Pool service business acquisitions sit in a 2.5×–4.5× SDE band. Top-of-band placement is structural — high-density recurring maintenance routes with documented customer tenure and chemical margin control.
of deals presented chemical costs at a trough-period rate. Chemical cost at run-rate reduces route margin by 8–15 points in most markets.
Band stable. Route density — stops per day within a 10-mile radius — is the clearest top-of-band determinant.
of Sun Belt route deals are mis-benchmarked against seasonal-market comparables. Different attrition patterns and margin structures require separate analysis.
Top transferability risk: owner-technician is the sole route operator with no documented replacement or helper on the route.
Chemical cost is the most actionable earnings quality adjustment in pool service diligence — and the most commonly under-normalized. Chlorine and chemical prices have shown 30–60% volatility over the trailing 24 months. When a trailing period captures trough pricing, the presented route margin is materially higher than forward margin will be. Use trailing-6-month chemical invoices normalized to current distributor pricing, not trailing-12 averages, when the two diverge.
Route density is the proxy for operator economics. A route with 22 stops per day within a 10-mile radius has fundamentally different economics than a route with 14 stops covering 35 miles. The time between stops is unproductive labor cost. Map the route before pricing it — satellite-based route optimization analysis is available through most pool software platforms (ServiceTitan, Skimmer, Pooled) and should be a standard diligence deliverable.
Read the full Q2 2026 Atlas →The pool service research stack.
Atlas for the numbers. Playbook for the framework. Scored Listings for the evidence.
Q2 2026 Industry Atlas
Trailing-12-month band, structural conditions, sources, and methodology. Quarterly. Dated. Citable. Built to be forwarded by lenders.
Underwriting Playbook
The four-pillar lens applied to pool service business acquisitions. Structural failure modes. Pre-LOI verification priorities. Master spoke for the vertical.
Scored Listings
Anonymized observations from real pool service deals evaluated against the framework. Updated as deals warrant. Each listing its own citable URL.
Three recent pool service deals.
Sun Belt pool service route, 142 weekly accounts, 9.2 stops/day, no seasonal exposure
OutcomeSigned at 4.1× SDE. Lender DSCR 1.31×. Closed without repricing.
Pool service route, 88 accounts, geographically dispersed, repair revenue elevated
OutcomeInitial ask 3.8× blended SDE. After chemical cost restatement to current pricing, repair revenue normalization to run-rate, and owner-route replacement, repriced to 3.1× adjusted SDE. Closed at 3.1×.
Seasonal pool service route, northern climate, 5.8% monthly attrition, owner-only technician
OutcomeBuyer submitted LOI at 3.1× stated SDE. After seasonal DSCR stress, attrition normalization, chemical cost restatement, and owner-labor replacement, adjusted SDE declined 58%. Financing declined — no lender could underwrite DSCR at the requested purchase price.
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- Q2 20262026 Multiples Band, Structural Conditions, and the Underwriting LensMay 2, 2026Read →
- Q1 2026Forthcoming retroactive AtlasAug 2026In preparation
- Q4 2025Forthcoming retroactive AtlasSep 2026In preparation
- Q3 2025Forthcoming retroactive AtlasOct 2026In preparation
- Q3 2026Next scheduled dropAug 15, 2026Scheduled