Northglenn is a small city with a clear story. In 1959 a developer named Jordon Perlmutter began building it as a master-planned community north of Denver. The city incorporated in 1969, and about 38,000 people lived here at the 2020 census. It lies mostly in Adams County, with a sliver in Weld, and the RTD N Line now runs straight from Northglenn to downtown Denver.
If you own a trade or service company here, you probably know that story from the inside. You have worked in the same streets for years, maybe in the houses your parents' friends bought new.
Kent & Tamarack helps owners like you sell a company quietly and fairly. The founder answers at (983) 900-6537, and the first call is free.
A city built in one wave
Most suburbs grew in layers over many decades. A large share of Northglenn went up in a much shorter window as one planned community. That has a plain consequence for the trades: many of the houses are of a similar age, built to similar plans, with systems that wear out on a similar schedule.
For a plumber, an HVAC tech, an electrician or a roofer, that is a steady drumbeat of work. Water heaters, furnaces, air conditioners, sewer lines, panels and roofs on homes of this age come due again and again. A company that has been taking those calls for years has a customer list full of people who will need it again.
A buyer understands that. Replacement and repair work in an established neighborhood is less tied to the swings of new home building than work in a growing suburb. It does not stop when builders slow down.
A city that is redeveloping, not sprawling
Northglenn has little open land left to build on. The city created its urban renewal authority, NURA, in 1990, and the first area it took on was the old Northglenn Mall, now the Northglenn Marketplace. A 2014 review by the authority said more than 85 percent of the city's commercial properties sat inside urban renewal areas, so its focus is redevelopment and infill.
The city and NURA have offered matching grants of up to $15,000 for exterior improvements to businesses inside the urban renewal boundary. That kind of activity creates work for local contractors: storefront remodels, new mechanical and electrical systems for changed uses, roofing, parking lot and landscape work.
If your company does commercial work on these older retail and office buildings, a buyer will see a customer base that keeps renewing as the city rebuilds itself.
Small companies sell differently
Many Northglenn trade companies are small. An owner, a few techs, a spouse or one office person, a handful of trucks. Those companies can sell, and sell well, but the sale looks a little different from a big one.
The owner is the business, at first. In a company this size the customers know you. The buyer will want a handover plan: you introduce them, ride along for a while, and step back. We help you set that plan in writing, with a clear end date.
Private buyers are common. A person who has worked as a lead tech or service manager and wants to own a company is a natural buyer for a small Northglenn business. Many of them borrow through SBA-backed bank loans, which means the bank will read your tax returns closely.
Neighbors are buyers too. A Thornton, Westminster or Federal Heights company in your trade may want your customers because they already drive past them. These buyers can move fast because they know the area. They are also the ones who must not learn your name too early, so we handle them carefully.
Some of the price may come over time. Many small deals include a seller note, where the buyer pays part of the price to you in monthly payments after closing. That can help a deal happen. It also carries risk, so we explain the protections that should come with it.
Getting your numbers ready
You do not need an accountant's masterpiece. You do need numbers a stranger can follow. Most small companies need help in the same few places:
- Personal and business costs mixed together. Your truck, phone and family on payroll are common. We sort those out so a buyer sees what the company really earns.
- Cash jobs that never made it to the books. A buyer cannot pay for income they cannot see, so this is worth fixing well before a sale.
- Customer records in someone's head. A simple list with names, addresses, the last job and what was done is worth more than you might think.
- Licenses in the owner's name only. If the permit-pulling license leaves with you, a buyer needs a plan to replace it.
We go through these with you after the first call, and we tell you which ones matter most for your company.
What it is worth
The first question every owner asks is what the company will sell for. We answer it once we have seen the books. The answer is a range with reasons: what the company earns in a normal year, how much repeats, how dependent it is on you, and what comes with it. Where something holds the value down, we say so and suggest what to do about it.
Some owners hear that range and sell. Some decide to spend a year building up service agreements or training a lead tech first. Either way, you are making the decision with real information.
A word on timing
Trade work in Northglenn follows the weather. Air conditioning calls pile up in July, furnace calls in January, and roofers chase hail. A sale takes real hours from you: gathering records, talking with buyers, sitting down with your accountant. Many owners find it easier to do that work in the quieter months of spring and fall, when the phones calm down.
Timing also matters for the numbers. A buyer will look at your last full year and at how this year is going. A strong busy season, written down clearly, helps your case. We can plan the sale around your calendar so you are not trying to run a full crew and a deal in the same heat wave.
The process in short
Four steps for every owner: a private first call, an honest range of value, a quiet search for a buyer, and a clean close next to your accountant and attorney. Read the full steps.
For the wider metro, see our Denver page. Nearby owners can read our pages for Thornton, Federal Heights and Westminster.
When you want to talk, call (983) 900-6537 or email hello@kentandtamarack.com.