Landscaping Business Valuations
Independent valuations for landscape design, construction and maintenance businesses across Australia.
Green Standard values landscape design and construction businesses, garden maintenance businesses and grounds contractors for strata and commercial properties. Two landscapers with the same profit can be worth very different amounts, because project revenue has to be won again every year and maintenance revenue largely arrives by itself.
A business with a few hundred residential gardens on a regular visit cycle, a handful of strata and commercial grounds contracts and a design studio feeding construction work is a different asset from one that builds gardens and retaining walls for a small number of builders and relies on the owner to design, quote and supervise every job. The two can look alike on a profit and loss statement and behave very differently after a sale.
We examine the revenue mix, the crews, the contracts, the plant and the way work is won, then form a view on the earnings a new owner could reasonably expect to keep.
How much is a landscaping business worth?
A landscaping business is worth what its maintainable earnings support, after a market wage for the owner and with the risk in those earnings taken into account. Recurring maintenance contracts, especially strata and commercial ones, usually carry less risk than design and construct projects. Crew utilisation, seasonality and the plant fleet all affect how much of the profit a new owner can expect to keep.
Landscaping businesses we value
What affects the value of a landscaping business?
These are the questions we work through when we value a landscaping business. Some raise value, some reduce it, and most matter only in combination with the others.
Revenue quality
Maintenance versus project work
Maintenance revenue repeats, while project revenue has to be quoted, won and built again each year, and a business that is mostly projects is replacing its revenue continuously. We split revenue and margin between the two, because a buyer will price them differently.
Recurring garden maintenance
Weekly, fortnightly and monthly visits to residential and commercial gardens are the most transferable part of many landscaping businesses. We look at the number of properties, the length of each customer relationship, pricing against time on site, and how many customers pay by direct debit rather than invoice.
Strata and commercial contracts
Body corporate and commercial grounds contracts are usually tendered, run for a set term and are re-tendered when the manager or committee changes. We read the term, scope, price basis, termination rights and renewal history, and ask how the work was won.
Design versus construction revenue
Design fees are small beside construction revenue, but design decides who builds, so a designer who leaves can take the pipeline with them. We look at how many designs convert to construction, who owns the client relationship and the designs, and the margin on each part.
Seasonality and weather
Wet weather stops earthworks and planting, heat and water restrictions affect new gardens and turf, and maintenance frequency changes through the year. We examine monthly revenue and cash flow across several years, including how the business funds its wages in the slow months.
People and crews
Owner role
In many landscaping businesses the owner designs, quotes, sells and supervises, and the clients know the owner rather than the company. We deduct a market cost for those roles and consider which relationships would stay after a sale.
Crew utilisation
Labour is the main cost, so revenue per crew-day sets the margin. We compare paid hours with billed hours, and look at travel, wet days, supervision and how maintenance rounds and construction crews are kept busy.
Licences for regulated work
Retaining walls, decks, pergolas, stormwater and irrigation connections can fall under building or plumbing licensing in some states, depending on height, value or the type of work. We check which jobs needed which licence, and who in the business holds it.
Employees, casuals and subcontractors
Landscaping relies on a mix of skilled crew leaders, casual labour and subcontracted trades such as stonemasons and irrigators. We look at how stable the crew leaders are, how work is divided, and whether the arrangements would continue under a new owner.
Customers and relationships
Customer concentration
A business that earns a third of its revenue from one builder, developer or strata manager carries a risk that the profit and loss statement does not show. We measure it over several years, not one.
Builder and developer subcontracts
Landscaping at the end of a building project is paid on progress claims, often with retentions held until completion, and is squeezed when the build runs late. We consider payment history, exposure to a builder’s or developer’s financial failure, and how much of the work is fixed price.
Reputation and referral sources
Project photos, reviews, designer and architect referrals and search visibility all bring work in. We look at which of them belong to the business and would carry across to a new owner.
Plant, materials and operations
Plant and vehicles
Tippers, trailers, skid steers, mini excavators, compaction equipment, mowers and trucks are needed to earn the profit. We consider age and condition, finance owing, what is hired in, and what it costs to keep the fleet current.
Quoting and job costing
Fixed-price quotes put the risk of poor soil, tight access and labour overruns on the landscaper. We compare quoted hours and materials with actual results on completed jobs, because that shows whether the margin on the books is the margin the business really earns.
Materials and supplier terms
Soil, mulch, pavers, stone and plants are bought on supplier accounts and priced into quotes weeks before they are used. We check supplier terms, price movements between quote and purchase, and replacement work promised to clients for plants that fail.
Ability to operate without the owner
If the owner stepped away for three months, would the quotes go out, the crews be scheduled, the maintenance rounds run and the invoices be raised? The answer shapes both the earnings we adopt and the risk we apply to them.
