Dallas County Landscaping - Residential & Commercial Maintenance

$5.2M

Revenue

$1.4M

SDE

4.5x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a Dallas County, Texas landscaping operation founded in 2015, doing $5.22M in revenue with $1.45M in reported cash flow, a 27.8% margin that is healthy for the trade. The business serves both residential and commercial clients across lawn maintenance, garden design, and hardscape installation. It runs with a 38-person workforce split between 12 full-time and 26 part-time staff, and includes $1M of FF&E in the asking price.

The mix of residential and commercial work matters here. Commercial maintenance contracts tend to be recurring and stickier, while residential and hardscape install work is lumpier and more discretionary. The blend determines how durable that $1.45M cash flow really is, and the listing does not break out the split, which is the first thing a buyer needs to understand.

At $6.5M against $1.45M SDE, the deal prices at roughly 4.48x. That is a full multiple for a landscaping business, especially one being sold as semi-absentee. Seller financing of $1M at 8% over 24 months is on offer, which signals some seller confidence but also leaves the buyer carrying $5.5M down. The price assumes the recurring base is real and the equipment value is genuine, both of which carry the deal.

Why we like it

Cash flow quality looks solid on paper at $1.45M on $5.22M revenue, a 27.8% margin that beats most labor-heavy service businesses. If a meaningful share of that comes from recurring commercial maintenance contracts, the earnings are durable and predictable rather than project-driven.
Landscaping maintenance is genuinely recession-resistant on the commercial side. HOAs, office parks, and municipalities keep paying for mowing and upkeep because deferred grounds maintenance creates liability and reputational risk, so the recurring base holds up even when discretionary install work dries up.
Dallas County is one of the fastest-growing metros in the country, with sustained commercial and residential development feeding demand for both new installs and ongoing maintenance. A business with a 10-year track record and loyal customer base is well positioned to ride that population and construction tailwind.
The $1M of FF&E included in the price gives the buyer a turnkey fleet and equipment base, avoiding the heavy capex needed to start from scratch. Combined with seller financing of $1M, there is some structural support that reduces the upfront cash requirement and shows the seller has skin in the game post-close.

How to improve it

Pull the customer file apart in the first 90 days and separate recurring maintenance contracts from one-time install and hardscape jobs. Lock in or upsell multi-year commercial maintenance agreements to convert lumpy revenue into a predictable annuity that justifies the multiple.
Audit route density and crew utilization across the 38-person workforce. Landscaping margins live and die on drive time and labor efficiency, so tightening routes and scheduling can lift the 27.8% margin without adding a single customer.
Layer in higher-margin add-on services like irrigation maintenance, seasonal color rotations, fertilization programs, and holiday lighting to existing accounts. Selling more to the loyal base is cheaper than acquiring new customers and increases revenue per client.
Build a real sales and estimating function if the business has been relying on referrals. With Dallas County development booming, a dedicated commercial bid pipeline targeting new office parks and HOAs can drive growth the current owner has left on the table.
Implement field management software for scheduling, GPS tracking, and job costing if not already in place. This protects margins, reduces the owner-dependence the semi-absentee model claims, and produces the clean data a future buyer will pay up for.
Standardize hiring and crew training to reduce key-person and labor risk given 26 of 38 staff are part-time. Building a reliable bench and crew-lead structure makes the absentee model actually work rather than aspirational.
Review pricing on legacy accounts that have not seen increases in years. Material and labor costs have risen sharply since 2021, and a disciplined annual price escalation built into contracts can recapture lost margin immediately.

Diligence notes

Get the revenue split between recurring maintenance and one-time install or hardscape work. This is the single most important number in the deal because it determines whether you are buying a durable annuity or a project shop priced like one, and the listing does not disclose it.
Scrutinize the 'semi-absentee' claim hard. Many small landscaping businesses depend heavily on the owner for sales, estimating, and customer relationships, so confirm who actually runs operations and whether the $1.45M survives the owner leaving.
Verify the $1M FF&E valuation with an independent equipment appraisal and confirm the condition, age, and ownership of the fleet. A buyer is paying for this in the price, and tired or financed equipment would change the real multiple meaningfully.
Reconcile the $1.45M SDE to tax returns and bank statements, paying close attention to add-backs and the treatment of the 26 part-time workers. Confirm labor is properly classified as W-2 versus 1099, because misclassification is common in this trade and creates real liability.
Review customer concentration and contract terms, including cancellation provisions and contract length. If a few large commercial accounts drive the recurring base, losing one post-close could break the economics that justify a 4.48x multiple.
Confirm the reason for selling, listed cryptically as 'invest on lot,' and clarify whether any real estate or yard the business operates from is owned by the seller and would need to be leased or purchased separately. This affects both ongoing cost structure and total transaction price.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →