How do I find an audio-visual integration company for sale?

Audio-visual integrators install home theatres, conference rooms, sound systems and control systems, yet the listings seldom use those words. A company may be filed as a low-voltage contractor, a security and technology firm, an electrical business or a general trades company. If you search only for audio-visual, you will miss most of what is for sale. Start by deciding whether you want residential, commercial or a mix.

Search the neighbouring headings

Try integration, low-voltage, structured cabling, security, home technology and electrical, then read each description for the work actually done. Save the searches so new postings reach you promptly. A listing that only says technology contractor may still be an installer, so ask for a short summary of the typical projects once you have signed a confidentiality agreement.

Dealers, reps and brokers

Equipment distributors and manufacturer representatives know which integrators are tired, retiring or looking for a partner, and they hear about it before a listing appears. Brokers who handle trades and service businesses are another channel. Ask each whom they act for, and see is it smart to interview more than one broker first.

What a listing should show

Integration revenue comes from projects that start and finish, plus service work that repeats. A useful listing, or the first package after confidentiality, separates the two. Ask for the signed backlog, deposits already received for unfinished jobs, and any monitoring or support contracts. Then check the figures against the seller’s records, as described in how do I verify a seller’s financials.

• Ask which brands the company is authorised to sell and install.
• Ask how many jobs are in progress and what has been paid so far.
• Ask who holds the programming and design know-how.
• Ask which builders and designers send the most work.