Paul Quirk·February 27, 2023

Buying and Operating a Window and Door Installation Business | Paul Quirk

Paul Quirk, a South African-born finance professional who spent nearly 10 years at JPMorgan in Geneva, left banking with a severance package to conduct a self-funded search in the UK. In September 2022 he acquired Amber Home Improvements, a window and door installation business in Norwich, England, with roughly £4.5m in revenue and ~£670k EBITDA — paying approximately 3x EBITDA. The deal nearly collapsed twice due to the absence of SBA-equivalent financing in the UK: first when his primary lender pulled indicative terms during the macro downturn, and again when a peer-to-peer lender could not fund the final gap a week before closing — resolved only by the sellers increasing their seller financing. Paul's investment thesis centered on a structural UK tailwind: the country has the oldest, least energy-efficient housing stock in Europe, 67% of properties do not meet minimum energy ratings, and the replacement window/door market is relatively non-cyclical. Post-acquisition, Paul has focused on hiring an in-house financial controller, implementing an industry-specific ERP for job tracking, digitizing contracts, and beginning to diversify into commercial work — while relying heavily on two of the three former owners who stayed on as advisors. Paul also co-hosts the 'Buy and Build' podcast, giving him an unusually well-networked perspective on the UK ETA ecosystem.

Deal facts

multiple: ~3x EBITDA
sde ebitda: EBITDA ~£670k (~$900k USD)
revenue: ~£4.5m (~$6m USD)
financing structure: Alternative lender (peer-to-peer private credit) + seller financing (increased portion to close gap); no SBA equivalent in UK; self-funded with outside equity investors
notes: Deal nearly fell through twice: first when initial lender withdrew due to deal size and macro conditions (inflation, Ukraine war); second when peer-to-peer lender could not fund the gap a week before closing. Sellers increased seller financing percentage to bridge the shortfall. Business: Amber Home Improvements, Norwich, UK. ~30 employees. Three original owners; two stayed on for at least 12 months post-acquisition. Third owner's wife (bookkeeper) also departed.

Why this business

Paul had developed a thesis on the window and door installation sector in the UK, recognizing it was driven by the replacement market rather than new construction, and that 67% of UK properties did not meet energy efficiency requirements — creating a structural tailwind. The UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe and the least energy efficient. He liked the lack of customer concentration (each customer is only 2-3% of revenue), the premium showroom differentiation, and the fair valuation at roughly 3x EBITDA. He was also comfortable with non-recurring revenue given the sector dynamics.

What's working

Premium showroom differentiates from the broader industry, which has a poor reputation; the showroom has an 'IKEA-like' feel with interior design and live product displays
Strong structural demand tailwind: 67% of UK properties do not meet energy efficiency standards, and landlords must meet minimum ratings to rent properties
UK has oldest, least energy-efficient housing stock in Europe — replacement market (not new construction) drives most revenue
Two of three former owners stayed on post-acquisition, providing deep industry knowledge and continuity; relationship with former owners is collaborative
Good rapport with former owners allowed sellers to increase seller financing to save the deal at the last minute
Upgrading finance function by hiring an in-house financial controller (replacing outsourced bookkeeping) to enable management accounts, reporting, and scaling
Implementing industry-specific ERP for end-to-end job tracking — from sale to installation — to surface bottlenecks in real time
Moving to digital contracts reduces sales cycle turnaround by up to a week
Pursuing commercial diversification (private schools, architects, historic property conversions) alongside strong private homeowner demand
No customer concentration: each customer is approximately 2-3% of total sales

What's hard

UK debt market is fundamentally different from the US: no SBA equivalent, alternative lenders charge higher rates, loan terms are 5-6 years vs. 10 years, and lower leverage is possible — requiring a larger equity check or more seller financing
UK broker market is largely retainer-based rather than success-fee-based, leading to inflated seller price expectations and wasted time; multiples at Main Street level are often 5-6x for recurring businesses
Deal almost died twice due to financing issues — first from indicative terms being pulled due to macro conditions, then from a peer-to-peer lender unable to fund the gap a week before closing
Operating the business Monday–Friday in Norwich (UK) while flying back to Geneva/France most weekends is demanding and logistically complex
Searching from Geneva with language and distance barriers; initially naive about regional market differences
UK market is smaller with fewer targets; multiples are higher and can be harder to justify
Coming in as the least experienced person in the industry — relying heavily on former owners and avoiding overconfidence on operational decisions
Business revenue had been flat for three years prior to acquisition (owners were content; no growth ambition)

Notable quotes

I'm not ashamed to be like the dumbest person in the room and ask all the dumb questions but if I think that something is worth executing on I think we should do it.

67 of properties in the UK do not meet that requirement so you know in order to hit those targets the government would like there's a lot I mean there's millions of homes that need to be upgraded.

I went back to a few other lenders that were kind of on the smaller side so slightly smaller than I was looking for but this would be on their upper limits I thought okay they're probably going to be very interested in giving me this loan because they make the most money out of it.

The owners were taking a good salary press dividends from the business you know it was more than sufficient to sustain their lifestyle — at their age they were just thinking you know I can go and open up in Canada Jason County I can't do all these things but it's a lot of effort and I'm already you know doing very well for myself where I — I'm seeing them like well that's not good enough I mean I understand that but I'm not going to sit and do nothing.