA margin
65-75%
Recurring revenue
90%+
Contract renewal
20+ yrs
Trading history
55-80
Employees
4
States served
Around half
Healthcare share
Why every figure is a band
Companies on this register are real businesses with staff, customers and suppliers who do not know their owner is listening to the market. Exact figures are a fingerprint: a precise turnover, a filing date and a region will narrow most UK sectors to a single company. These bands are wide enough to protect identity and wide enough that a growing business does not fall out of its own mandate. Every band is verified against filed accounts and management information held by DealFlowAgent (DFA). Precise figures are released under a non-disclosure agreement.
01 Opportunity at a glance
What the business actually does
Revenue is built on recurring service agreements rather than chemical resale margin. Program administration, sampling and reporting are billed on a scheduled basis, treatment chemistry is delivered alongside it, and remediation follows a positive result. Healthcare accounts account for roughly half of the book and renew on multi-year terms.
Between 65% and 75% of revenue sits under recurring service agreements covering program administration, chemical treatment and scheduled sampling, with remediation and equipment work won from the same accounts.
- Revenue mix
- 65-75% recurring service agreements
- Largest customer share of revenue
- Under 10%
- Healthcare share of revenue
- Around half
- Average customer tenure
- 6+ years
- Field technicians
- W-2 employees, certified water technologists on staff
- Lab
- Accredited third-party lab under long-standing agreement
- Insurance
- Full professional and pollution coverage in place
- Outstanding litigation
- None disclosed
02 Why now
Sector timing
CMS requirements for water management programs turned legionella compliance into a condition of participation for hospitals, and state health departments have followed. Buyers are paying for recurring compliance revenue with certified technicians attached, because both the contracts and the people are slow to build.
Nothing distressed. The owner has set a reserve so only acquirers prepared to meet it are put in front of them.
What has changed for this owner
Nothing distressed. Inbound calls from strategic buyers have increased and the owner has taken none of them. The decision was to have DealFlowAgent (DFA) filter the market and bring back only interest that clears a number set in advance.
03 Financial profile
Three years, published as bands
Three years apart, published as bands, reconciled to reviewed financial statements and the customer contract schedule.
| Measure | Three years ago | Most recent full year |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6-9M | $9-13M |
| Recurring share of revenue | 60-70% | 65-75% |
| EBITDA margin | 15-19% | 17-21% |
| Customer renewal rate | 88%+ | 90%+ |
| Net debt | Modest equipment and vehicle debt, disclosed under NDA | |
| Owner compensation adjustment | Identified and quantified | |
Where the earnings quality sits
- Growth is organic, from account additions in adjacent metro markets.
- Recurring service revenue is contracted, not estimated from historic reorders.
- Technicians are W-2 employees rather than subcontracted.
- No customer represents more than ten percent of revenue.
04 The owner's position
Stated in advance, in writing
| Question | Stated position |
|---|---|
| Is the business for sale? | No |
| Would they transact at the right figure? | Yes, confirmed in writing |
| Reserve figure | Set, disclosed under NDA |
| Preferred structure | 60% to 100% of equity |
| Rollover appetite | Open to a meaningful rollover |
| Post-completion involvement | 12 to 24 months, negotiable |
| Management team | Operations leadership expected to remain |
| Represented elsewhere? | No adviser, no other process |
What a reserve figure is
A reserve, as at auction. Before a mandate goes live, the owner completes a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and commits, in writing, to the figure at which they will engage seriously. It is private and it is never published. Nothing below it is ever put in front of them, so no acquirer is invited into a conversation that was never going to happen, and the owner is never asked to decline a low offer.
The reserve is disclosed to verified acquirers at non-disclosure agreement stage. It is a threshold for engagement. It is not an asking price and it is not a cap.
We are not shopping the company. If a buyer showed up at the right number and kept the crew whole, I would sit down with them.
05 Transaction process
The four gates
01
Acquirer verification.
Funding position, sector experience, prior completions and decision-making authority are confirmed by DealFlowAgent (DFA) before any company information is released. Unfunded parties and brokers acting without a named principal do not proceed.
No company information released
02
Non-disclosure agreement and financial pack.
A short non-disclosure agreement releases the financial pack, the reserve figure, the contract base analysis and the management structure. The company is still not named.
Identity withheld
03
Owner approval and introduction.
We put the acquirer to the owner with a written profile covering their intent, their integration approach and their treatment of teams in previous acquisitions. The owner decides. Only on their written approval is the company named and a meeting arranged.
Owner's written approval required
04
Indicative offer.
Acquirers who meet the reserve are invited to submit an indicative offer. Where more than one qualifies, we run a structured process from that point.
Reserve must be met
06 Which acquirers this suits
A strong fit, and not a fit
A strong fit
- National water treatment platforms seeking Southwest density
- Environmental and industrial services consolidators
- Private equity platforms with a facility compliance asset
- Strategic acquirers with healthcare estate relationships
Not a fit
- Parties without committed capital at the indicative range
- Buyers requiring the owner to exit at closing
- Structures weighted heavily to earnout
- Acquirers intending to convert field staff to contractors
07 About the Off-Market Register
What this register is
How the register works, and where to start
The Off-Market Register carries companies that are not for sale, at prices their owners have already set. Each owner has completed a full valuation exercise with DealFlowAgent (DFA) and committed in writing to the figure at which they will engage.
Every acquirer is verified before they see anything, every document released is watermarked to the recipient, and every access is logged. Before a mandate goes live it is tested three ways for de-anonymisation, and all three tests must fail to identify the company.
If you own a business in this sector, start with the free valuation, read the sector valuation guides or speak to us confidentially. If you acquire businesses, request acquirer access.
08 Questions
Answered in full
If the owner is not selling, is this a waste of my time?
The owner has committed a reserve figure in writing and has agreed in advance to meet acquirers who clear it. You are seeing a business before any process exists, without a competitive auction and without six other parties at the table. What you are not getting is a motivated seller, and you should price accordingly.
Why are the figures banded?
Because precise figures identify the company. Exact revenue, a state, a service line and a headcount will narrow most sectors to one business. Exact figures are released at non-disclosure agreement stage.
Will I be told the reserve before I commit time?
Yes. The reserve is disclosed at non-disclosure agreement stage, before any meeting and before any diligence.
What financial information sits behind the bands?
Reviewed or audited financial statements where they exist, otherwise tax returns and management accounts, together with the contract or customer schedule. The quality of what is available is stated in the pack rather than implied.
Can I approach the company directly if I work out who it is?
Acquirers who circumvent the register are removed permanently and the owner is informed.
Who pays DealFlowAgent (DFA)?
The owner, on completion only. There is no charge to acquirers at any stage, and no fee is payable by anyone if a transaction does not complete.
Own a business like this one?
Every mandate on this register began with a ninety-second valuation and a conversation. No retainer, no exclusivity, and your company is never named until you approve a specific introduction in writing.
Request access to Project Cascade
Verification takes under a working day. On approval you receive the financial pack, the reserve figure and the contract base analysis under a non-disclosure agreement. The company is named only with the owner's written approval.
DealFlowAgent (DFA)
Water management programs, cooling tower treatment and legionella testing
Project Cascade is a confidential mandate on the DealFlowAgent (DFA) Off-Market Register. All figures are banded and verified against filed accounts and management information. Nothing on this page constitutes an offer or an invitation to treat. DealFlowAgent is a trading name of BTB Holdings Ltd, registered in England and Wales.
