The numbers
As stated by the listing on September 20, 2026.
- Asking price
- $4,295,000
- SDE
- $1,235,492
- Gross revenue
- $5,187,297
- Multiple
- 3.48x
- Employees
- 61
Why we like it
A gel or acrylic set grows out. Somewhere between two and three weeks the nail bed shows through or the polish starts lifting, and that regrowth is what turns a first visit into a standing appointment on somebody's calendar rather than a one-time purchase. Texas licenses that appointment on two levels: the technician doing the work needs a state manicurist or cosmetology license from TDLR, and the salon itself needs a separate establishment permit, so what's really for sale here is a roster of licensed hands working under one roof, not the chairs or the polish racks. At 61 employees this is a large operation for the category, well beyond what a single neighborhood salon typically carries, which points toward more than one location or a large day-spa format, though the listing doesn't say which. Start with the technician roster: how many are commissioned employees versus independent booth renters, and how long the top producers have been there, because in this trade clients tend to follow a technician's hands out the door, not stay loyal to the salon's sign. The way a shop like this actually grows is by keeping every station filled during the narrow windows when people actually want appointments, weekend and after-work hours, since an empty chair on a Saturday afternoon is revenue that doesn't come back later in the week.
You probably need a licence to run this
Texas requires each technician performing nail services for pay to hold a state manicurist or cosmetology license from TDLR, and the salon itself needs a separate TDLR establishment permit. Neither of those has to be held personally by the owner: a buyer can run this business without being a licensed technician as long as the floor is staffed with properly licensed people. What's unclear from the listing is whether the establishment permit(s) are held by the business entity being sold and how cleanly that transfers at closing, and whether the buyer intends to work behind the chair, which would require getting personally licensed first.
What worries us
- Technician turnover can take clients with itNail technicians in this trade often build a personal client book, and when a senior technician leaves, whether by choice or after a sale, their regulars frequently leave with them. With 61 employees likely spread across multiple stations or locations, the buyer needs to understand how concentrated revenue is among a handful of top producers before assuming the client base stays put through a change of ownership.
- Unclear how many locations and leases are actually in the dealThe listing doesn't specify how many locations are included in the 61-employee headcount or what the lease terms look like at each one. A multi-location salon group carries very different real estate and management exposure than one large flagship, and that changes both the operating complexity and the risk if any single lease isn't renewable on favorable terms.
- SDE add-backs deserve scrutiny at this scaleThe seller's SDE of $1,235,492 is a self-reported figure, and at this revenue and headcount it's worth knowing whether it already assumes a general manager or assistant managers running day-to-day operations. If part of that management layer's pay has been added back as an owner benefit, the buyer may need to keep funding roles the seller's numbers implicitly removed.
The callFits a buyer ready to manage a licensed, multi-station operation through staff and systems, not someone who wants to work behind the chair themselves.
Our calculations
Our standard SBA 7(a) acquisition structure applied to the asking price. Assumptions below.
Sources
| SBA 7(a) loan | $4,082,555 |
| Seller standby note | $226,808 |
| Buyer cash at close | $226,809 |
| Total sources | $4,536,172 |
Uses
| Purchase price | $4,295,000 |
| Closing costs (est.) | $128,850 |
| SBA guaranty fee | $112,322 |
| Total project | $4,536,172 |
- Monthly payment
- $52,270
- Annual debt service
- $627,241
- DSCR
- 1.76xSTRONG
- Injection check
- Meets 10% ($453,617 against $453,617 required)
- Closing costs estimated at 3% of asking price
- Owner salary of $120,000, loaded
- Rate of Prime + 2.25% = 9.25%
- 10-year term, fully amortizing
- Injection split half cash, half seller standby note
How we would go about buying it
The order matters. Every step below is free until the last one, and each is a chance to walk away before it costs you anything.
- 1
Call the broker, not the bank
The listing is brokered, so the broker is the gate. Ask for the CIM and the last three years of tax returns, and expect to sign an NDA first. Do this before you talk to a lender: no lender will size a loan without the numbers, and the broker will not release them to a lender you have not engaged.
Open the listing - 2
Ask these before you spend anything
Specific to this business, from our read of the listing. The answers decide whether the numbers above survive contact.
- How many physical locations and how many chairs or stations are included in the sale, and what does the lease look like at each one (term remaining, rent, renewal options)?
- Of the 61 employees, how many are licensed nail technicians versus front desk, management, or support staff, and how many work as commissioned employees versus independent booth renters?
- What is the average tenure of the top revenue-producing technicians, and has any senior technician left in the past 12 months, and if so did clients visibly follow them?
- What exactly makes up the gap between the salon's operating profit and the stated $1,235,492 SDE: is there a general manager or assistant manager salary being added back that the buyer would actually need to keep paying?
- Is the TDLR establishment permit held by the entity being sold, has it had any board complaints or inspection citations, and what has to happen for it to stay valid under new ownership?
- 3
Take it to lenders who do this size
Talk to more than one. Rate is the least of it: the lender who has done fifty of these in Texas will close, and the one who has done two will waste your quarter. Below are the lenders whose typical deal size actually fits this one.
- 4
Structure the offer around the coverage
Our structure clears the floor at 1.76x, and a lender will run its own version with its own add-backs. If the earnings come back lower than stated, the price has to come down or the seller note has to grow. Model both before you make an offer.
Model it yourself
Who we would call
Active Texas acquisition lenders whose typical deal size fits this one.
- Global One Bank
27 loans in TXmedian $2,340,000median rate 8.75%~6 days to first disbursement
- Bank of Hope
26 loans in TXmedian $2,536,000median rate 8.50%~13 days to first disbursement
Loan counts and medians are that lender’s change-of-ownership loans in Texas, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3. Funding speed is the lender’s national median from approval to first disbursement. Names link to our data profile for each lender.
The fine print
The statements this write-up makes about the trade and its rules, as opposed to the figures, were checked against public sources on September 17, 2026. 5 claims were checked.
Run your own numbers
The deal analyzer models price, seller note, equity injection, and DSCR under current SBA terms, with every assumption adjustable.
Open the deal analyzerListing facts as stated by the listing on September 20, 2026, not independently verified. Structure, payment, DSCR, and injection figures are our own computation under the assumptions above, using the Prime rate as of September 28, 2026. Lender shortlist from the SBA 7(a) FOIA file, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3, as of June 30, 2026. Methodology. See an error? Email us and we will correct it.