FOR SALE: Chain of Las Vegas Wedding Chapels
Included: 55% profit margins. Not included: Elvis.
I was sitting at my desk.
Debating if I was “Twitter bored” or “TikTik bored.”
(They are different.)
Then, a reader of this humble newsletter sent me this listing of a business for sale:
It’s a chain of 3 wedding chapels in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Let’s say you meet someone at the blackjack table and decide to spend your life together starting right now.
This is just the business for you!
Show up. Pay a few hundred bucks, and you’re married.
The Numbers
ASKING PRICE: $3.41 million (2.72x FCF)
GROSS REVENUE: $2.4 million
ADJUSTED NET INCOME: $1.25 million
So, What to Like?
Well, first, I hope someone I know buys this one.
It’s got a ton going for it.
High gross and net margins (52% adjusted net income)
Customers making once-in-a-lifetime (ok, maybe once-this-year) type decisions and willing to splurge
You get to manage Elvis impersonators marrying people (!)
At the perfect size to be SBA 7A (the US gov’t’s small business loan program)
You get to be part of special days for people
This business makes a ton of money
And it’s priced right (2.72x FCF)
So, What’s the Catch?
My “this seems too good to be true” alarm is going off. It’s too cheap for what is, seemingly, a great business.
Things I would look at on this one:
What’s up with the location leases? Do I lose these locations soon?
How is it getting customers? Google? Flyers? How durable is the revenue?
Is the great performance a function of "a post-COVID wedding boom”? I’d want to see the previous year’s books.
How hard will this be to run? The teaser says the owner is part-time, but who’s cleaning up human sick on a Tuesday 3 am wedding ceremony gone wrong?
Will I get a bunch of competitors soon? Given Las Vegas weddings have been a thing for 50 years and this business is only 5 years old, I’m worried it’s not that tough to open a competitor.
If you want to see the full teaser online, it’s here:
ALSO:
My buddy Bill D’Alessandro and I recorded an episode of Acquisitions Anonymous for this one. Subscribe on your podcast app or at acquanon.com to hear it when it comes out.
Happy hunting!
Michael
PS - check out this thread I wrote on Twitter about 11 pitfalls in buying a business: I thought it was genius :-)
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