Prominent Landscape Supply Business, Kentucky

$3.9M

Revenue

$578K

SDE

4.3x

Multiple

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is an established Kentucky landscape supply business that has spent decades selling the essential bulk materials that landscaping contractors and homeowners buy over and over: mulch, soil, natural stone, gravel, grass seed, and related products. It runs a materials yard model with custom ordering and solutions-based delivery, which keeps it stickier than a pure walk-in retailer. At roughly $3.88M in revenue and $578K in cash flow, this is a healthy mid-single-digit-margin distribution operation (about 15% owner earnings margin), which is respectable for a bulk materials business.

The moat here is boring and real: landscape materials are heavy, low-value-per-pound, and expensive to ship long distances, so a yard with inventory, trucks, and local contractor relationships is hard to displace. Decades of operating history plus a loyal contractor base means switching costs are quietly high. Contractors want a supplier who has the material in stock, loads them fast, and delivers on time for a job that is already scheduled.

The real estate is a strategic part of the operation and is available for lease rather than included in the price, so a buyer needs to pin down lease terms and rent before underwriting the $578K cash flow. The deal is SBA eligible and the seller is retiring, which sets up a clean owner-operator acquisition at 4.33x. For a hands-on operator in or near Kentucky, this is a durable local franchise with room to expand delivery radius, product lines, and contractor accounts.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is solid for the category: $578K cash flow on $3.88M revenue is roughly a 15% margin, which is strong for bulk landscape materials where freight and inventory eat into gross. Decades of operating history and a loyal contractor base suggest the earnings are durable rather than a one-year spike.
The moat is physical and local. Landscape materials are heavy and uneconomical to ship far, so an established yard with inventory, loading equipment, delivery trucks, and contractor relationships creates a natural geographic monopoly in its service radius. That is hard for a new entrant to replicate without serious capital and years of relationship building.
Demand is largely non-discretionary at the contractor level. Professional landscapers keep buying mulch, soil, stone, and gravel to fulfill jobs they are already contracted on, so a chunk of revenue tracks construction and maintenance activity rather than pure consumer whim. That cushions the business more than a homeowner-only retailer.
The setup is clean for a buyer: SBA eligible, a retiring seller motivated to transition, and real estate kept out of the price so the capital stack stays lean. At 4.33x cash flow with a transition offer included, an operator can step in without overpaying for bricks they can simply lease.

How to improve it

Lock down and optimize the real estate lease immediately. Since the property is leased rather than included, negotiate a long-term lease with renewal options and a known, below-market rent so the $578K cash flow is protected and the business is not exposed to a landlord squeeze post-close. This is the single biggest value lever before you touch operations.
Segment the customer base and build a formal contractor account program. Identify the top 20% of contractor accounts driving most of the revenue, then add tiered pricing, volume commitments, and priority delivery windows to lock in repeat volume. This moves the business toward predictable, semi-contracted demand instead of transactional sales.
Expand the delivery radius and tighten delivery scheduling. Bulk material buyers pay for convenience and on-time delivery to active job sites, so investing in dispatch software and one or two additional trucks can win accounts just outside the current reach. Delivery is a margin and loyalty driver, not just a cost.
Add higher-margin product lines and value-added services. Natural stone, specialty soils, bagged amendments, and installation-adjacent products carry better margins than commodity mulch and gravel. Cross-sell these to the existing contractor base to lift the blended margin above the current roughly 15%.
Build a simple digital presence and online ordering for contractors. A basic web portal where contractors can check inventory, place standing orders, and schedule delivery reduces phone friction and increases order frequency. Most legacy materials yards have zero digital tooling, so even modest investment is a differentiator.
Implement inventory and pricing discipline. With $200K in inventory, track turns by SKU and reprice commodity items to current freight and material costs so margins do not erode silently. Tightening purchasing terms with suppliers on high-volume items can add points of gross margin.
Formalize a management layer to de-risk the owner dependency. The retiring seller likely holds key contractor relationships, so document those accounts and empower a yard manager and sales lead during the transition. This both protects revenue and sets up the business for a cleaner future resale at a higher multiple.

Diligence notes

Nail down the real estate lease terms before anything else. The property is strategic and only available for lease, so confirm the rent, term length, renewal options, and whether the lessor is the selling owner. An above-market or short lease would materially change the real cash flow and the valuation.
Verify the cash flow and revenue with tax returns and bank statements. The listing shows $578K cash flow on $3.88M revenue but no EBITDA or established date, so reconcile SDE add-backs and confirm the margin is sustainable. Scrutinize any owner compensation, personal expenses, or one-time items baked into the $578K.
Assess customer concentration among contractor accounts. Contractor-heavy materials yards can lean on a handful of large builders, so pull the revenue breakdown by customer. Losing one or two major contractors post-close could meaningfully dent earnings.
Examine revenue seasonality and cyclicality. Landscape supply demand swings with weather and the construction cycle, so look at monthly revenue over several years to understand the trough-to-peak spread and how the business performed in the 2020-2023 period. This matters for working capital planning and debt service coverage.
Confirm the condition and ownership of operating equipment and trucks. Delivery is core to the model, so verify what loaders, trucks, and yard equipment convey in the sale, their age, and any pending capex. Deferred maintenance on the fleet is a hidden cost that can hit cash flow in year one.
Validate the $200K inventory value and its treatment. Inventory is explicitly not included in the asking price, so clarify whether the buyer purchases it separately at close and how it is valued. Confirm the inventory is current, sellable, and not padded with slow-moving or weather-degraded stock.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →