What is an HVAC business worth in Canada?

Typically 3.0 to 5.5 times adjusted earnings, which is profit with the owner’s salary and personal costs added back. A company with $600,000 of adjusted earnings would fall between about $1.8 million and $3.3 million, higher where most customers are on maintenance agreements and lower where the work is mostly new installs.

Who buys HVAC and plumbing companies in Canada?

Consolidators backed by private equity are the most active buyers, alongside competitors in the same region and individual buyers for smaller shops. Right Time Group, majority owned by Gryphon Investors, called its 2023 purchase of a Calgary plumbing and heating company its 20th acquisition.

Does an electrical contractor licence pass to the buyer?

Licences follow the rules of each regulator. In Ontario a Licensed Electrical Contractor must be or employ a Master Electrician at all times, and TSSA states that its licences stay with the holder, with the new owner applying for its own. In BC the licence names a field safety representative, who can be changed online.

How much do maintenance agreements add to the value of an HVAC business?

The valuation InvestDeal runs adds 0.3 to the multiple where most revenue comes from contracts or repeat customers. On $600,000 of adjusted earnings that is about $180,000 of price, before the separate effect of moving from the construction range to the home services range.

InsightsOctober 18, 20266 min read

What an HVAC, plumbing or electrical business sells for in Canada

Home services companies sell for 3.0 to 5.5 times adjusted earnings in Canada, and the maintenance agreement decides where in that range a business lands. Who is buying, and the licence question every buyer asks first.

HVAC, plumbing and electrical businesses in Canada typically sell for 3.0 to 5.5 times adjusted earnings. A company whose customers sit on renewing maintenance agreements lands near the top of that range, and one that lives on new installs prices closer to construction, at 2.5 to 4.0 times. Licences, technicians and the owner’s role then move it within the range.

The range buyers pay

Home services businesses in Canada, which covers HVAC, plumbing, electrical and landscaping, typically sell for 3.0 to 5.5 times adjusted earnings. Those are the ranges our own valuation runs on, and the full table by industry sets them beside every other sector.

Adjusted earnings are the profit with your own salary and personal costs added back, the figure explained in SDE or EBITDA. A business with $450,000 of profit that pays its owner $150,000 has $600,000 of adjusted earnings before any other add backs.

Project based construction, the contractor who builds and moves on, sits lower at 2.5 to 4.0 times. The difference between the two rows comes down to one document: the maintenance agreement. A furnace that the same company services every autumn is revenue a buyer can count on next year, and buyers pay for that.

One business, priced three ways

Take an illustration: an HVAC company with $600,000 of adjusted earnings, the same technicians and the same trucks. Only the mix of work changes from one version to the next.

How the revenue is made	Range applied	Price range
Mostly new installs for builders, each job won one at a time	2.5 to 4.0 times, the construction row	$1.5 million to $2.4 million
A mix of installs and service calls	3.0 to 5.5 times, the home services row	$1.8 million to $3.3 million
Most customers on a renewing maintenance agreement	3.3 to 5.8 times, with the 0.3 our engine adds for recurring revenue	$1.98 million to $3.48 million

The top of the third row is almost a million dollars above the top of the first, for the same earnings. Where in its range a business lands then depends on the factors further down this page.

Who is buying HVAC and plumbing companies in Canada

The most active buyers are consolidators backed by private equity, which grow by buying established local companies. Right Time Group, majority owned by Gryphon Investors, described its July 2023 purchase of Knight Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning in Calgary as its 20th acquisition. At the time it had 26 locations across six provinces.

In July 2025 the Toronto firm Alphi Capital announced an investment in RedBlue HeatPumps & Refrigeration of Victoria, which does HVAC, plumbing and electrical work across Greater Victoria. Firms like these look first for a maintenance base. Technicians who stay matter almost as much, and so does a service area next to one they already cover.

