Selling a glazing contractor in Canada

You have decided to sell, so the work now is sequence. A glazing contractor has open projects, a crew with certificates, specialized equipment and warranty obligations on work finished years ago. Document those pieces before the first buyer sees anything. This guide follows one sensible order: records, regulatory position, confidentiality, the buyer’s questions and the hand-over. It is general information. Your lawyer and accountant should set the structure of the deal, and your broker, if you use one, is a partner in the process.

Get the records in order first

BDC lists what buyers ask to see: historic and interim financial statements, projections, tax returns and other records. For a glazing contractor, add the schedule of open projects with contract values and completion status, and a list of completed projects. Bring the accountant in early so the statements and a recast of earnings agree with each other. BDC also suggests documenting standard operating procedures so operations transfer more easily. For a contractor, that means written bid, safety and close-out routines rather than habits held by two or three people.

Confirm your regulatory position by province

Rules for this trade are not uniform. Quebec’s Régie du bâtiment publishes licence classes and subclasses for contractors, and a licence holders’ repertory for checking a contractor’s licence. Ontario’s Skilled Trades Ontario distinguishes compulsory trades from non-compulsory ones, so confirm which category your crew’s trades fall into. Other provinces run their own regimes. Before listing, confirm with the relevant body what your business and crew must hold, whether anything is tied to your corporation or to named individuals, and what the buyer will have to apply for after closing. Ask your lawyer to read it with the deal structure in mind.

Protect confidentiality while buyers look

BDC warns that, depending on a listing site’s confidentiality procedures, word could get out to employees, customers or suppliers that you are selling. In a business built on general-contractor relationships, think about how that could affect your bids. Share a short summary without the company name first, ask for a signed non-disclosure agreement before releasing identifying detail, and release customer names and project files only to a buyer who has progressed. Decide in advance who tells the crew and when, and who answers if a general contractor calls to ask whether the rumour is true. Agree a short, honest holding statement with your adviser in advance.

Expect questions about warranty and bonding

Prepare a claims log covering water-infiltration, seal-failure and callback history, with the outcome of each. Ask your surety whether any bonding arrangement depends on you as the principal, and what it would take for a new owner to carry on. Gather insurance certificates, equipment records, and certification records showing expiry dates across the crew. Having these ready means you can answer a question when it is asked, not weeks later.

Plan the hand-over

BDC recommends working out a transition plan with the buyer that includes a plan to retain employees, customers and suppliers and how you will communicate the change to them. Decide which general-contractor and developer relationships you will introduce in person, and how long you can stay on. BDC notes that a seller who stays involved after the sale, such as through vendor financing or an earn-out, has an especially strong interest in a seamless transition. WCB-Alberta says you can get clearance letters for yourself or the companies you hire, so consider having one for the business ready for the buyer’s review. Confirm with your own board what it provides and how a change of ownership is reported to it, because each province runs its own system.

Decide how to run the process

You can approach buyers yourself, use a broker, or do both. BDC notes that a broker or other intermediary can help you approach potential buyers; ask what yours would do on confidentiality and buyer screening while you keep running projects. Ask any adviser how they are paid and what they will and will not do. Whatever route you take, the licence position matters: the answer Do trade licences transfer when I sell? explains why you should ask the issuing body rather than assume. The confidentiality checklist is a useful companion while you plan who learns what, and when.

Keep the business running while you sell

If the sale takes your attention away from bidding and site work, agree who covers estimating while you are tied up, and keep submitting bids so the open-project schedule stays healthy. If a buyer sees the pipeline thin out because the owner stopped bidding, that is something you made visible. Keep safety meetings, certificate renewals and equipment maintenance on schedule too, since a buyer may ask to see each of them.

• Recast financials, open-project schedule and completed-project list.
• Written bid, safety and close-out procedures.
• A licence and certification summary for the business and each crew member, checked with the provincial body.
• Non-disclosure agreements and a staged release of customer detail.
• A claims log, insurance certificates and a note on any bonding that depends on you.