Roll-ups work best in industries that are fragmented, have recurring or repeat revenue, depend on licenses or skilled labor that small owners struggle to scale, and show a clear gap between what small companies and larger ones sell for. Home services such as HVAC and plumbing, and dental practices, fit so well that private equity is already there: as of October 2026, Carta reports private equity home-services deal count rose 150% from 2020 to 2024, and there were about 130 private equity-backed dental support organizations by June 2025. For an independent buyer, the best industry is often a less crowded one with the same traits, or the one you already operate in.
Screen the industry before you screen companies. A good roll-up industry passes most of these tests:
BizBuySell data from 2021 to Q1 2026 shows how Main Street buyers price different industries, in multiples of seller's discretionary earnings (SDE):
A low entry multiple is not enough. Restaurants and salons are cheap, but cheap often reflects fragile earnings. Car washes already sell at nearly twice the all-sector average, which leaves less room between entry and exit. What matters is the spread between what you pay and what a larger company in the same industry is worth.
HVAC shows that spread clearly. Practitioner estimates put owner-run shops at 2.0–3.5x SDE and regional platforms with over $25M of revenue at 9–13x EBITDA. Few of the other industries on this list have a documented platform multiple in our sources.
A crowded industry cuts both ways. You will bid against well-funded add-on buyers, which pushes up prices. But those same buyers may later buy your platform, which gives you a credible exit.
Apply the seven tests above. This is a judgment exercise, not a ranking from data.
The pattern to look for is HVAC's traits in an industry private equity has not yet crowded. Your best edge is often an industry you already know.
Your own industry is usually the right place to start. You know how to judge a company, its staff and its customers. For SBA Business Expansion loans, lenders typically look for the same or a related industry. The question is whether your industry passes the tests above, not whether another one looks more exciting.
Where these numbers come from: BizBuySell SDE multiples via Beancount; HVAC practitioner estimates from Beancount; PKF O'Connor Davies; Carta; dental data from Focus Bankers; IBBA Market Pulse Q2 2026; Stanford 2026 Search Fund Study; laundromat coverage from BigIdeasDB.
Not necessarily, but you will compete with private equity add-on buyers on price. An independent buyer's opening is often smaller shops, specific trades or regions those buyers overlook. Underwrite each deal at your own platform's realistic multiple, not theirs.
Some can, where clients stay with the firm rather than one person and licensing transfers cleanly. Key-person risk is the main test. Retention agreements and rollover equity help keep the people who hold the relationships.
Software appears among the top search fund industries in the Stanford data, so single acquisitions are common. Rolling up many small e-commerce brands is riskier because they often share the same platform dependencies.
If your industry is attractive to private equity, you face a choice: sell to a platform or become one. Read should you sell to a private equity platform or build your own?
Meraki Dealmakers is a service of Meraki Partners, LLC, an advisory firm. It is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, business broker, law firm or accounting firm. This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.
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Meraki Dealmakers is a service of Meraki Partners, LLC.
Meraki Partners, LLC is an advisory firm. It is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, business broker, law firm or accounting firm, and does not solicit investors or receive compensation based on capital raised.
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