Best Business Brokers in Texas
Every list of the best brokers in Texas was written by a broker who put themselves at number one. This page does something more useful. It gives you the criteria that actually separate a good sell side advisor from an expensive one, honest multiple ranges by sector, and a city by city read on who is buying.
An honest note. Kingdom Broker is a Texas M&A advisory firm, not a directory. We do not rank other firms and we are not going to publish a list with our own name at the top and call it research. What we can do is tell you exactly how to evaluate any advisor you talk to, including us.
The six things that separate advisors
Credentials, office locations and website design predict almost nothing about your outcome. These six things predict most of it. Ask every firm you interview, write the answers down, and compare them side by side.
| Criterion | What good looks like | The question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Fee structure you can read in one sitting | A written success fee with the percentage, the breakpoints and the definition of transaction value on the same page. Any retainer disclosed in dollars, not described as 'nominal'. | Show me the fee section of your agreement before I sign an NDA. What exactly counts as transaction value: cash at close, escrow, earnout, assumed debt, the real estate? |
| Buyer network depth, not a listing site | A named, segmented buyer list the advisor can describe by type: private equity platforms, strategics in your trade, family offices, SBA backed individual operators. Real outreach, not a posting that waits for inbound. | How many buyers would you approach for a company my size in my trade, and how many of them have closed a deal in the last 18 months? |
| A confidentiality process that is written down | A blind teaser with no identifying detail, an NDA before anything else moves, staged disclosure, and a rule about when employees and customers learn anything. | Walk me through exactly what a buyer sees at each stage, and at what point my company name is revealed. |
| Sector experience that is specific | The advisor can talk about your add backs, your working capital cycle, your licensing and bonding, and what a buyer in your trade will discount. Generalists miss value that sector people find. | What are the three things a buyer will try to normalize out of my earnings, and how have you defended those before? |
| Who actually runs your deal | The person who pitched you is the person who negotiates. If the deal gets handed to a junior after signing, you learn that up front, not in month four. | Who writes my CIM, who calls the buyers, and who sits on the diligence calls? Name them. |
| An honest valuation, not a flattering one | A range with the drivers that move it, comparable transactions rather than rules of thumb, and a clear statement of what is inside the multiple. FF&E is inside the EBITDA multiple. Owned real estate is valued separately and shown with and without. | Show me the range and tell me what moves me from the bottom of it to the top. Does your number include my building? |
If you only do one thing from this page, do the last column. Three conversations with the same six questions will tell you more than a month of reading reviews.
Texas EBITDA multiples by sector
Working ranges for owner operated Texas companies with $1M to $20M of revenue. Sector sets the starting point. The right hand column is what actually decides whether you land at the bottom of the range or the top, and the gap between those two ends is usually worth more than anything that happens at the negotiating table.
| Sector | Adjusted EBITDA multiple | What moves you inside the range |
|---|---|---|
| HVAC and mechanical services | 4.0x to 6.5x | Maintenance agreement base as a share of revenue, plus technician retention |
| Plumbing and electrical | 4.0x to 6.0x | Recurring service revenue and licensed supervisory depth beyond the owner |
| Roofing and exteriors | 3.0x to 5.0x | Share of non storm revenue and crew retention through the off season |
| Manufacturing and fabrication | 4.5x to 7.0x | Certifications, customer concentration and equipment condition |
| Energy and oilfield services | 3.0x to 5.5x | Contracted versus spot revenue, and where the cycle sits at close |
| Healthcare and specialty practices | 4.5x to 7.0x | Provider retention and how much production the owner personally performs |
| Commercial cleaning and facilities | 3.5x to 5.5x | Contract renewal history and assignment terms on a change of control |
| Distribution and wholesale | 4.0x to 6.0x | Supplier agreements, inventory turns and gross margin durability |
Ranges apply to adjusted EBITDA after documented add backs. Furniture, fixtures and equipment are inside the multiple. Owned real estate is valued separately and shown with and without it. Illustrative, not a guarantee of value.
