Landscaping & grounds owners · US & Canada
Commercial landscaping has been consolidated aggressively by well-funded platforms. Find out what your maintenance base is worth — free, anonymous, 60 seconds — and sell quietly, paid only when you close.
In short
Owner-operated landscaping businesses typically sell for about 1.5–3x seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE). Commercial-maintenance companies with $1M+ of EBITDA trade around 4.5–7x EBITDA, and PE-backed regional platforms 8–12x. Businesses with a high proportion of contracted commercial maintenance revenue, strong renewal rates, and stable crews sit at the top of their range; residential and project-heavy companies sit lower. These are market ranges, not a quote or a guarantee.
Market ranges, not a quote or a guarantee. Residential and project-based work is valued lower because it must be re-won every season.
Contracts & renewals vs one-off jobs
The single biggest determinant of value is something many owners undervalue: the contracted maintenance base. Recurring, renewable commercial work is the core of the valuation — and the reason platforms pay premiums.
Informal revenue is discounted because a buyer cannot underwrite it. Project work must be re-won every season.
Written, but renewed year to year — underwritten more cautiously than multi-year terms.
Multi-year agreements with strong renewal history are underwritten very differently from annual handshake arrangements.
The specific thing to fix early is contract documentation. Many landscaping companies operate profitable relationships on informal terms. Converting your strongest commercial relationships onto written, multi-year agreements is the highest-return work available before a sale — and it typically needs one to two seasons to show in the numbers.
The same crews spend the day driving between properties.
Tightly clustered properties: more billable hours per crew, per truck.
Regional strategics buy route density in a metro, and are often able to pay well because of the cost synergies.
Labour availability limits growth in this sector, so a stable crew with capable supervisors is a real asset too.
The buyers
The most active buyers, underwriting recurring commercial contracts above all else.
Competitors buying route density in a metro, often able to pay well because of the cost synergies.
Realistic for smaller companies, generally financed.
Which of those is at your table changes your number far more than anything on your equipment list.
What moves the number
Recurring, renewable commercial work is the core of the valuation and the reason platforms pay premiums.
Multi-year agreements with strong renewal history are underwritten very differently from annual handshake arrangements.
Labour availability limits growth in this sector, so a stable crew with capable supervisors is a real asset.
Owned equipment carries value, and a snow or seasonal division can either smooth or concentrate your earnings depending on how it is structured.
Prefer a person?
Tell us the basics — crews, commercial vs residential, how much is under written contract. A principal, not a call center, reviews it personally and replies within one business day with an honest range. No listing. No pressure.
Or call (888) 560-5852
How selling with Sentinel works
60 seconds, anonymous, no email. Your range from reported sales of comparable businesses.
Get my free valuation →One email. Ask Vera, our AI, anything; see what moves your number with your Exit Profile; get a free read on any offer.
Create my free account →Next quarter or in five years. The AI works your sale 24/7, a senior principal leads, and you approve every step. Most sales take six to twelve months.
See how the engine works →Real people, accountable
Why a quiet process beats the first offer
Most owners in this sector are approached directly, unsolicited, by a consolidator or platform buyer. A buyer negotiating against nobody has no reason to move on price or on terms. A competitive process changes that — and protects what happens to your team, how long you stay, the earn-out structure and any real estate.
Straight answers
More in our seller guides — or ask Vera in your free account.
Owner-operated landscaping businesses typically sell for about 1.5–3x seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE). Commercial-maintenance companies with $1M+ of EBITDA trade around 4.5–7x EBITDA, and PE-backed regional platforms 8–12x. Businesses with a high proportion of contracted commercial maintenance revenue, strong renewal rates, and stable crews sit at the top of their range; residential and project-heavy companies sit lower. These are market ranges, not a quote or a guarantee.
Private-equity-backed commercial landscaping platforms are the most active buyers, along with regional strategic competitors buying route density, and individual or search-fund buyers for smaller businesses.
Convert informal commercial relationships into written multi-year maintenance agreements, improve renewal rates, build supervisor depth so the business runs without you, and clean up equipment and lease documentation. These changes typically need one to two seasons to show in the numbers.
The engine, pointed at landscaping
Before market
Buyer matching
Researched and scored against your business — approached under NDA, only with your written go-ahead.
Buyer Simulation
Found and fixed before you go to market — not in diligence, where it costs you money.
Offer analysis
Free Exit Profile: your range, your value drivers scored and each fix priced in dollars — eleven questions, about three minutes, no email needed to see it. Open my landscaping Exit Profile →
Already holding an offer? Get a free read before you sign →