Sell your dry cleaning business to the buyer, not a broker.
Valemont Group buys dry cleaning plants and drop stores directly from the owners who built them, and keeps them running. No fees to us. A confidential first call, a market offer, and a closing in 60 to 90 days, sometimes 30, once the file is ready.
Who buys dry cleaners directly from owners?
Most owners who look for a buyer find brokers, listing sites, and franchise systems. Valemont is the other path: a direct buyer that operates what it buys. We acquire established dry cleaners with real customer books, whether you run a full plant or a drop store that sends work out, and whether you lease or own the building.
Plant or drop store. Both sell, differently.
A plant with a machine, a boiler, and presses is priced on its earnings after the labor a buyer must pay for, plus what the equipment will need over the next five years. A drop store is priced on its customer book and its wholesale arrangement, and it is simpler to close. Tell us which you have and we price it the right way from the first call.
The environmental question, raised early.
If a plant ran perc at any point, lenders and buyers ask for a Phase I environmental site assessment. It is a records and site review, not digging, and it is normal. We raise it in the first conversation, we commission it as part of our diligence, and a known condition gets priced the way any known risk is priced. Plants with a site history sell regularly. What a Phase I is and who pays for it.
What we look at.
Two to three years of returns and P&Ls, the lease or deed, an equipment list with ages, twelve months of utilities, payroll, and your solvent and waste records. All eight documents are in the dry cleaner document checklist. Your people are part of what we are buying; we would rather grow the team than cut it. Conversations stay confidential. If you own the building too, read selling a dry cleaner when you own the building.
What a dry cleaner is worth.
Most established dry cleaners sell for roughly 2.5 to 5 times EBITDA, the yearly earnings after every operating cost including a manager to run the plant. Where a store lands depends on everything a buyer verifies: the books, the lease, the equipment, the customers, and what diligence turns up. The calculator gives you a first range in three steps, and the valuation guide shows the arithmetic.
Dry cleaning, run by someone who runs it.
Founder of Farview Holdings, parent of University Cleaners and Wash-O-Matic Laundry: dry cleaning plants, laundromats, and a pickup-and-delivery business across multiple locations. Nearly two decades in executive leadership before becoming an owner-operator.
Common questions.
Who should I talk to if I want to sell my dry cleaning business?
The buyer, if you can find one who operates dry cleaners. Valemont buys directly from owners. You bring your own lawyer and accountant, and there is no fee to us.
Do you buy drop stores, or only plants?
Both. A plant is priced on its earnings after the labor a buyer must pay for and on what the equipment will need. A drop store is priced on its customer book and its wholesale arrangement.
Will perc contamination stop the sale?
No. A plant that ran perc gets a Phase I environmental site assessment, which is normal. A known condition is priced the way any known risk is priced, and plants with a site history sell regularly.
Do I have to sell the building?
No. The business alone, the business and the building, or the business with a lease back to you all happen.
Are there fees to sell my dry cleaner?
Not to us. You pay your own lawyer and accountant.
Ready to hear a number?
One confidential call. If the store fits, the offer follows, with the board behind it.