Choosing a broker in your Texas market
Buyer behavior, multiple ranges and advisor quality all vary by metro more than most owners expect. Each guide covers the local market, what buyers there underwrite first, and the sector ranges that apply.
Major Texas metros
Dallas Fort Worth suburbs
High opportunity markets
How a Kingdom Broker sale actually runs
Kingdom Broker is AI native M&A for Texas owners in the $1M to $20M range, working alongside The Vant Group, a Texas M&A firm with 26 years in the market and more than 700 closed transactions since 1999. Every engagement runs the same six steps.
- Confidential conversation. A private call about the business, the number you need and the timeline. Nothing is marketed and nothing is disclosed.
- Valuation with the drivers shown. A range built from comparable transactions, with the specific items that move you from the bottom of it to the top. FF&E sits inside the multiple. Owned real estate is valued separately and shown with and without.
- Preparation before exposure. Add back schedule, recast financials and a confidential information memorandum a buyer can underwrite. Problems get found here, while they can still be fixed.
- Screened, NDA gated outreach. A blind teaser goes to a buyer list matched on sector, size and structure. Your named competitors and customers are excluded before anyone is contacted.
- Competition, then terms. Multiple offers compared on cash at close and probability of closing, not headline price. Working capital target, escrow and any earnout get negotiated in the letter of intent, not at the end.
- Diligence to close. The same people who pitched you run diligence, manage the buyer's advisors and stay in it until the wire lands.
Texas sellers ask these first
What does a business broker cost in Texas?
Sell side fees are usually a success fee on transaction value, commonly 7 to 10 percent at the smaller end of the lower middle market and stepping down as deal size climbs. Most credible firms also charge a retainer or work fee, because building a real information memorandum and running a buyer process costs money before anything closes. Kingdom Broker charges a retainer that is lower than the market and offers a No-Cost Exit option for owners who qualify. Get the fee clause in writing and get transaction value defined before you sign.
What is my Texas business worth?
Most owner operated Texas companies with $1M to $20M of revenue trade between 3.0x and 7.0x adjusted EBITDA. Sector sets the starting point and four things move you inside the range: recurring or contracted revenue, how much the business depends on the owner, customer concentration, and whether the financials survive scrutiny. Furniture, fixtures and equipment are inside the multiple. Owned real estate is valued separately and shown with and without it.
Is a broker, an M&A advisor and an investment bank the same thing?
Not quite, and the labels are used loosely in Texas. Business brokers typically handle Main Street and smaller companies with a listing driven process. M&A advisors run a targeted, confidential process for lower middle market companies and negotiate structure as well as price. Investment banks serve larger transactions with formal auctions. What matters more than the label is whether the person running your deal has closed companies your size in your sector, and whether the buyer search goes national.
How do I keep the sale confidential?
Buyers see a blind teaser first that names no company, address or customers. Everyone signs an NDA before anything identifying is disclosed. Financial detail is released in stages as buyers qualify. Your named competitors, key customers and any party you flag get excluded from the outreach list before a single approach goes out. Public listing sites do the opposite of this, which is why we do not use them for most engagements.
Which Texas cities does Kingdom Broker cover?
We work with owners statewide, with the deepest coverage across Dallas Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and the Permian Basin. Local knowledge matters for pricing labor, permits and route density. It does not limit the buyer search, which runs nationally on every engagement.
How long does selling a Texas business take?
The industry average is 9 to 12 months and a meaningful share of listings never close. Kingdom Broker targets 60 to 120 days from first conversation to close for a company with clean books and a management layer below the owner. The two things that stretch a timeline are financials that have to be rebuilt mid process and a buyer who cannot actually fund. Both are addressable before you go to market.
Free resources for Texas owners
Start with the number
A confidential valuation with the drivers shown, no listing and no exposure. If the number is not what you need yet, we will tell you what to fix and how long it takes.