Outstanding Design, Build, and Maintenance Landscape Business

We are delighted to represent the seller of the most impressive landscape business we have encountered. This firm has built an outstanding reputation, delivering exceptional landscape design and construction, followed by meticulous year-round maintenance and comprehensive winter services to meet every client's needs across all seasons.

Located in West Michigan and residing on a Class A paved city road with great visibility, the business operates out of a very impressive seven-acre parcel with several outbuildings and attractive free-standing office building housing gorgeous, updated offices. This high-end landscaping company has operated out of this facility for the last 13 years, which is also owned by the seller and is available for a favorably priced long-term lease.

After a 40-year career and being the sole owner of the business, the seller is ready to retire and is committed to a smooth transition. Seller is offering a generous post-closing transition period to ensure the buyer's success and the business's continued longevity.

The business includes a wealth of capital equipment; company cars, trucks valuing $400,000 as well as over $500,000 in heavy equipment as appraised earlier this year by a well-respected Michigan equipment appraisal company. Included in the sales of the business and equipment is the extensive inventory with cost basis of $235,000 primarily ear-marked for upcoming projects.

The company serves a distinguished clientele, including thriving businesses, prominent high-end builders, and affluent private clients with sophisticated preferences. Its revenue streams are well diversified; in the past four years, no single customer accounted for more than 12% of annual revenue, and no supplier made up more than 8% of material purchases.

The company employs 25 dedicated full-time and part-time professionals, along with seasonal workers. The team boasts a dynamic blend of experience. Highly seasoned leaders in the green industry mentor and guide the emerging talent, ensuring a seamless transfer of expertise and a strong future for the company. All employees are competitively paid, non-union, and are meaningfully tenured with 40% having worked for the business for a minimum of 5 years. Hourly employees earn $20.00 per hour to $30.00 (+) per hour. Salaried employees earn between $65,000 and $95,000 annually.

The company generates business by (a) repeat customers, (b) direct referral from satisfied customers, (c) printed material, and (d) excellent, proven website and digital marketing strategies. The company boasts a 4.6 star on Google with 73 google ratings as well as direct website ratings from satisfied customers. The largest percentage of new clients are direct referrals from current and previous clientele proving consistent, quality performance and proven processes.

A financial review of the last four full calendar years shows an average of annual revenue of $2.7 million with a range from $2.4 million to $2.9 million. Average SDE (SDE=seller’s discretionary earnings – the normalized cash flow of the business over the past four years available to pay the owner and service debt) of $332,000. The financials are prepared on a cash basis which excludes A/R from bank preferred use of accrual accounting, and as such reflects lower SDE figures than its accrual counterpart.

The listing price of $1.7 million for this opportunity is the sum of (a) enterprise value – average SDE multiplied by an acceptable industry multiple of 2.9x ($332,341 x 2.9 = $963,788), (b) $510,000 of non-automotive heavy equipment and (c) $235.000 of cost base inventory. The seller, who will carry a generous $200,000 seller note for a qualified buyer, envisions an asset sale in which the seller retains cash and A/R while retiring all liabilities of the business at or before closing. The successful buyer will receive all the fixed assets and the goodwill of the business.

To learn more about this impressive niche business with significant barriers to entry, please contact Ryan Johnson ([email protected]) or Mike Greengard ([email protected]).