Established Commercial Equipment Dealer | Turnaround Opportunity | Southeast US

Hey Y'all Been helping a company out with ops/finance and current ownership is looking to sell. This is messy and complex deal, but there is potential here for a buyer. I'd consider if I didn't have my own business rocking. It's a turnaround acquisition in the commercial equipment distribution and service space in the southest. The Business 20+ year old company serving commercial and industrial customers. Roughly $5M in annual revenue, ~15 employees. The business has real bones: an established customer base, recurring service contracts, and operates in a sector with sticky relationships and meaningful switching costs. Service component is high margin and sub-optimal, ~750k in annual preventitive maintainance missed in 2025. Why It's Available - Ownership has some issues and that's left the business without real operational leadership for 5 years (since current ownership acquired the business). - Majority owner kicked out, passive minority owners let long time employee run business without oversight and he jumped ship right before business imploded. Minority owner stepped in, stabilized business and has been leading turnaround but has other business/responsibilities and can't remain in business. - Debt service from prior SBA loan is too much based on revenue declines/performance. - Outdated systems, processes, technology. To give example, the business is running a local email server and writing checks by hand. Pricing is all ad-hoc. It is not SBA-ready. Ownership knows this and expects it will be priced accordingly. What a Buyer Gets - A customer list with long-standing relationships built over two decades. - Relationships with major manufacturers in the space. - Service revenue with recurring characteristics. - A team in place that knows the business, many 10+ years. - Real upside for an operator who can install basic management discipline, modernize operations, and push on service revenue growth or grow via marketing/sales motion. What a Buyer Should Know This is a fixer. Financials reflect years of neglect. Revenues have declined from 8MM in 2020 to 5MM last year. Profitability in continual decline primarily due to revenue declines without labor cuts (mgmt didn't properly run business - there's a theme here). However, Q1 was first profitable Q1 since###-###-#### So one quarter in, the turnaround plan has shown progress. Ownership/cap table is a mess. The right buyer is someone who has done a turnaround before or has direct industry experience and isn't scared of messy. Anyone expecting great books and a smooth close should pass. Ideal Partner Strategic buyer or experienced operator in distribution, field service, or industrial equipment in VA. Searcher with relevant background welcome. Seller may consider a transition period or creative deal structure given the circumstances. DM me if interested. Happy to share more under NDA or connect you to Seller. Note: I have no financial interest in the company or a transaction closing. Just helping a friend.