moving company for Sale

Movers run on federal or state operating authority, and that authority is tied to the seller, not the trucks. Interstate movers need active FMCSA authority and a USDOT number; intrastate movers face state-specific licensing. In an asset sale this authority frequently has to be re-applied for rather than handed over, which can create a gap in your ability to operate legally. Confirm exactly what licenses exist, whether they convey, and how long a fresh application would take before you close.

Most moving revenue lands between May and September, and the winter months can be lean. That swing means you carry fixed costs through slow quarters and need working capital to bridge them. Pull at least 24 months of monthly revenue so the peaks and troughs are visible, and make sure the price reflects a full year, not a summer you happened to tour during.

A mover's value lives in its online reviews, referral relationships, and any van-line affiliation, not in its equipment. Google and Yelp ratings drive the phone calls, and a single reputation hit can dry up bookings fast. Verify who owns the Google Business Profile and reviews, whether lead-referral or van-line agreements transfer, and how dependent the company is on paid advertising versus organic reputation.

Crews are either employees or day labor, and either way you inherit workers' compensation exposure and a history of cargo-damage claims. Damaged-goods and lost-item claims are a normal cost of this business, but a high claims rate signals sloppy crews and future liability. Review the workers' comp experience rating, the claims log, and the cargo and liability insurance before you take it on.

The fleet is a depreciating asset, and a seller under pressure often stops maintaining it. Bald tires, high mileage, and skipped service mean capital expense you will absorb shortly after closing. Have the trucks inspected, confirm titles are clean and transferable, and price any near-term replacements into your offer rather than the seller's.

Moving companies tend to trade a bit above two times SDE. Across 64 moving and freight-transport transactions in the comp data, the median sale was about 2.1x SDE, with most deals between roughly 1.3x and 3.1x, and revenue multiples near 0.42x. SDE means seller's discretionary earnings, the profit plus the owner's salary and add-backs. On the Tupelo marketplace, asking prices have run a median near $310K, though completed sales have skewed larger, around $635K, reflecting that bigger fleets sell more readily.