Oxford Plumbing & Heating opened in 1951 in the Chester County region of Pennsylvania. For over 70 years, it operated under three generations of one family. When I spoke to Ryan Edgington, former owner and CEO of Oxford Plumbing & Heating, he was taking a much-needed vacation in an off-the-grid cabin – something most business owners surely can’t do in the middle of a work week!

This year, Ryan worked with Commonwealth M&A to explore the option to sell. What started as curiosity regarding what selling the business would be like, how it would go, and what it meant for him and his employees turned into a successful sale, and a retirement. With the help of Commonwealth M&A’s co-founders Rick Calabrese and Joe Bergin, Ryan found a seller he was comfortable with; one that he could trust his business in the hands of. 

But first, what kept Oxford Plumbing & Heating operating successfully for so many years? According to Ryan, it was simple: “focus on employees, focus on the customers.” People were at the core of what made the business so successful; ensuring that everyone – from the stressed out single mother to the technician sent out to help her fix her issue – was taken care of. “Our focus was to treat them right.” 

His secret to success was simple: “Good service, good people and honesty.”

He decided to book the evaluation of his business out of simple curiosity. “You sort of just wonder what your business is worth,” he told me. Once he got the number from Commonwealth M&A, it was time to get strategic. “Commonwealth M&A really helped with that.” 

“You know, I'm so busy working in the business and working on the market still, and I'm not really looking at a whole lot of that stuff… the guys showed me what the market was doing and some of the other key factors. It's just timing. It seemed like the right time after talking with them and seeing what our value was.” 

The only thing that gave Ryan Edgington pause was the uncertainty of it all. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone. “You don't know what you don't know, so I didn't really know the process. The uncertainty of the process was the only concern, but they made the process so easy.” He told me. “Yes, there was a lot of fact-gathering, information-gathering, reports, things like that, but they made it as easy as it could have possibly been.” 

Once Ryan was confident in his decision, he could lean on the expertise of Commonwealth M&A. “We come across a lot of companies. What I’d say made Oxford unique and what made it really attractive for us to represent was the 70-year history. That’s pretty rare that a company is in the family for that long: three-generations.” 

The sort of trust that is built over 70-years is something that can’t be understated; especially in a community like Oxford, which Joe described as “intimate.” He lives just 15 miles down the road; he saw their branding and knew that they sponsored the local little league. “Overall, it really is a pillar company within the community that we are excited to represent.” 

It was important to Joe and Rick that potential buyers saw the value in a company like Oxford Plumbing & Heating. Having operated in the same community for over half a century, it was more than just another business, and much more than a number. 

“It’s what my grandfather instilled in my father, and my father passed it on to me,” Ryan told me. “You do the right thing… You surround yourself with people to cover what you don’t know.” According to him, working together with Commonwealth M&A was vital. “Everybody has their role.” 

Everyone playing their role was vital in the selling of the business. Each person had their strengths and interests, but finding a group that shared those same interests is what made the deal such a success. It’s certainly no small decision to sell your family business – what helped ease Ryan’s worries was knowing that Commonwealth M&A wanted the same thing that he wanted: to continue to take care of his employees and customers. 

Ryan’s advice: “Get a group that you're comfortable with … a group that really has a mutual interest in the whole process … is knowledgeable, and has a track record of doing what you’re looking for them to do, and can answer your questions.” 

A mutual interest matters to both parties. According to Joe, there are several things to consider when it comes to what makes a business attractive to buyers. “Limited customer concentration is a big deal. So, you know, if the company has a very low invoice size, that's very attractive to a buyer.” A company that is focused on one buyer pool – like residential or commercial – often does better than one with a split audience, because buyers are often focused on one segment of a market. “Buyer pools are very disciplined and focused on acquiring one or the other. So if you're a commercial HVAC and plumbing business, be a commercial HVAC and plumbing business. If you're a residential HVAC and plumbing business, be a residential HVAC and plumbing business.”

It’s also vital that a company has a strong management team behind it. After all, the seller won’t be around forever. Buyers “want to meet with and be able to trust the individuals that are in that second line to leadership to run the company.” If you want to sell your company, it’s more-than likely that any potential buyers will want to meet with your team. “If you want the best outcome, you have to develop a team that can stand up to those types of conversations as part of a transaction.”

For business owners looking to sell, Joe and Rick had some advice. “Step number one, always, always, always, is get your finances in order,” Joe told me. “Ensure that you're accounting in accordance with GAAP, which is the generally accepted accounting principles, and you have a good handle on the books, financial reporting, et cetera, because that's the most fundamental component of any transaction is the financials … The only thing that's objective that you can measure is the financials. So ensuring that that is right is important because if it's messy, your buyers are going to assume the worst, just naturally about the numbers.”

Secondly, it’s important for owners to take a step back from the business. “Buyers want to acquire a cash flow producing asset. They don’t want to acquire a job.” If the owner of the business is still actively in the field, that’s a hard sell. “ If that particular owner is managing 100% of the customer relationships, that becomes incredibly difficult to sell…They're interested in acquiring a company. So the more they can empower their management team over a period of five to 10 years to really take the reins, the better.” He told me, “Our best transactions are the transactions where our seller tells us they’re on vacation for 50 out of 52 weeks of the year.” 

Ryan also chimed in with some advice. As mentioned earlier, it’s paramount that you find a group you can trust. And, don’t be afraid to ask questions! As Ryan said, you don’t know what you don’t know. “I had so many questions, and they were great. I mean, if Rick didn't know, Joe knew. If Joe didn't know something, Michael knew. They had the perfect balance of knowledge … What's the future potentially look like? Can I take this company any further? There are all the things that I looked at and I figured, you know, I could lead the company for another 10 or 15 years, whatever it is. And because I'm not turning it over to anyone, this was the option at some point. So why not do it now?” Find a group you can trust, and one you can lean on for anything that you don’t know.

Most importantly: be ready and do your homework. “Look at yourself, speak to your spouse. If you’re religious, pray about it.” And remember, finances aren’t everything. “Look at the big picture. Look at what life is going to be like after, what it’s like during … You’ve got to do this to get the pulse and the heart beat of your company.” 

What Ryan, Joe and Rick make clear is that selling a business is so much more than just a financial decision; it’s a personal one. It requires preparation, clarity, trust and – most importantly – a willingness to ask hard questions about the future. Oxford Plumbing & Heating’s sale worked because everyone involved shared a common goal: protecting the people and values that built the company in the first place. For business owners weighing the possibility of selling, Ryan’s experience is a testament to the power of choosing partners who listen, who guide, and who understand the heart of your business as well as the numbers behind it.

Looking to the future, Commonwealth M&A’s Rick and Joe believe that there are steps to take to increase the value of your business, even if you aren’t quite ready to sell. Rick told me, “I'd say get a business coach that has experience in readying companies for private equity. That's step one. Step two, develop your deal team early, whether, you know, so you should have financial advisors at one seat at the table, your CPA, your deal lawyer, and then hopefully us, as well as your business coach, right? All the people need to speak together and know each other. And the more they do that, and the earlier you start, the more seamless and, in theory, the more value you'll get for your business … Implement the strategies that buyers want to see.” 

Oxford Plumbing & Heating is now moving forward with new leadership, but the values that sustained it for seven decades remain firmly in place. By taking the time to understand his company, prepare thoughtfully, and partner with experienced advisors, Ryan ensured a transition that honors both legacy and opportunity. For owners considering a similar path, his journey illustrates that with the right support, the next phase of a business – and, indeed, the next phase of your life — can be brighter than you imagined.