M&A Advisory for A/E/LS Firms
Your employees want to buy your firm. Here's how they can afford it.
With the Step-Up Legacy Plan, your key employees buy your A/E firm with as little as 5% down. You get paid in cash at closing.
SBA loans call for a 10% equity injection. We structure the deal so your employees bring as little as 5% and you provide the other half, receiving 95 to 100 percent of your proceeds in cash at closing.
The Owner's Dilemma
You don't have to choose between legacy and security
Most A/E firm owners think they face an impossible choice. There is a third path.
Option 1
Sell to strangers
A third-party buyer or roll-up writes the check, then changes everything you built. Your name, your team, your standards become someone else's to rewrite.
Option 2
Become the bank
Finance your employees' purchase yourself and hope they pay you back. You leave the firm but stay on the hook, carrying the risk for years.
The Step-Up Legacy Plan
Keep both
Your employees preserve your legacy while a bank ensures your financial security. They take ownership; you walk away paid. No false choice.
The Step-Up Legacy Plan vs ESOP
An ESOP alternative that actually works
Traditional ESOPs cost $150,000 or more to set up and generally only make sense for larger firms above roughly $15 million in revenue. Most A/E firms don't qualify.
The Step-Up Legacy Plan works for firms with as few as 10 employees, at a fraction of the cost.
Setup cost
- Step-Up Legacy Plan
- A fraction of an ESOP, with no six-figure setup bill.
- Traditional ESOP
- Typically $150,000 or more just to establish.
Firm size that qualifies
- Step-Up Legacy Plan
- Works for firms with as few as 10 employees.
- Traditional ESOP
- Generally only makes sense above roughly $15M in revenue.
Who finances the sale
- Step-Up Legacy Plan
- A bank funds the purchase through SBA financing.
- Traditional ESOP
- The company carries the obligation over many years.
When you get paid
- Step-Up Legacy Plan
- Cash at closing, 95 to 100 percent of proceeds.
- Traditional ESOP
- Paid out gradually as the plan repurchases shares.
Ongoing compliance
- Step-Up Legacy Plan
- A straightforward business sale, no plan to administer.
- Traditional ESOP
- Years of regulatory compliance and annual valuations.
How It Works
Three steps from owner to paid
A straightforward business sale with professional bank financing. No years of regulatory compliance, no six-figure setup.
We Structure the Deal
Professional valuation, SBA financing setup, and legal documentation, prepared the way banks expect to see it.
Your Employees Bring as Little as 5%
SBA loans call for a 10% equity injection. It is often split 5% buyer and 5% seller, with personal guarantees, so the people taking over have real skin in the game.
Banks Fund the Rest
The bank funds the balance of the purchase price. You get paid at closing while your employees repay the bank over time.
About John R. Allen, III
A banker's discipline, applied to your exit
John helps owners of architecture, engineering, and land surveying companies sell to either strategic third parties or their own key employees. A former commercial loan officer, he approaches every engagement with a banker's discipline, aligning the financial and non-financial factors that drive deal success.
John specializes in the "neglected niche": firms too complex for Main Street brokers yet below the threshold of large M&A shops. He has built a reputation for one thing above all, making sure his seller clients are paid at the closing.
- NSPS Approved National Speaker
- Featured on the NSPS podcast
- Contributor to ACEC state association newsletters
Why Owners Choose Us
Four reasons A/E owners trust Allen Business Advisors
A/E Specialists Only
We work exclusively with architecture, engineering, and land surveying firms. We understand project-based revenue, fixed-fee and time-and-materials work, and how retainers behave as prepayment or holdback.
Banking Expertise
Three former commercial loan officers who "speak banker." Banks trust our deals because we prepare them properly, which means faster approvals and more aggressive financing.
The Step-Up Legacy Plan
Our proprietary employee buyout program. Faster, cheaper, and simpler than a traditional ESOP, and built for firms that ESOPs were never designed to serve.
You Get Paid at Closing
We structure deals so banks provide the financing, not you. No seller notes, no payment plans, no becoming your employees' bank.
The Banking Difference
Former commercial bankers who understand your concerns
We're not business brokers trying to flip your firm to the highest bidder. We're former commercial loan officers with more than 70 years of combined banking experience.
We've been on both sides of the table. We know how banks evaluate A/E firms, what they worry about, and how to structure deals that get approved.
Plan Ahead
Start planning 5 to 7 years before you want to retire
Most A/E firm owners underestimate how long succession takes. The ones who get the best outcomes start early.
Years 1-2
Understand your options
Map the paths available to you and start increasing firm value where it counts most.
Years 3-4
Identify your successors
Pinpoint the key employees who will carry the firm forward and prepare them for the transition.
Years 5-7
Execute and close
Put the financing and structure in place, then close the deal and walk away paid.
Success Stories
What A/E firm owners and their bankers say
I've worked with many brokers and M&A advisors, and John is a cut above. My Credit Committee highly respects him because he consistently presents solid, bankable deals. His transactions are well-structured, and he has educated the borrowers to avoid surprises.
Director of SBA Lending
John brought clarity and direction to what felt like an overwhelming process. He helped me achieve what I had been told was impossible: selling to my employees and not being the bank. More than anything, John treated the sale like a true partnership and always kept my goals in mind. My firm's future is brighter because of his guidance.
Former Owner
Land surveying firm
Selling my firm was one of the biggest decisions of my life. John made the process smooth. His knowledge of SBA financing and deep understanding of how land surveying firms work gave me complete confidence from start to finish. He made sure my employees were cared for and that I got paid at closing.
Former Owner
Land surveying firm
Working with John was an exceptional experience. He demonstrated a remarkable command of both SBA financing and the intricacies of engineering firm acquisitions. He served as a strategic advisor, helping me not only complete the deal but also create a clear, actionable path for future growth.
New Owner
Civil engineering firm
Engineering Your Exit
Ready to see the math on your firm?
Tell us about your firm and your timeline. We'll show you what a Step-Up Legacy Plan could look like.