How do I find a billboard or outdoor advertising business for sale?

Billboard companies are usually small, local and run by an owner who knows every site personally. Few are advertised, and those that are may sit under advertising, media or signage. A buyer who searches one term misses most of them. Use public listings and the industry’s own contacts together, and expect the right business to take time to appear.

Search under every label

Owners describe the same business as billboards, outdoor advertising, out-of-home media or roadside signs. Search listing sites under each phrase and save the searches so new listings reach you. Read the description for what the business actually owns, since a company advertised as a sign maker may hold a few display structures, and the reverse also happens.

Talk to the people around the boards

Landowners who host boards, sign installers, printers who produce the vinyl and local advertisers who book space all know who runs the small operators and who is tiring of the work. A short, courteous message describing what you want can reach owners who would never list. The approach in how to approach an owner who is not selling applies here too.

Questions to ask first

Before spending time on a lead, ask a few things that sort the businesses quickly.

• How many faces does the business operate, and how many are static or digital?
• Does it own the structures, the land under them, or neither?
• Who sells the advertising: the owner, staff or outside agencies?
• How long do the site leases still run?