Landscape Architecture Firm, 25-Year Maryland Municipal & Commercial Design Practice

$4.8M

Revenue

$973K

SDE

4.0x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a 25-year-old landscape architecture firm based in Maryland that designs public and private outdoor spaces: transportation corridors, streetscapes, civic environments, institutional campuses, parks, and mixed-use developments. It sits at the intersection of design, planning, and infrastructure, meaning it does not just draw pretty plans but also handles the technical work of permitting, environmental compliance, stormwater integration, and construction administration. The firm carries specialized certifications that unlock government procurement channels, which is a real moat in a business where public-sector clients favor established, credentialed advisors.

The client base is genuinely diversified across federal, state, and municipal agencies, transportation authorities, parks departments, healthcare and senior living institutions, educational campuses, and private developers. That mix is the whole ballgame here, because it reduces dependence on any single sector and smooths revenue across the cycle. The company runs on 21 full-time employees, including licensed landscape architects (RLA), overseen by principals and project directors, with a reported strong retention rate.

Financially, the firm does $4.8M in revenue with $973K in EBITDA, a roughly 20 percent margin that is healthy for a design services shop. It is asking $3.9M at about 4.0x EBITDA, with modest seller financing (10 percent or less) and a light 4-week training runway. The story management is selling is one of Mid-Atlantic dominance with a nationwide expansion angle, riding aging-infrastructure spend and metro revitalization tailwinds.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is solid for a services firm: $973K EBITDA on $4.8M revenue is a ~20 percent margin, and the client base spans federal, state, municipal, transportation, healthcare, education, and private developers. That diversification means no single logo can blow up cash flow, and government work tends to be repeat and sticky once you are on the approved vendor list.
The moat is credential-based and hard to replicate quickly. Licensed RLA staff, specialized government procurement certifications, and 25 years of award-winning public projects create a reference portfolio that new entrants cannot fake. In public-realm design, past performance on visible projects is the primary buying criterion, so incumbency compounds.
Market tailwinds are real and publicly funded. Aging US infrastructure (per the ASCE 2025 report card), transportation corridor investment, and metro revitalization all drive demand for exactly this firm's specialty. Public infrastructure spending is among the most recession-resistant demand sources because it is budget-driven and often federally backed rather than dependent on consumer sentiment.
The operator advantage is a clean, staffed platform with a light asset base. Twenty-one full-time employees led by principals and project directors means the business is not a one-person shop dependent solely on the seller. Leased offices and only $139K of FF&E mean capital stays in the business rather than tied up in real estate or equipment.

How to improve it

Systematize business development around government procurement. Build a dedicated proposal and RFP-response function so the firm stops relying on referrals and starts winning on volume across more agencies. A repeatable capture process is the single biggest lever for a certified public-sector design firm.
Execute the stated geographic expansion deliberately. Management flags the South, North, and West (AL, TN, UT, MA) as the biggest opportunity, so pursue reciprocal RLA licensure and partner with local firms to qualify for out-of-state public bids. Expansion should be tied to specific agency relationships, not a scattershot map.
Reduce principal dependence before it becomes a valuation drag. With 4 weeks of training and 'evolving interests' as the seller's reason, lock down key client relationships and design leadership under the project directors and senior technical leaders already in place. Retention agreements for the RLAs are essential.
Push margin through utilization discipline. Track billable hours, project realization, and scope creep at the project-director level, because in design services a few percentage points of utilization improvement flow almost entirely to EBITDA. Instituting time tracking and change-order rigor is fast, low-cost upside.
Cross-sell allied services into the existing base. The firm already lists forest conservation, arboriculture, stormwater integration, public art coordination, and construction administration as capabilities, so mine current clients for these adjacent scopes. Repeat and expanded engagements are cheaper to win than new logos.
Formalize recurring revenue where possible. Pursue multi-year on-call and IDIQ (indefinite delivery) contracts with transportation agencies and municipalities to create a backlog floor. Predictable, pre-qualified contract vehicles smooth the lumpiness inherent in project-based design work.

Diligence notes

Verify EBITDA quality and add-back composition. SDE is listed as Not Disclosed while EBITDA is $973K, so confirm what owner compensation, discretionary expenses, and normalization assumptions are embedded. Understand how much of the profit walks out the door with the departing principal.
Stress-test revenue concentration and backlog. Despite the diversification narrative, pull the actual client and project revenue breakdown for the last three years plus signed backlog. Government work can be lumpy and tied to funding cycles, so confirm the pipeline is real and contracted, not aspirational.
Assess key-person and licensure risk. Identify which RLAs hold the certifications that qualify the firm for government procurement, and confirm those licenses transfer or remain post-sale. If the seller personally holds critical certifications or relationships, the enterprise value could erode fast on exit.
Confirm the lease and facility economics. The main office lease runs to 2033 at $12,000 per month plus two co-working regional offices, so verify total occupancy cost, escalation clauses, and whether the expansion plan requires new footprints. Understand how facility cost scales if you push into new geographies.
Review win rate and BD dependence. Because the pitch leans heavily on referrals and reputation, examine historical proposal win rates and how new work is currently sourced. A firm that cannot systematically originate work without the founder is a thinner asset than the marketing suggests.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →