The envisioned transaction involves two complementary businesses in Georgia:
- High-end landscaping business launched more than two decades ago that became part of a large national franchise in 2019
- High-end specialty wholesale nursery business
The landscaping business provides full-service lawn care and landscaping, delivering industry-leading solutions to high-end residential clients. At the same time, the wholesale nursery is a premier source for unique accent plants. It houses a test garden on-site where different plants are used in the design to see how well they perform in the territory. The two businesses are complementary in part, as some clients are interested in more straightforward landscaping services, and some high-end residential clients are interested in specialty nursery items. The landscaping business is servicing two territories in Georgia with a potential client base of 800,000.
The two companies generated approximately $3.4M in Revenue in 2022 with a cash flow margin of 21%.
Team
In addition to the Company’s owner, other staff includes:
Landscape Business
- 1 Part-time Admin Assistant
- 6 Full-time Maintenance and Enhancement work crew
- 11 Part-time Seasonal work crew
Nursery
- 1 Full-time Sales Assistant on site
- 1 Full-time Nursery crew member
The owner is willing to stay as a full-time employee in the business for 2 to 3 years. An incumbent owner would benefit from the existing client and vendor relationships fostered over 20+ years.
Services and Clients
Main Residential and Commercial Landscaping Services:
- Landscape and Hardscape Design and Installation
- Lawn and Grounds Maintenance
- Flower and Garden Bed Maintenance
- Tree and Shrub Maintenance and Service
- Fertilization, Weed, and Pest Service
- Artificial Turf Installation and Service
- Snow and Ice Service
Over 700 leads and clients in the last four years. In addition, 40-plus recurring clients for maintenance and installation in the two territories of the landscaping business. The company performs High-end Residential only for one of the territories and for the newer commercial and residential maintenance and installation work.
The retention rate of high-end residential clients is 76% for the landscaping business (revenue weighted Sep 2022 data) and 98% for the nursery business. The landscaping business averages 40 recurring clients annually, with residential maintenance work (re-occurring monthly plus seasonal work and extras) representing 49% of the total revenue.
The average ticket sale has more than doubled for the nursery business from $568 in 2019 to $1,251 in 2022 YTD, and almost the same for the landscaping business for the sale/client numbers (from $14k in 2019 to close to $30k in 2022 YTD).
Competition
There are a few competitors, but none is considered critical to either of the two businesses.
- Among the competitors, Gibbs Landscaping is the only relevant competitor in the area for the landscaping business.
- Their competitive advantages are that both territories in Georgia have free assistance in lead generation for revenue opportunities (daily) that the new competitors would not have.
- Besides having a monopoly for some specialty plants, the wholesale nursery also carries a few items for which the business is the sole source, and the owner receives requests from across the country.
