BreakThru Realty

Sell a Landscaping Company in Florida

Florida landscaping companies sell on their contracts. A maintenance company with homeowner associations and commercial properties under annual agreements is a recurring-revenue business buyers compete for; an installation company that rebuilds its revenue every month is valued on its equipment and its people. Most companies are a mix, and the price depends on which side dominates.

Find Out What My Business Is Worth · (786) 914-1017

Your first step: Confidential Business Exit Review

Start With a Confidential Business Exit Review

Your business represents years of decisions, relationships and work. Before anyone hears it might be for sale, know what it would sell for, what a buyer's lender will accept, and what you would take home. A licensed business broker prepares it and walks you through it privately.

What you receive

  • A recast of your earnings into seller's discretionary earnings, with the add-backs documented
  • A price range from closed sales of comparable Florida businesses, with the reasoning
  • The lease, staffing and financing issues that would move the price, and what to fix first
  • What a buyer's SBA lender is likely to accept
  • An estimate of what you would take home after the fee and any payoff

What happens next

  1. Answer a few questions about the business. Revenue and what you take home are enough to start.
  2. A business broker prepares the review from comparable sales.
  3. We call within one business day to walk through it, privately.
  4. Nothing is listed, and nobody is contacted, unless you decide to sell.

Free and confidential. The details you give us are seen only by the broker preparing the review. We do not contact your landlord, staff or customers.

Find Out What My Business Is Worth · How a business sale works

Maintenance Contracts Are the Asset

Buyers count the contracts: how many, with whom, at what monthly value, how long they have renewed, and whether they are in writing with a term and a notice period. Homeowner association and commercial property contracts awarded by boards and property managers are worth more than month-to-month residential lawns, but a large residential route with low churn is valuable too. Before listing, the contracts are gathered and the route list is cleaned, because a buyer pays for what can be shown.

Concentration and Bidding

One management company or one large association that accounts for a third of revenue is a risk the buyer prices in, especially where the contract is rebid every year. A spread of accounts, long relationships and renewal history support a higher multiple. Where concentration exists, introducing the buyer to the property manager before closing is part of the plan.

Crews, Licences and Compliance

Crew leaders who know the routes are what keep the contracts after a sale, and most buyers want them to stay. Fertiliser and pest-control work requires state licences and certified applicators, and the business may hold a limited-certification or a pest-control business licence that has to be qualified by a certified operator. Confirm the licence transfer rules with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before the business is marketed, and have workers' compensation and insurance in order.

Equipment and Fleet

Mowers, trucks, trailers, irrigation tools and chemical equipment are listed with age, condition, ownership and any loans. Well-maintained equipment with records adds to the asset value; a fleet that needs replacing comes off the price. Buyers using an SBA loan can finance the equipment with the business.

Who Buys Landscaping Companies

Crew leaders and foremen going out on their own with an SBA loan; owners of neighbouring companies buying routes and contracts; regional landscape maintenance companies acquiring for the commercial and HOA accounts; and investors buying a managed business for its recurring revenue. A company with a manager running operations draws the widest pool.

Questions you may be asking

Will my employees, customers or landlord find out?
Not from us. The review itself involves nobody but you and the broker. If you later sell, the business is marketed without its name or address, buyers sign a non-disclosure agreement and prove their funds before they learn who you are, and the landlord is approached only once there is an accepted offer.
What does a business broker charge?
A success fee paid from the proceeds at closing, set out in writing in the listing agreement before you sign anything. The review costs nothing.
My books are not perfect.
Few are. The review shows which add-backs a lender will accept and which records to tidy before a buyer looks, so the price holds through due diligence.
I only know my revenue.
Tell us the revenue and what you take home, even roughly. We work out the rest with you and ask for tax returns later, only if you want a firm range.

Find Out What My Business Is Worth

Tell us the type of business, the city, how long it has operated, annual revenue, owner benefit or seller's discretionary earnings, EBITDA if you track it, monthly rent and lease expiry, number of employees, how involved you are, why you are selling, your timeline and whether you would consider seller financing. A licensed BreakThru business broker prepares a confidential valuation from comparable sales and replies within one business day. Everything you tell us is confidential, the valuation is free, and nothing is listed or announced unless you decide to sell. Prefer to talk now? Call (786) 914-1017.

Questions Owners Ask

What is my landscaping company worth?
A multiple of seller's discretionary earnings, higher for maintenance contracts with associations and commercial properties, lower for installation revenue, adjusted for concentration, crews and equipment. A confidential valuation gives you a range from comparable landscape and lawn company sales.
Do my customers have to be told?
Not until the sale is agreed, and then usually by you and the buyer together. Contracts are assigned at closing; associations and property managers often want to meet the new owner first, which is planned into the timeline.
Can I sell the routes without the equipment?
Yes, to a buyer who has their own fleet, and sometimes for a better total price than selling everything to one buyer. The valuation shows both options.
What does a business broker charge?
Brokers selling small businesses usually charge a success fee paid from the proceeds at closing, commonly quoted in the market at around ten percent of the price, often with a minimum fee; larger sales are usually priced on a sliding scale. BreakThru's fee is set out in writing in the listing agreement before you sign anything, and the valuation costs nothing.

Also for Owners

Where Buyers Are Looking

Start Here

Sell by Business Type

Sell by Area

Recently Sold Businesses

Guides for Business Owners