BluSky Restoration Contractors is a leading provider of restoration, reconstruction, environmental, and roofing services to commercial properties nationwide. Harris Williams recently advised BluSky on its sale to Kohlberg & Company and Partners Group.
Here, we share insights on why the sector is attractive, what made BluSky an excellent investment opportunity, and what buyers and investors interested in commercial restoration businesses should consider.
What makes commercial restoration an appealing space for buyers and investors?
Baltimore: There are two highly resilient demand drivers that make commercial restoration an area of investor focus. Mother Nature is one: Hurricanes, wildfires, mudslides, tornadoes, hail, wind, falling trees, and many other naturally occurring events regularly damage commercial buildings. The balance of the market falls into the category of “bad things happen,” such as a basement flood, a fire, and other unforeseen incidents that require restoration, reconstruction, or environmental services.
Morris: It’s also a very large and highly fragmented industry composed of many local and regional providers, which creates tremendous consolidation opportunity for investors.
What made BluSky particularly appealing to its investors?
Lucas: BluSky provides mission-critical services when clients need rapid response. The company delivers on its commitment to the client that a crew will show up immediately, and this level of service creates strong customer relationships and a great referral network. BluSky also offers a full suite of services to fully stabilize an incident, mitigate, and rebuild. The better a company is operationally in this space, and the more services it can offer, the more it’s going to win projects. BluSky’s ability to respond quickly with a professional level of service sets it apart.
Morris: BluSky also does a great job of combining a national footprint with a leading local presence. It has a network of 37 locations backed up by national service delivery teams to deploy when needed. Local sales organizations and project directors build relationships and capture a large volume of everyday restoration demand. When large, sophisticated or non-local projects occur, BluSky can rapidly mobilize its national response team to work in conjunction with the local office.
Morgan: BluSky’s national systems and processes also ensure consistent service delivery across the U.S. and support collaboration and partnership across locations. Its extensive equipment inventory and fleet can service local and non-local day-to-day business as well as major events.
Baltimore: BluSky’s management team has done a tremendous job of taking the company from a regional provider to a leading national provider of reconstruction services. They are a strong, integrated team with significant industry experience, and they are championing a unique culture that’s built on employee engagement and customer satisfaction. This culture, combined with its successful track record, has made BluSky an acquirer of choice in the industry. In fact, the company has made six acquisitions since 2017.
What advice do you have for prospective buyers interested in this space?
Morris: Investors should look at the business’s customer relationships and referral network. Insurance providers, architects, property management firms, consultants, and contractors are all part of the customer universe to provide referrals after a specific building incident occurs.
Lucas: It’s important to find the right balance between recurring business and one-time revenue related to major storms and natural disasters. The leaders in the sector also supplement their stable sources of revenue with growth from diversification of services and geographies. It’s a massive market and, due to its fragmentation, there’s room for many players to build platforms of scale.
In addition to covering commercial restoration, reconstruction, environmental, and roofing services, the Harris Williams Business Services and Building Products & Materials have deep expertise in a wide range of subsectors.
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To learn more, please contact our senior professionals:
Bob Baltimore | Managing Director, Business Services Group
Brian Lucas | Managing Director, Business Services Group
Tim Webb | Managing Director, Building Products & Materials
Taylor Morris | Director, Business Services Group
Pete Morgan | Vice President, Business Services Group