Advising business owners on the sale, acquisition, and transition of privately held companies and the related commercial real estate throughout Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.
David Melton serves as Principal Broker at Pointe Commercial Real Estate (PCRE), working with business owners on transactions involving business sales, mergers and acquisitions, owner-occupied real estate, acquisitions, dispositions, sale-leasebacks, and commercial real estate strategy.
With more than 40 years of experience in business ownership, operations, executive leadership, acquisitions, transactions, and commercial real estate, David brings an owner’s and operator’s perspective to the advisory process.
His practice focuses on situations where the operating business and commercial real estate are closely connected.
For many privately held business owners, selling the company is only part of the transaction. The underlying real estate may represent a substantial portion of the owner’s net worth and can materially affect transaction value, financing, cash flow, liquidity, and long-term financial objectives.
David works directly with owners to evaluate both sides of that equation—helping determine how the business and real estate should be valued, structured, marketed, retained, or sold based on what the owner ultimately wants to accomplish.
Through PCRE, David serves business owners throughout Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, including Chattanooga, Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, Atlanta, Dalton, Rome, Birmingham, Huntsville, and surrounding markets.
Selling a privately held business involves considerably more than finding a buyer.
Business value, profitability, management, real estate, debt, working capital, transaction structure, timing, taxes, and the owner’s personal objectives can all influence the outcome.
David works directly with business owners considering a sale, acquisition, succession, recapitalization, or ownership transition, helping them evaluate the transaction from both a business and commercial real estate perspective.
Services include:
The objective is not simply to complete a transaction. It is to understand what the owner is trying to accomplish and structure the business and real estate accordingly.
For many privately held companies, commercial real estate represents one of the owner’s largest assets outside the operating business.
Manufacturers, distributors, contractors, service companies, retailers, transportation companies, equipment businesses, and other privately held companies frequently own the facilities from which they operate.
When ownership changes, the business and real estate don’t necessarily follow the same path.
An owner may choose to:
David helps owners evaluate these alternatives before determining the transaction structure.
An owner preparing for an eventual exit may actually be making two significant financial decisions: what to do with the operating company and what to do with the commercial real estate it occupies.
Those decisions can materially affect transaction proceeds, business valuation, occupancy costs, financing, liquidity, investment income, and long-term wealth.
Retaining the property and leasing it to the buyer, for example, can provide continuing income after the business is sold. In other situations, selling both assets may provide greater liquidity and allow the owner to make a cleaner exit.
The appropriate structure depends on the business, property, buyer, financing requirements, market conditions, and—most importantly—the owner’s objectives.
David helps owners evaluate these decisions together rather than treating the business sale and real estate transaction as unrelated events.
Through Pointe Commercial Real Estate, David provides advisory and brokerage services involving:
These services may be provided independently or as part of a broader business acquisition, sale, recapitalization, or ownership transition.
A sale-leaseback allows a business owner to monetize commercial real estate while continuing to operate from the property under a long-term lease.
For some owners, unlocking real estate equity can provide capital for acquisitions, expansion, debt reduction, diversification, ownership transitions, or liquidity.
For others, continued ownership may provide greater long-term value and recurring income.
David works with owners to evaluate both the real estate economics and operating-business implications before determining whether a sale-leaseback or other capital strategy is appropriate.
When a transaction makes sense, PCRE assists with property valuation, transaction structure, investor positioning, lease considerations, marketing, negotiations, and closing.
Real estate frequently becomes an important component of a business acquisition, disposition, or ownership transition.
The operating company and underlying real estate may be sold together, sold separately to different buyers, retained by the seller and leased to the acquiring company, or recapitalized independently.
David’s combined operating, transaction, and commercial real estate experience helps owners evaluate the relationship among business value, real estate value, occupancy costs, capital requirements, financing, and long-term ownership strategy.
This becomes particularly important when real estate is part of a larger growth, acquisition, succession, or exit decision.
“For many business owners, there are really two assets—the operating company and the real estate. They should be evaluated together, even when the best strategy is ultimately to separate them. My role is to help owners understand those choices and structure both sides of the transaction around what they are trying to accomplish.”
— David Melton, Principal Broker at PCRE
David’s practice is focused primarily on privately held and family-owned businesses where ownership of the operating company and commercial real estate are closely connected.
Typical clients include owners of:
The common denominator is not necessarily the industry. It is an owner facing an important decision involving the business, the real estate, or both.
David works directly with clients from the initial evaluation through negotiation and closing.
His approach emphasizes confidentiality, experienced judgment, transaction structure, and execution rather than simply listing a business or property for sale.
Whether an assignment involves the sale of a privately held company, an acquisition, owner-occupied real estate, a sale-leaseback, an investment sale, or an ownership transition, the process begins with understanding what the owner is ultimately trying to accomplish.
The transaction structure follows from that objective.
David works with business and commercial real estate owners throughout Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, with particular emphasis on major business and industrial markets across the three-state region.
Tennessee
Chattanooga • Nashville • Knoxville • Memphis • Cleveland • Murfreesboro • Franklin
Georgia
Atlanta • Dalton • Rome • Marietta • Athens • Cartersville • Macon
Alabama
Birmingham • Huntsville • Montgomery • Tuscaloosa • Decatur • Gadsden • Mobile
David serves as Principal Broker at Pointe Commercial Real Estate (PCRE) and is actively licensed in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.
Providing Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Services for Chattanooga, Cleveland and Dalton
Office • Retail • Healthcare • Hospitality • Industrial • Warehouse • Property Management • Business Brokerage