Specialist trades and technical services firms are essential to the built environment. Whether you keep power flowing, air circulating, lifts moving, or fire systems compliant — you play a role that’s mission-critical and people-driven.
Yet across Australia, New Zealand and Canada, many such businesses are:
- Built by one or two founders
- Staffed by loyal crews with deep know-how
- Dependent on the founder for pricing, compliance and certification
- Running strong operationally — but lacking a clear succession path
These are not businesses you can sell overnight.
And they’re not the kind of business you want to sell to the wrong buyer.
If you want to exit with confidence, protect your team, and secure your legacy — an Employee-Led Buyout (ELBO) or Management Buyout (MBO) may be the right solution.
Why This Sector Faces a Quiet Succession Crisis
Technical services businesses tend to share a common profile:
- $3M–$30M turnover
- Founder-led for 15–25 years
- 10 to 100 technicians or field staff
- Long-term contracts with builders, property groups, or facilities managers
- Compliance risk linked to one or two licence holders
And that creates real succession challenges:
1. Founder-Centric Operations
The quoting, certifications, relationships — even toolbox talks — still run through you.
2. Staff Loyalty, No Ownership Pathway
You’ve got foremen and service managers who’ve been with you for years — but no plan to let them lead or own.
3. Compliance is Personal
Electrical, HVAC, fire protection and lift services are all regulated trades. Transferring ownership without licensing continuity can put everything at risk.
4. Sale Value Often Undermined
You’ve built something with strong cash flow and great people. But most third-party buyers only see EBIT — not loyalty, trust, or technical excellence.
Why Internal Succession Makes Business Sense
ELBOs and MBOs are increasingly common in technical services because:
1. Operational Know-How Is Already in the Team
Your site supervisor, service lead or compliance officer already runs much of the business — they just need a roadmap to ownership.
2. Recurring Revenue, Asset-Light Models
Whether it’s maintenance contracts, callouts or preventative services, recurring work supports vendor finance and staged transitions.
3. Licence Holders Can Stay On During Transition
Founders can retain sign-off responsibilities during the handover period — while the next generation builds capability and confidence.
4. Industry Demand Supports Long-Term Viability
Skilled trades shortages, infrastructure investment and decarbonisation trends all point to continued demand for technical services.
What Is an ELBO — and How Does It Work?
An Employee-Led Buyout (ELBO) is a structured succession model where internal leaders — not external buyers — become the new owners of the business.
ELBOs typically include:
- Vendor finance – the founder is paid out over time from business cash flow
- Share schemes or discretionary trusts – giving your team access to equity without large personal capital outlays
- Governance and advisory support – setting up a board, decision-making rhythms, and coaching for the new owners
- Transition planning – including client communications, compliance continuity, and certification handovers
Your employees don’t need cash in the bank.
They need a structure, a mentor, and a runway.
Real Case Snapshot (Anonymised – Australia)
Business: Electrical and fire systems contractor servicing commercial property and education sectors
Revenue: ~$6.5M
Team: 25 electricians + fire techs, 1 founder, 2 senior leaders
Challenge: Founder handled all pricing and held compliance sign-off. Clients valued responsiveness and staff continuity.
Solution:
- Structured MBO with Ops Manager and Compliance Lead
- Vendor finance over 5 years
- Shareholder agreement, coaching, and weekly financial dashboards introduced
- Founder retained licence sign-off and advisory role for 18 months
Outcome:
- No disruption to contracts
- Staff turnover reduced
- Clients retained and revenue grew under new leadership
- Founder exited on target timeline with full payout
Source: Blue Harbour Capital engagement (anonymised)
Why Founders Like You Choose ELBOs
“My team already runs most of the business.”
They just need the tools to lead it.
“I don’t want a corporate buyer slashing headcount or changing service quality.”
Internal succession keeps things consistent.
“I still want a fair return — I just don’t want to leave everything at once.”
Vendor finance allows flexibility and transition time.
“I want to protect my licence, my clients, and my people.”
We help you do all three.
How Blue Harbour Capital Supports Technical Services Founders
We help founders across electrical, HVAC, fire, lift, and other technical trades to:
- Structure buyouts using vendor finance and share schemes
- Identify, assess and develop successor leadership teams
- Coach new owners in financials, governance and growth
- Build 100-day plans, KPI dashboards and team communication strategies
- Preserve compliance, client confidence and culture throughout the handover
We’re not investors. We don’t take equity.
We help technical business owners exit strategically, not suddenly.
Five Steps to Start Your Succession Plan
- Map your leadership bench
- Who’s already leading on jobs, compliance or clients?
- Get a business valuation
- Consider cash flow, contract strength, compliance risk, and founder reliance
- Design a succession structure
- Vendor finance, hybrid capital, staged equity, or trusts
- Build the post-deal transition plan
- Include client messaging, licence handover, staff retention
- Start coaching the next generation
- Leadership mindset, commercial decision-making, client management
Let’s Talk Succession in Technical Services
You’ve built a business around quality, responsiveness, and reliability.
Now it’s time to make sure those values live on — without you needing to be on call forever.
Contact Blue Harbour Capital for a confidential, founder-focused succession consultation.
We’ll help you plan your next chapter — and help your team step into theirs.