M&A Advisory in Five Sectors

M&A expertise, deep in
the industries we know best.

At Salt Creek Advisory, we would rather know a few industries cold than dabble in all of them. When your advisor already knows the buyers, the multiples, and what diligence will surface, you start two steps ahead.

Our five practice areas.

What the five have in common is the shape of the business rather than the industry code: founder-owned companies with $2 million to $75 million in revenue that sell to a small, knowable set of private equity platforms and strategic consolidators. Two corners of that map we like a lot right now, both inside Business Services, are HVAC and the field service trades, and accounting and CPA firms. Both principals run every deal personally, and the fee is a success fee at closing with no retainer.

Flagship Practice

Early Childhood Education
& Preschools

  • Preschools
  • Childcare Centers
  • Early Childhood Education

Our deepest expertise. Connor worked through more than 40 transactions in the space at Cadence Education, sitting across from the owners who built those schools. We know the regional and national platforms, the private equity groups behind them, what they pay, and what they look for.

40+ ECE Deals Worked on the Buy Side
National Buyer Relationships

Our promise to preschool owners is simple: top dollar pursued through real buyer competition, both principals on your deal from first call to close, and no paying for a larger firm’s overhead or junior staff. We get paid when you get paid, and if we are not earning our seat at your table, fire us. There is no retainer to lose. You built something with your family. So did we. Owners tend to recognize that in the first conversation.

Download: Acquisition Trends & Buyer Criteria (PDF) ↓

Practice Area

Business Services

  • Facility Services
  • Professional Services
  • HVAC & the Trades
  • Accounting & CPA Firms

Founder-owned service businesses with recurring relationships and real margins. From facility services to professional services, we understand how buyers underwrite them and where the value drivers hide. Two we like a lot inside this practice: HVAC and the trades, and accounting and CPA firms.

Or get a ballpark value for your service business →

Practice Area

Industrials

  • Manufacturing
  • Distribution
  • Industrial Services

Manufacturing, distribution, and industrial services. Midwestern roots run deep here. We speak the language of plants, fleets, and order books, and we know the consolidators actively buying in the space.

Or get a ballpark value for your plant or distributor →

Practice Area

MSP & IT Services

  • Managed Service Providers
  • IT Services

Managed service providers and IT services businesses, where recurring-revenue quality drives the multiple. We know the active buyers, the EV/EBITDA ranges, and what earns a premium below the topline.

Or get a ballpark value for your MSP →

Practice Area

Dog Daycare & Pet Care

  • Dog Daycare
  • Boarding
  • Grooming

Dog daycare, boarding, and grooming, where the box, the team, and the trust set the value. A natural extension of our early childhood work: multi-unit, facility-based, licensed service businesses.

Or get a ballpark value for your facility →

Owner Questions

Picking the right practice area.

The questions owners ask before they decide whether sector experience actually matters for their deal.

Five: early childhood education and preschools, business services, industrials and manufacturing, MSP and IT services, and dog daycare and pet care. Early childhood education is the flagship practice, because co-founder Connor Pitts worked through more than 40 ECE transactions from inside a national acquirer before starting the firm. The other four share the same underlying shape: founder-owned, facility-based or relationship-based businesses that sell to a small, knowable set of private equity platforms and strategic consolidators.

Businesses in roughly the $2 million to $75 million revenue range. That is the lower middle market, and it is deliberately where the firm sits. Below that range the economics rarely support a full competitive process. Above it, larger banks with bigger teams are often the better answer, and we will say so.

Not always, and it is worth being honest about that. Process discipline matters more than sector fluency in some deals, and a strong generalist lower middle market bank can run an excellent process. Sector knowledge matters most in three situations: when the buyer universe is small and specific, when valuation turns on industry metrics a generalist would have to learn on your time, or when real estate sits alongside the operating business. Preschools, MSPs, and dog daycare all meet at least two of those tests. Our guide on how to choose an M&A advisor walks through the rest of the decision.

Ask anyway. The five listed sectors are where we have the deepest buyer relationships, not the only work we take. If your business is a founder-owned company in the lower middle market and we do not think we are the right firm for it, we will tell you that on the first call and point you toward someone who is. You can also see the full scope of our sell-side work.

A success fee at closing, with no retainer. Some engagements start with a small deposit, credited against that fee at closing, and the fee structure is the same across all five sectors. More on how engagements work.

Curious what your business is worth?

Two minutes of dropdowns gets you a ballpark range and the buyers active in your industry. Or skip the math and go straight to a conversation.

Value My Business Start a Conversation →