Owning a Paul Davis Restoration: what actually happens

This is a general-contractor-style restoration company, not a van and a dehumidifier: Paul Davis offices do mitigation and the full reconstruction that follows, which is why revenue per office is so high and why you need estimators, project managers, a warehouse, vehicles and equipment from early on. Year one is spent getting onto insurance carrier and third-party-administrator programs, building relationships with adjusters, agents and property managers, and learning Xactimate-priced estimating. Work is event-driven and you are paid by insurers weeks or months after you pay subcontractors, so receivables soak up cash as fast as you grow. Offices under two years old had median sales near $1.0M, against $4.0M for mature ones.

Illustrative split for a typical unit (industry estimate). The green slice is store cash flow before your loan payment and before paying yourself a salary — not profit.

Established restoration companies with insurance program relationships, equipment and a management layer sell as real businesses on a multiple of earnings, and the restoration sector has seen steady acquirer interest (industry observation, not from the FDD). A $4M-plus Paul Davis office is that kind of company. A sub-scale office is much harder to sell because the relationships and estimating skill sit with the owner. Transfers need franchisor approval and a transfer fee, and any unpaid balance on the franchise-fee note has to be dealt with at sale.