Landscaping & lawn care M&A
Landscaping is the most bifurcated home-services vertical. Recurring maintenance contracts trade at 6-8× EBITDA at scale. Pure design-build businesses trade at 3-5× because revenue is project-lumpy and margin-volatile.
Why buyers want landscaping & lawn care businesses
- Maintenance contracts are recurring — often auto-renewing annually
- Commercial grounds-maintenance revenue is very recurring and 3-5-year contract
- Fleet-and-labor operating leverage as you consolidate routes
- Cross-sell into snow removal (in relevant climates) creates year-round revenue
What moves multiples within landscaping & lawn care
Drivers of a higher multiple
- Maintenance contract revenue > 60% of total (versus design-build)
- Commercial contract share > 30% of maintenance revenue
- Documented labor management (H-2B compliance and residual U.S. workforce)
- Snow-removal integration in relevant markets creates year-round utilization
Drivers of a lower multiple
- Design-build > 50% of revenue
- Single-owner-driven sales pipeline
- H-2B labor dependence not documented
- Snow-only or heavily seasonal geographies (Northeast winter-only)
- Aged equipment fleet with material capex overhang
The buyer landscape
Private-equity buyers
Active in commercial-heavy platforms. BrightView-style national consolidators plus PE-backed regional platforms.
Strategic acquirers
Regional and municipal-focused strategics; commercial-only platforms.
Owner-operator buyers
Very active in residential-only and small-crew businesses. SBA-financed transactions are the modal deal type under $1M SDE.
Process notes
The single biggest CIM-preparation win in landscaping is separating maintenance from design-build revenue and margin, so buyers can price the recurring component at a real recurring multiple.
Category-specific diligence issues
- Recurring maintenance vs project revenue classification
- H-2B visa compliance and worker classification
- Weather-year normalization (drought / early-freeze years distort baseline)
- Fleet capex plan and equipment age
- Commercial contract assignability and rebid cycles
Frequently asked
What is a landscaping business worth in 2026?
Landscaping and lawn-care businesses trade at 4.0–5.5× adjusted EBITDA at sub-$1M EBITDA, 5.5–7.0× at $1–3M, and 7.0–8.5× at $3M+. Maintenance-heavy books trade at the high end; design-build-heavy books at the low end.
Do commercial or residential landscaping businesses sell for higher multiples?
Commercial-heavy books (recurring grounds-maintenance contracts, 3-5-year terms with property-management or corporate campus customers) trade meaningfully higher than residential-only, because the revenue is contractually recurring.