General contractors, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, roofing, paving, pest control, restoration, waste hauling and equipment rental businesses make up Ontario's trades-and-construction resale family. Nearly every deal here is an asset purchase, and the recurring thread across the whole family is that a WSIB clearance certificate is close to a universal closing condition, while the individual trade licence held by the owner or technicians does not transfer with the company.
WSIB clearance is close to universal — Whatever the specific trade, a WSIB clearance certificate confirming the business is in good standing is typically expected as a closing condition across this entire family. It's a routine document to request, but confirming it early avoids a late surprise near closing.
Trade licences belong to people, not the company — ESA electrical licensing, TSSA gas licensing, plumber certification and exterminator licensing are all held by individuals, not the corporate entity, so the buyer generally needs its own qualified people in place before the business can keep working under permit. This is worth confirming well before closing, since it can genuinely delay a deal if the buyer hasn't lined up qualified staff.
Recurring-contract businesses are valued differently than one-off job shops — A pest control route, a landscaping maintenance contract book, or an equipment rental fleet with steady bookings typically draws stronger buyer interest than a business built on one-off project work, because the revenue is more predictable. Contract assignability, whether existing service agreements can move to the new owner, is often the deal's central negotiating point in these cases.
Equipment financing shapes diligence — Vehicles and specialized equipment across this family are frequently financed, which makes a PPSA lien search a standard, material part of diligence rather than a formality. Where the equipment is aging or heavily leveraged, that can meaningfully affect deal structure and price.
Browse the specific trade and construction business types below for the licensing and equipment details particular to each.
General contractors, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, roofing; $100K–$3M; mostly asset sales; backlog/WIP valuation and financed equipment are the main diligence items.
Commercial cleaning, janitorial and landscaping/property maintenance; $75K–$1.5M; mostly asset sales built around recurring-revenue contracts rather than hard assets.
Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning installers/servicers; typically $150K–$2.5M; mostly asset sales; recurring maintenance-contract revenue commands a premium over one-off installation work.
Licensed electrical contracting firms; typically $150K–$2.5M; mostly asset sales; the ESA licensed contractor designation and master electrician of record are the deal's defining constraint.
Residential and commercial plumbing contractors; typically $125K–$2M; mostly asset sales; service-contract base and licensed-plumber staffing drive value.
Residential and commercial roofing contractors; typically $100K–$2M; mostly asset sales; seasonal WIP/backlog valuation and warranty obligations are the main diligence items.
Asphalt paving, excavation and site-servicing contractors; typically $200K–$3M; mostly asset sales given the heavy-equipment intensity; equipment fleet condition and financing dominate diligence.
A recurring-revenue service-route model gives these a higher-multiple, more prized profile than one-off-job contractors; typically $150K–$2M.
Insurance-referral relationships and, where applicable, franchise territory-transfer consent are the added legal work on top of a normal trades sale; typically $200K–$3M, often heavily franchised (ServiceMaster/Paul Davis-type territories).
Municipal/provincial waste-hauling licensing plus route-based recurring revenue are the deal specifics; typically $200K–$4M; national roll-ups are actively buying independent Ontario haulers.
An asset-heavy sale where serial-numbered fleet valuation, not goodwill, usually dominates the purchase-price allocation; typically $200K–$3M, spanning construction, party/event and scaffolding rental yards.
†Typical patterns across Canadian deals — not a quote or advice; every deal is confirmed on its own facts.
No open-ended hourly surprises — the cost is confirmed in writing before any work begins.
| Type of work | Fee | How it's confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| Straightforward purchase or sale | Starting from $3,388.87 Our charges · taxes included | Confirmed in writing once we see the agreement. |
| Larger or more complex deal | Quoted to scope | Short call → fixed written quote before any work begins. |
| Searches, filings & third-party fees | At cost | Itemized on your invoice, not marked up. |
A single-crew HVAC, plumbing or landscaping business selling to an owner-operator buyer, with straightforward equipment and a WSIB clearance.
Start my file →A larger contracting or waste-hauling business with a financed equipment fleet, multiple recurring service contracts, and licensing continuity to coordinate before closing.
Book a consultation →Not sure which you are? That's our job to figure out, not yours. As a rough guide, most deals under a couple of million dollars are the first kind — above that, you're usually in Mergers & Acquisitions territory.
Generally, no. Trade licences and certifications, electrical, gas, plumbing, pest control and similar, are held by the individual who earned them, not the company, so the buyer typically needs its own qualified, licensed people in place before continuing that work under the business name.
Because it's close to a standard closing condition across nearly every trade and construction business type. Buyers routinely confirm the business is in good standing with WSIB before completing the purchase, given the sector's exposure to workplace-injury risk.
It's typically viewed more favourably by buyers, since predictable, recurring revenue from service contracts or route-based work is generally seen as lower-risk than one-off project income. Whether existing contracts can actually be assigned to the new owner is usually the more important legal question, though, not just the revenue pattern itself.
A PPSA lien search on vehicles and specialized equipment is standard, since financed equipment is common across this family, along with confirming the actual condition and any outstanding leases. This is typically done alongside, not instead of, reviewing the business's contracts and licensing.
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