A roofing company in Waukegan is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Gurnee — 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 Waukegan file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Waukegan market
Selling a roofing company in Waukegan
A roofing company in Waukegan is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Gurnee — 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 Waukegan file.
Waukegan is Lake County’s seat: a lakefront industrial and downtown city with a working port heritage, not a North Shore boutique village.
Great Lakes Naval Station payroll and I-94 industrial parks attract operator and logistics buyers. Do not price this like Libertyville or Gurnee Mills tourism. Municipal licenses, harbor-adjacent environmental questions, and a bilingual customer base show up more often than a lifestyle-suburb teaser.
Waukegan has about 87,157 residents in Lake County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Gurnee, Libertyville. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Gurnee 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
Lake County
Population
87,157
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Gurnee, Libertyville
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, and neighboring collar shops sell on household density and the I-88, I-90, I-94, and I-55 corridors.
There is no Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Buyers still compare this suburb to the next one on the same highway.
Waukegan demand for roofing companies is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 87,157 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Roofing Company in Waukegan
What a Waukegan buyer will underwrite on this roofing company
Home-service density in Waukegan helps the route — and it is why a public asking price on a recognizable roofing company van is a leak. Municipal permit desks here are not the same as Gurnee, Libertyville. Winter no-heat or storm response time is local. The statewide license rules live on the roofing companies hub; this page is who pulls the next Waukegan permit.
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 Waukegan shop. Buyers here usually argue storm-restoration revenue, crew size and experience, equipment and vehicles, insurance relationships.
Closing clock for this Waukegan 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 Waukegan application of it.
In a suburb like Waukegan, private equity, strategic acquirers, owner-operators are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Gurnee is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a roofing company in Waukegan
Split buyer pool: North Shore and Libertyville businesses attract SBA and strategics who want household income; Waukegan and industrial I-94 businesses attract operator and logistics buyers. Great Lakes Naval Station and tourism along the lake change seasonality for some retail and hospitality books.
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 Gurnee, Libertyville is a larger business than one that stops at the Waukegan city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Waukegan 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 Waukegan shop. A roofing company whose tax return shows $145,000 of net profit is not worth $145,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $103,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $25,500 of discretionary benefits, $15,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $6,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $0 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $295,000. At the planning range 2.5x–4.0x, enterprise value is $737,500 to $1,180,000. Mid-range 3.25x is $958,750 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Waukegan buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.25 times $295,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $958,750 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 Waukegan roofing company — not a quote
Net profit
$145,000
Owner W-2
$103,000
Benefits
$25,500
One-time
$15,500
Personal
$6,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$0
Recast SDE
$295,000
Planning EV at 3.25x
$958,750
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.
$
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.
Lake County closings use state CBS-1 plus municipal licenses (Waukegan, Gurnee, Libertyville, and North Shore villages each differ). No Chicago 45-day notice unless you also have a Chicago location. Lake County health and contractor registrations are common diligence items for food and trades.
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 Waukegan
For a roofing company in Waukegan, the first labor question is: Retail and commercial work that exists in a non-storm year.
I-94 is the spine. Route density is real between Buffalo Grove and Gurnee and thinner toward the Wisconsin line. Leases in outlet and tourism corridors can be franchise- or landlord-controlled. Winter lake-effect operations matter for home services.
Lake mixes Fortune-campus remnants, naval payroll, and bedroom suburbs. Do not price a Waukegan industrial book like a Libertyville professional practice.
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 Waukegan 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 Waukegan 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.
$
%
%
yrs
Down Payment Required—
Loan Amount—
Est. Monthly Payment—
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 Waukegan roofing company for sale
Recast this Waukegan roofing company. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Waukegan 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 Waukegan, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Waukegan 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 Waukegan limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Lake 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 Waukegan file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Lake 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 Waukegan asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Lake 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.
Buyers in Waukegan are often SBA owner-operators and neighboring operators along the same corridor. Larger recurring books can draw a platform. They will compare this suburb to the next town in Lake County.
No. The planning multiple for roofing companies is a statewide starting point, not a Waukegan appraisal. Buyers in Lake County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Roofing Company Brokerage Near Waukegan
We serve roofing companies owners and buyers across Lake County and the surrounding region.