Competitors in your region are the other strong bidders, because your customers cost them less to serve. Individuals and search funds buy smaller shops, usually with a bank loan and a vendor note. Who buys Canadian businesses describes each group, and a consolidator’s offer often includes an earnout and a period where the founder stays on.

The licence question a buyer asks in week one

Trades licences attach to people as well as to the company, and a buyer checks who holds them before anything else. In Ontario, the Electrical Safety Authority requires a Licensed Electrical Contractor to be a Master Electrician or have at least one working for it at all times. Where the owner is the Master Electrician, the buyer needs another one in place by closing day.

Gas and heating contractors in Ontario register with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority. TSSA’s change of ownership page states that its licences stay with the holder and that the new owner applies for its own, so the buyer will want to confirm with TSSA which registrations it files and when.

In British Columbia, an electrical contractor licence names a designated field safety representative, and the scope of the licence follows that person’s certificate. A contractor can change its designated FSR online, with dates that meet exactly, since a gap or an overlap suspends the licence. A buyer of a BC shop will ask whether you are the FSR and who takes over the role.

Put this on one page before a buyer asks: each licence or registration with the name it is in and its renewal date, and beside it the person who replaces the holder. It belongs at the front of the due diligence file.

What moves a home services business within its range

Maintenance agreements in writing, with renewal dates and a record of how many renew each year. Our engine adds 0.3 to the multiple where most revenue repeats.
A service manager who dispatches the calls and handles complaints, so the phones get answered while you are away. A business a management team already runs earns up to 0.4 more.
A spread of customers where the largest account is under 10 percent of revenue, worth 0.15. A builder or property manager who sends you a third of your work costs 0.35.
Earnings that have grown steadily for three years, worth 0.2, against a 0.3 discount where they have fallen.
A fleet with service records. In an asset sale a buyer may be able to expense much of that equipment at once under the proposed Productivity Mega Deduction, which can make your trucks worth more to them.

What to prepare in the year before

01Split maintenance revenue from install revenue in the books, month by month, so the recurring share is a number a buyer can check.
02Move every regular customer onto a written agreement with a renewal date.
03Name the holder of each licence, and if it is you, hire or train the person who will hold it next.
04Keep a list of technicians with their trade tickets and start dates, since retention is what a consolidator is buying. Licensed technicians who stay carry much of the value of an auto repair shop as well.
05Take vehicles and family wages you run through the company onto their own lines, so each add back is documented.

The changes that raise the multiple take about a year to show in the statements a buyer reads, which is why preparing a business for sale starts well before the sale does. To see where your own company sits today, the Quick AI valuation gives an early range in a few minutes, before you give anyone your name.

The buyers, due diligence priorities and sector requirements are set out on InvestDeal’s home services M&A advisory page.

Questions owners ask

What is an HVAC business worth in Canada?: Typically 3.0 to 5.5 times adjusted earnings, which is profit with the owner’s salary and personal costs added back. A company with $600,000 of adjusted earnings would fall between about $1.8 million and $3.3 million, higher where most customers are on maintenance agreements and lower where the work is mostly new installs.
Who buys HVAC and plumbing companies in Canada?: Consolidators backed by private equity are the most active buyers, alongside competitors in the same region and individual buyers for smaller shops. Right Time Group, majority owned by Gryphon Investors, called its 2023 purchase of a Calgary plumbing and heating company its 20th acquisition.
Does an electrical contractor licence pass to the buyer?: Licences follow the rules of each regulator. In Ontario a Licensed Electrical Contractor must be or employ a Master Electrician at all times, and TSSA states that its licences stay with the holder, with the new owner applying for its own. In BC the licence names a field safety representative, who can be changed online.
How much do maintenance agreements add to the value of an HVAC business?: The valuation InvestDeal runs adds 0.3 to the multiple where most revenue comes from contracts or repeat customers. On $600,000 of adjusted earnings that is about $180,000 of price, before the separate effect of moving from the construction range to the home services range.