Investera Holdings is a Michigan family-operated company that buys and keeps running commercial cleaning and janitorial businesses in Columbus and across Franklin County. We are operators and buyers, not a broker listing your company for a fee, and not a passive fund parking capital for a quick return. When we acquire a janitorial business, we put a dedicated general manager and a professional management layer in charge so the crews, routes, and client relationships keep running after you step back. Our own portfolio companies, CT Cleaners and Optimal Facility Services, are proof that we do this work ourselves rather than flipping companies for a commission.
Why Columbus owners are thinking about selling now
Columbus is one of the fastest-growing metros in the Midwest, and every new office tower, clinic, and distribution center is square footage that has to be cleaned on a schedule. Downtown anchors like Nationwide, AEP, and Huntington Bancshares, the medical campuses of the Wexner Medical Center, OhioHealth, and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and the university buildings around Ohio State and Columbus State all run on nightly janitorial crews. The Intel semiconductor project and the data-center wave out in New Albany are adding millions of square feet of new commercial and industrial space to Franklin County’s edges, and that pipeline turns steady janitorial contracts into some of the most durable revenue in the region.
Central Ohio’s four hard seasons make the work relentless in a way that rewards a well-run company. Winter salt, slush, and freeze-thaw grime get tracked across lobbies and stairwells from November through March, and humid summers bring their own floor-care and restroom demands. Many of the owners who built these route-based businesses through the 1990s and 2000s are now ready to slow down, but they worry that walking away means letting down the property managers and facility directors who trust them. That is exactly the gap a professional management layer closes, and it is why we would rather buy your Columbus cleaning company and keep it running than watch it disappear.
Who we buy in the Columbus area
We are not trying to buy every janitorial company in Franklin County. We look for a specific kind of Columbus cleaning business, one with dependable recurring work and a team that already handles most of the day-to-day.
- Recurring janitorial contracts or route-based recurring revenue
- Around $500K+ in revenue or SDE (close counts)
- A capable supervisor or crew who can run the day-to-day
- A solid reputation with Columbus-area facilities and property managers
- An owner open to a clean handoff or staying on short-term
If most of that sounds like the company you built, it is worth a conversation. Close-but-not-exact is fine; we would rather talk than have you screen yourself out over a single line.
What makes selling to Investera different
No broker fees. We are the buyer, not a middleman, so you never pay a listing commission or success fee out of your sale proceeds.
A confidential process. Your employees, clients, and competitors don’t find out. Early conversations stay private, and we sign an NDA before you share sensitive numbers.
Creative deal structures. We can work with cash at close, a seller note, an earnout, or a transition period, so the deal fits your goals rather than a rigid template.
Operators, not a fund. We keep the business running under our own management team and brand stewardship instead of stripping it for parts or reselling it in a few years.
How the process works
Getting started is simple and low-pressure. It begins with a confidential phone call to understand your routes, your contracts, and what you want out of a sale. If there is a fit, we sign an NDA and review a few years of financials, then make a straightforward offer. From there we handle diligence ourselves, with no broker relaying messages, and work toward a close on a timeline that suits you. Most owners are surprised how few meetings it actually takes.
We will take care of what you built
When we buy a cleaning business, we install a dedicated general manager and keep your supervisors, crews, and account relationships in place. The name your clients recognize on invoices and uniforms stays, and the routes people count on keep running. Our goal is continuity: the property managers around Columbus should notice better systems, not a disruption. That stewardship is the whole point of buying rather than brokering.
Learn more about what we buy, see how we acquire commercial cleaning / janitorial businesses, or read about Investera Holdings.
Frequently asked questions
How much is my commercial cleaning business worth in Columbus?
Most healthy, owner-operated janitorial businesses trade in a range of roughly 2.5 to 4 times SDE (seller’s discretionary earnings). Where you land depends on how much of your revenue is recurring and contracted, how independently your crews run, and the strength of your client relationships. This is a typical range, not a guarantee, and the only way to a real number is to look at your actuals together.
Will my employees and clients find out we’re talking?
No. We keep early conversations private and sign an NDA before you share sensitive details. Nothing is announced to your crews, clients, or competitors until you are ready and the deal is done.
Do I pay any broker or advisor fees?
No. We are the buyer, not a broker or intermediary. There is no listing commission and no success fee taken out of your proceeds. The number we agree on is between us.
Can I stay involved after the sale?
If you want to. Some owners hand off cleanly in a few weeks, while others stay on for a transition or a longer advisory role. Because we bring in our own general manager, staying is an option, not a requirement.
How long does a sale take?
Typically 30 to 90 days from the first serious conversation to close, depending on how quickly financials come together and the structure we choose. We can move faster or slower to fit your plans.
What areas around Columbus do you buy in?
All of Franklin County and the surrounding suburbs, including Dublin, Westerville, Grove City, Reynoldsburg, and Hilliard, plus the broader Central Ohio region.
Start a confidential conversation
If you own a commercial cleaning or janitorial business in the Columbus area and have even started to wonder what’s next, let’s talk, confidentially and with no obligation. One quiet phone call will tell you whether there is a fit. Reach out to Investera Holdings to start the conversation whenever you are ready.