High-End Residential Landscaping Company, 39-Year Westchester County NY Operator

$1.7M

Revenue

$587K

SDE

3.6x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is a 39-year-old high-end residential landscaping business serving affluent communities across northern Westchester County, New York, one of the wealthiest suburban corridors in the country. Founded in 1987, the company blends recurring maintenance contracts with higher-ticket project work including landscape installation, masonry, and drainage. It runs on an 11-person team (10 full-time, 1 part-time) with a long-tenured, fully documented crew, which is the operational backbone that lets a business like this scale beyond the owner.

The positioning matters here. The local market spans unlicensed low-cost operators up through full-service premium firms, and this business sits firmly at the quality end, competing on reputation, reliability, and clear communication rather than price. That is the durable place to be in a fragmented trade, because affluent homeowners in markets like Bedford, Chappaqua, and Katonah value trust and a proven name over saving a few dollars.

On the numbers, the business generates $1.7M in revenue and $586,602 in cash flow, a healthy 34.5% owner-earnings margin, priced at $2.1M or roughly 3.58x cash flow. The real estate (a one-acre paved site with a 1,500 square foot garage and a standalone single-family home) is owned and valued at $1.6M but is explicitly NOT included in the asking price, offered separately. The seller is retiring, which is the cleanest possible reason to sell.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is strong for a trade business: $586,602 of cash flow on $1.7M revenue is a 34.5% margin, well above the typical 15-25% you see in landscaping. The recurring maintenance base provides a predictable revenue floor, while installation, masonry, and drainage projects layer higher-margin upside on top. That mix is more defensible than pure mow-and-blow route economics.
The moat is reputation plus a long-tenured, fully documented workforce, which is rare in a trade where labor is the constraint. After 39 years the name carries weight in a market where affluent clients hire on trust, not price, so switching costs are behavioral rather than contractual. A buyer inherits the brand equity and a crew that already knows how to deliver premium work.
The end market is one of the most recession-resistant customer bases in landscaping: wealthy Westchester homeowners who maintain their properties regardless of the economic cycle. High-end maintenance contracts and property upkeep are non-discretionary spend for this demographic, and the affluent north county corridor is not going anywhere. Demand durability here is well above the trade average.
This is genuinely operator-improvable, not a maxed-out business. Management has already flagged clear whitespace: no herbicide/pesticide applications, no irrigation, no arborist work, and no lighting, all established local services this business currently declines to offer. An owner who adds even two of those service lines to an existing loyal client list can grow revenue without spending to acquire new customers.

How to improve it

Add the four missing service lines the listing already identified: pesticide/herbicide applications, irrigation, arborist work, and landscape lighting. These sell straight into the existing affluent client base with no new customer acquisition cost, and each carries strong margins. Sequence the two easiest first (lighting and irrigation) within the first 90 days by hiring or subcontracting the licensed labor.
Push maintenance clients onto multi-year or auto-renewing annual agreements to harden the recurring base. The more revenue you can lock into contracts rather than year-to-year handshake renewals, the more valuable and financeable the business becomes on exit. This also smooths cash flow through the seasonal shoulder months.
Build a simple upsell system that flags maintenance clients for project work (masonry, drainage, installation) during routine visits. The crew is already on-site and trusted, so converting maintenance relationships into higher-ticket projects is the fastest revenue lever. Track and incentivize crew-generated project referrals.
Invest in the currently weak marketing infrastructure the listing flags: increased advertising and stronger social media presence. For a premium residential brand, before-and-after project photography and Google reviews from affluent neighborhoods are the highest-ROI channels. This is cheap and the current owner has clearly under-invested here.
Document and de-risk the owner dependency before and during the 2-week transition, which is thin for a 39-year founder-run business. Map every client relationship, vendor, and pricing decision the owner personally controls and transfer it to a lead foreman or general manager. Consider negotiating a longer paid consulting tail to protect the client base through the first full season.
Evaluate winter revenue diversification through snow and ice management for the same client base. Westchester winters create a natural cross-sell that keeps crews and equipment productive year-round rather than idle. Even a modest snow program smooths the seasonal cash flow trough that plagues Northeast landscaping.
Decide the real estate question early and use it as a negotiation lever. The $1.6M property is offered separately, so a buyer can either purchase it to control the operating site or negotiate a favorable long-term lease from the seller. Owning it locks in the location and adds a hard asset; leasing preserves capital for growth.

Diligence notes

Break down the revenue mix between recurring maintenance contracts and one-off project work (installation, masonry, drainage). The valuation multiple should hinge on how much is genuinely recurring versus lumpy project revenue that must be re-won each year. Get the actual contract terms and renewal history, not just a verbal claim of recurring.
Scrutinize owner dependency given a 39-year founder and only a 2-week, 20-hour-per-week transition. Determine how many client relationships, pricing decisions, and estimating functions live solely in the owner's head. If the business runs on the founder's personal reputation, client retention risk post-close is real and the price should reflect it.
Verify the crew's tenure, employment status, and retention risk, since the documented long-tenured workforce is a core part of the thesis. Confirm whether key foremen are staying, check for any non-competes, and understand wage rates versus market. In a labor-constrained trade, losing two or three key people can erode the whole moat.
Confirm licensing, insurance, and any regulatory gaps, especially since the business does NOT currently do pesticide/herbicide work that requires state applicator licenses. Verify all current contractor and business licenses are transferable and in good standing. Review workers comp history and any prior claims given the physical nature of the work.
Reconcile the reported $586,602 cash flow against tax returns and identify every add-back. Confirm the SDE reflects a normalized owner's salary and that personal expenses running through the business are legitimately excludable. For a business selling near retirement, watch for deferred equipment replacement that a buyer will have to fund.
Assess the equipment condition and replacement schedule, since the site is described as parking for vehicles and equipment but the fleet's age and value are not detailed. Deferred capex on trucks, mowers, and specialty gear is a common hidden liability in aging trade businesses. Get a full equipment list with ages and estimated remaining life.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →