Investera Holdings is a Michigan family-operated company that buys commercial cleaning and janitorial businesses and keeps them running. We are operators and buyers, not a brokerage and not a passive fund parking money. When we acquire a Durham cleaning company, we bring proven systems and a professional management layer so the accounts keep getting served long after the founder steps back. Our own portfolio, CT Cleaners and Optimal Facility Services, is exactly that kind of work, businesses we own and operate rather than flip. If you have built a respected janitorial operation in the Bull City and have started to wonder what comes next, we would value a quiet conversation.
Why Durham owners are thinking about selling now
Durham runs on square footage that has to be spotless every single night. Duke University and Duke University Health System anchor a downtown and campus corridor of offices, clinics, and labs, while Research Triangle Park just south of the city fills millions of feet of corporate and life-science space. The redeveloped American Tobacco Campus, the offices around DPAC and the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the medical buildings off Roxboro and Fayetteville, and the biotech and pharma tenants expanding across RTP all depend on reliable nightly janitorial crews. A cleaning company with steady contracts across these accounts is a genuinely valuable asset, and that value is what we want to protect.
Many Durham cleaning owners built their books during the region’s long growth run and are now facing a different set of pressures: tight labor markets, rising wages, and clients who expect medical-grade and lab-appropriate protocols. Selling is not a sign of failure, it is a way to lock in the value of years of route-building and reputation. The hard part is finding a buyer who will honor the crews and the client relationships instead of stripping the company for parts. That is precisely the role we step into, with the systems and management bench to keep contracts intact through the transition and beyond.
Who we buy in the Durham area
We are looking for established Durham-area cleaning and janitorial companies with real, repeating revenue, not one-off jobs. The best fit is a business that already runs on relationships and routes, where an owner is ready to hand the keys to a team that will keep the standard high.
- Recurring or contract-based revenue from nightly and scheduled routes
- Roughly $500K or more in revenue or SDE (close is fine)
- Supervisors and crews who can run the day to day
- A solid reputation with Durham offices, medical, or lab accounts
- An owner open to a clean handoff or a short stay-on
If most of that sounds like your company, there is a real conversation to have here. Even if one or two points are off, it is worth a call, because we care more about the health of the accounts and the team than about hitting a perfect checklist.
What makes selling to Investera different
No broker fees. We buy directly, so you are not paying a listing commission or getting shopped around a marketplace. It is your business and our team, one conversation.
A confidential process. Your crews, your clients, and your competitors hear nothing until you decide the time is right. Early talks stay strictly between us.
Creative deal structures. We can shape terms around a clean full exit, a phased handoff, seller financing, or a period where you stay involved, whatever fits your life.
Operators, not a fund. We run cleaning and facility businesses ourselves through CT Cleaners and Optimal Facility Services. We are not financial buyers flipping on a timeline.
How the process works
The process is simple and unhurried. We start with a confidential phone call to understand your company, your accounts, and what you want out of a transition. If it feels like a fit, we sign an NDA and review basic financials and a picture of your contract base. From there we make a straightforward offer with clear terms and no gamesmanship. Because we are the actual buyer and there is no broker in the middle, you deal with the decision-makers the entire way, which keeps things quiet and moving.
We will take care of what you built
When we take over a Durham cleaning business, our first job is to keep every account happy and every crew paid on time. We install the management layer, a dedicated general manager and supervisory structure, that lets the business run without the founder in every truck and every walk-through. The name you built, the standards your clients trust, and the people who show up each night are the whole value of the company, and we protect them. That is what we mean by stewardship: buying to keep running, not to dismantle.
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 Durham?
It depends on your numbers, but well-run cleaning companies with recurring contract revenue typically trade in a range of about 2.5 to 4 times SDE (seller’s discretionary earnings). Route density, contract length, client mix, and how much the business relies on you all move the figure. We will walk you through a realistic range based on your actuals, never a guarantee.
Will this stay confidential?
Yes. Confidentiality is the default from the first call. We sign an NDA and keep everything private, so your clients, crews, and competitors learn nothing until you are ready to tell them on your terms.
Do I have to pay any broker or commission fees?
No. We are the direct buyer, not a broker or a listing service, so there are no commissions and no fees coming out of your proceeds. That is one of the real advantages of dealing with us directly.
Can I stay involved after the sale?
If you want to. Some owners prefer a clean exit, others like to stay on for a season to help with the handoff or keep a hand in key accounts. We can build the deal either way.
How long does a typical deal take?
Once we both feel it is a fit, a straightforward transaction usually moves over a matter of weeks rather than many months, because there is no broker layer and we make decisions in-house. We move at a pace you are comfortable with.
What areas around Durham do you buy in?
We look throughout Durham County and the wider Triangle, including Chapel Hill, Cary, Morrisville, Hillsborough, and Raleigh. If your cleaning routes reach into those communities, that is a plus, not a problem.
Start a confidential conversation
If you own a commercial cleaning or janitorial company in the Durham area and even part of this resonates, let’s talk. A first conversation is confidential, carries no obligation, and costs you nothing but a little time. Reach out and we will listen first, learn your business, and be honest about whether there is a fit. When you are ready to think about what comes after all the years you have put in, we are ready to listen.