9 Ownership Transition Issues Specific to Contractors

All businesses face challenges with an ownership transition.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
Share

There are nine interrelated issues that heavily impact contractors. 

Succession: 9 Ownership Transition Issues Specific to Contractors.

We will dive deeper into each of these over the next week:

  1. Strength and alignment of the management team (post-deal)
  1. Culture of the company - Is it prepared for an ownership succession and compatible with the new owner? Seems “soft” but is very “hard” and can destroy value quickly.  
  1. Key relationship continuity with employees, customers, and others.
  1. Financial partner alignment with banking, surety, and possibly insurance.  
  1. Cash generation capabilities.
  1. Asset vs. stock sale - who owns past liabilities, how are they quantified, and what is the tax implication?
  1. Sustainable growth strategy and plan to ensure value is created for all stakeholders.  
  1. Future direction of the construction industry and ensuring you are neither selling nor buying the equivalent of a horseshoe manufacturer and installer in 1900.  
  1. Extremely low barriers to entry for new contractors can easily create competitors out of unaligned stakeholder groups, which often destroys value.  

9 Ownership Transition Issues Specific to Contractors
Continue building value in your business, yourself and your key team members with a good succession strategy....

9 Ownership Transition Issues Specific to Contractors
Continue building value in your business, yourself and your key team members with a good succession strategy....

Be Specific About Problems
The business of construction is filled with constant problems. It’s not that great contractors don’t have problems, it's that great contractors have learned how to troubleshoot first, which allows them to learn from their problems faster.
Competitive Advantage
A contractor’s market strategy is the most highly leveraged decision leadership can make. Getting this right then executing effectively can easily have a 2X+ positive impact on earnings over the next 5 years.
Exponential Growth of Technology
Technology innovation has always occurred at an exponential rate and has been starting to impact the $1 trillion construction industry at increasing rates.