Sell Your Landscaping Company in Ohio

We help Ohio landscaping owners sell. Commercial maintenance, residential design and build, hardscaping, irrigation, and snow removal operations.

We work throughout Central Ohio, including Columbus, Dublin, Westerville, New Albany, and the surrounding counties. Regional and national buyers are looking for companies with stable commercial maintenance accounts.

The process is confidential. Crews, customers, and competitors are not told.

In landscaping, contracted recurring revenue and stable crews usually matter more than a strong season of installation work.

How Landscaping Company Businesses Are Valued

Smaller landscaping companies are priced on SDE, adding back the owner's compensation and personal expenses. Larger ones are priced on EBITDA, which assumes a paid general manager.

Around $1 million in adjusted earnings, buyers usually shift from SDE to EBITDA and expect a paid manager to run the company.

Renewing commercial maintenance contracts, strong retention, snow work, dense routes, dependable crew leaders, and well-maintained equipment can support a higher multiple.

One-time installations, severe seasonality, an uncertain labor plan, customer churn, and an owner who sells and estimates every job can lower it.

The table uses completed private landscaping company sales reported by BVR DealStats.

These figures are a reference point, not a valuation. The size of the company, the quality of its earnings, and current buyer demand all matter. We review three years of financials and the add-back schedule before giving an owner a range.

Metric	Average	75th Percentile
SDE multiple	2.7x	3.1x
EBITDA multiple	5.0x	5.0x
Revenue multiple	0.64x	0.77x

Based on 549 private company transactions.

Source: BVR DealStats. Private company transactions with $250K to $10M in revenue, closed 2016 to present. Multiples are MVIC (total price) divided by SDE, EBITDA, or revenue.

What Buyers Look For

Contracted maintenance revenue. Annual commercial contracts with renewal history are the highest-value revenue in this trade.
Renewal and churn rates. What share of contracts renew each year, and why the ones that leave leave.
Route density. Tight geographic routes mean better margins. Scattered accounts cost drive time.
Snow removal contracts. Winter revenue smooths seasonality, though buyers look closely at whether it is per-event or seasonal fixed.
Crew leaders and retention. Crews that stay with a documented supervisor structure are the operating capacity a buyer is buying.
Design and build capability. Hardscape and design work carries higher margins but is lumpier than maintenance.
Equipment and fleet condition. Age, hours, maintenance records, and what is financed.
Owner dependence. If you sell every account and manage every crew, the buyer prices it as a job.

Common Problems That Kill Deals

Verbal maintenance agreements. Uncontracted recurring revenue is hard to value. Written, renewing agreements are worth materially more.
Seasonal labor misclassification. 1099 treatment of seasonal crews who function as employees is a transferring liability.
Immigration and I-9 documentation gaps. Buyers review employment eligibility records. Gaps create real exposure.
Unassignable contracts. Agreements requiring consent to transfer can strip the recurring revenue out of the deal.
Deferred equipment maintenance. A fleet that needs replacement soon is a direct price reduction.

How the Sale Process Works

Valuation. We review three years of financials, build the add-back schedule, and compare the business with similar sales. You get a range and the math behind it.
Preparation. We deal with reporting gaps, contract issues, customer concentration, and owner dependence before buyers begin their review.
Confidential marketing. A blind profile goes out to vetted buyers. Names are released only after a non-disclosure agreement and a check on the buyer's ability to fund.
Letter of intent. We compare offers and negotiate the price, structure, escrow, and transition terms before you sign.
Due diligence. The buyer verifies the financials, contracts, employees, and operations. We manage the document requests and keep the advisors moving.
Closing. Final documents, funding, and handover. Most prepared businesses close six to nine months after going to market.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is my landscaping company worth?

Mostly it depends on how much revenue is contracted and recurring, and on adjusted earnings. We give a specific range after reviewing your financials and contract list.

When is the best time of year to sell?

Going to market in late winter or early spring lets buyers see a full contracted season ahead. That said, a prepared business sells well in any season.

Does snow removal help or hurt my value?

Contracted snow work generally helps by adding winter revenue, though buyers discount purely per-event work because it depends on the weather.

Will my crews stay?

In most deals the buyer wants them. Crew retention terms are usually negotiated as part of the transaction.