A roofing company in Dixon is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Sterling — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide roofing companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Dixon file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Dixon market
Selling a roofing company in Dixon
A roofing company in Dixon is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Sterling — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide roofing companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Dixon file.
Dixon is Lee County’s seat on the Rock River and I-88 — Ronald Reagan’s hometown courthouse downtown, not Sterling’s mill city.
County-seat professional services and I-88 corridor access are the story. Agricultural and light-industrial demand sit in the townships. Quad Cities and Rockford operators look here. Owner-dependent practices need a transition plan; the Reagan statue is not a multiple.
Dixon has about 14,993 residents in Lee County, inside the Dixon area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Sterling, Rochelle. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Sterling is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
2.5x–4x SDE
Typical timeline
5–10 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Lee County
Population
14,993
Metro
Dixon
Nearby comps
Sterling, Rochelle
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
Rockford, the I-90 industrial belt, and Wisconsin-line towns draw owner-operators and regional manufacturers more often than a Loop platform.
State CBS-1 still applies. Price the customer list and the license holder, not a Chicago multiple.
Dixon demand for roofing companies is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 14,993 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Roofing Company in Dixon
What a Dixon buyer will underwrite on this roofing company
Dixon is not a collar-county density play. A roofing company here usually sells to an owner-operator who already covers Sterling, Rochelle, not a platform that needs a hired dispatcher and a second licensed person. Municipal registrations still reset on a new entity.
Roofing Companies statewide typically plan around 2.5x–4x SDE and a 5–10 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Dixon shop. Buyers here usually argue storm-restoration revenue, crew size and experience, equipment and vehicles, insurance relationships.
Closing clock for this Dixon file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: The Illinois Roofing Industry Licensing Act (IDFPR) requires a roofing contractor license statewide. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Dixon application of it.
Dixon is a small town market. The first serious call is often an owner-operator from Sterling, Rochelle, not a platform that needs $2 million of earnings to pay for diligence. SBA 7(a) and seller financing usually matter more here than a headline multiple.
Buyer pool
Who buys a roofing company in Dixon
Local and Quad Cities / Rockford operators. Thin PE.
Illustration: a Joliet-area roofing contractor with an IDFPR unlimited license, two install crews, a retail reroof book, and a storm year that the seller wants treated as the new normal. Not a closed sale.
A roofing company whose customers already sit in Sterling, Rochelle is a larger business than one that stops at the Dixon city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Dixon roofing company
Roofing recasts have to survive a year without a hail event. Add back owner compensation, then isolate storm-restoration revenue, manufacturer-warranty callbacks, and any unlicensed crew-boss coded as production. A 2.5x–4x SDE band is planning language for a crew that can sell and install without the next supercell; storm-only books get a haircut.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Dixon shop. A roofing company whose tax return shows $158,000 of net profit is not worth $158,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $49,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $8,500 of discretionary benefits, $16,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $7,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $79,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $160,000. At the planning range 2.5x–4.0x, enterprise value is $400,000 to $640,000. Mid-range 3.25x is $520,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Dixon buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.25 times $160,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $520,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Dixon roofing company — not a quote
Net profit
$158,000
Owner W-2
$49,000
Benefits
$8,500
One-time
$16,000
Personal
$7,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$79,000
Recast SDE
$160,000
Planning EV at 3.25x
$520,000
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for roofing companies.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
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1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Lee (Dixon) uses state CBS-1 and municipal licenses. County-seat businesses still need landlord consent and IDOR timing.
The Illinois Roofing Industry Licensing Act (IDFPR) requires a roofing contractor license statewide. It is not a municipal courtesy card. Unlimited and limited classifications matter. The license does not automatically follow the assets; the buyer needs their own IDFPR roofing license or a qualifying party who stays.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Dixon
For a roofing company in Dixon, the first labor question is: Retail and commercial work that exists in a non-storm year.
I-88 corridor. Agricultural and light-industrial service demand. Owner-dependent professional practices need a transition plan.
Small MSA adjacency. Seller financing is a feature, not a failure.
Diligence
What a serious roofing company buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Retail and commercial work that exists in a non-storm year; Staying qualifying party on the IDFPR license; Experience-mod and safety record a carrier will renew; Manufacturer certifications the buyer can keep; Crew continuity versus a seller who still runs every tear-off.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Dixon business: IDFPR roofing license class, qualifying party, and any disciplinary file; Storm vs retail vs commercial-reroof mix over at least two seasons; Insurance-carrier and public-adjuster dependency; Workers-comp experience mod, height-work training, and OSHA log; Dump trucks, tear-off equipment, and warehouse lease; Manufacturer certifications (GAF, Owens Corning, CertainTeed) and warranty reserves.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Dixon roofing company buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
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Loan Amount—
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This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Dixon roofing company for sale
Recast this Dixon roofing company. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Dixon buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this roofing company pull a permit or see a patient in Dixon, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Dixon trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Dixon limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Lee County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois roofing companies hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Dixon file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Lee County, including local closing steps.
Plan on 2.5x–4x adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after you isolate the hail year. Retail replacement and commercial work that exist in a quiet season support the range. A storm spike does not become base earnings.
Yes, if storm restoration is most of the book. Buyers will recast a quiet year. Keep the insurance-restoration story honest and show the retail and commercial floor underneath it.
No. The company holds the license. A qualifying party who passed the exam must stay or be replaced. Notify IDFPR within 30 business days when that person leaves. Limited vs unlimited class has to match the work the buyer wants to keep.
Plan on 5–10 months when the recast, the qualifying party, the $10,000 or $25,000 bond, and the yard lease are ready. License replacement and landlord consent add weeks.
Often. Many owner-operator buyers use SBA 7(a), which has a $5 million statutory maximum. A storm year dressed up as SDE is how underwriting stops.
Most Dixon asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Lee County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
The first serious call in Dixon is usually an owner-operator or a neighboring shop, not a coastal fund. Lee County buyers already know the trade area. Seller financing and a clean lease matter more than a headline multiple.
No. The planning multiple for roofing companies is a statewide starting point, not a Dixon appraisal. Buyers in Lee County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Roofing Company Brokerage Near Dixon
We serve roofing companies owners and buyers across Lee County and the surrounding region.