How a buyer reads a landscaping business
Buyers of landscaping businesses include larger grounds maintenance and facilities companies buying maintenance rounds and contracts, landscape construction firms adding capacity, and individuals buying their way into ownership. Each is asking how much of this profit will still be here once the current owner has gone.
Maintenance-led businesses with documented customers, scheduled rounds and a crew leader who can run them tend to attract the widest interest. Project-led businesses that rely on the owner to design and sell the work, or on a small number of builders, are usually priced more cautiously, even when a recent year of construction produced higher profits.
A valuation works through the same questions, but independently and with the reasoning written down.
Adjustments we often make in landscaping businesses
Reported profit is restated to what the business earns on a commercial footing before any method is applied. Every adjustment is listed in the report.
Owner wages
Replacing drawings, or a salary set for tax reasons, with a market cost for the design, estimating and supervision the owner actually does.
Family members on payroll
Wages paid above or below market rate, or for roles that a buyer would not need.
Vehicles and plant used privately
Private use of business vehicles, trailers or machinery, and private assets run through the business.
Related-party yard or depot
A yard, nursery or storage area owned by the owner’s family trust or super fund and rented at other than market rent.
One-off projects
A single large development landscape, or a builder relationship that has ended, that would distort maintainable revenue.
Storm and clean-up work
Revenue from storm damage clean-ups or similar events that would not be expected to recur at the same level.
Bad debts and plant replacement
Unusual losses from a developer’s failure or a one-off replacement of failed planting, separated from the normal cost of doing the work.
Information we typically review
You upload documents through the secure client portal after the engagement is confirmed. We send a list specific to your business; nothing needs to be gathered before the intake.
The financial pack
- Profit and loss statements, usually the last three years and the current year to date
- Balance sheets for the same periods
- Tax returns where relevant
- Payroll summary and employee information
- Vehicle, plant and equipment schedules
- Major customer information
- Recurring contracts and service agreements
- Revenue breakdown by service line
- Owner remuneration and drawings
- Unusual or non-recurring income and expenses
For a landscaping business, also
- Revenue split by stream: maintenance, construction, design, irrigation and turf
- Maintenance customer list with property type, visit frequency, price, start date and payment method
- Strata, commercial and council contracts with terms, scope and renewal dates
- Design fee register and the number of designs converted to construction
- Completed project list showing quoted and actual margin, and open jobs at the valuation date
- Crew roster and timesheets showing paid and billed hours
- Monthly revenue by stream for at least three years
- Licence and registration details for structural, irrigation and other regulated work
- Plant, vehicle and trailer schedule, including finance owing and hired-in equipment
- Retentions held by builders and developers, and debtor ageing
What a landscaping business valuation costs
Fixed fees, confirmed in writing before work begins. The standard fee applies to most established landscaping businesses.
Independent Business Valuation
$1,995+ GST
For established trade and field-service businesses requiring an independent valuation.
- Review of financial information
- Normalisation of earnings
- Valuation methodology selected for the business and purpose
- Industry and business risk assessment
- Consideration of plant, vehicles and equipment
- Owner dependency assessment
- Goodwill analysis
- Valuation range and conclusion
- Professionally prepared valuation report
- Draft provided before finalisation
Accountant and Adviser Partner
$1,495+ GST
For accountants and professional advisers who refer valuation matters regularly.
- Streamlined client onboarding
- Adviser kept informed with client authority
- Independent report addressed to the client
- Secure document portal for the client
- Repeat-client workflow
- Partner pricing on every referred matter
Complex Valuations
From$2,995+ GST
For matters with more moving parts. Quoted as a fixed fee in writing before work begins.
- Multiple entities or divisions
- Significant plant and equipment
- Unusual ownership structures
- Partnership and shareholder disputes
- Complex normalisations
- Significant customer concentration
- Historical valuation dates
Fees are fixed and confirmed in writing before work begins.
Landscaping valuations: common questions
How much is a landscaping business worth?
A landscaping business is generally worth what its maintainable earnings support after a market wage is paid for the owner’s own work, adjusted for how much of those earnings would continue under a new owner. Recurring maintenance, strata and commercial contracts and a crew that runs without the owner support a higher value; reliance on one-off projects or on the owner’s design and sales reduces it. Our guide on how much a landscaping business is worth works through an example.
Is maintenance income worth more than project income?
Usually, yes, because maintenance repeats and project work has to be won again. That does not mean project income is worth nothing. A project business with a strong design pipeline, a stable crew and a record of margin on completed jobs is valued as such, and we weigh each stream separately. Our guide on recurring maintenance contracts explains why.
Our design work brings in the construction jobs. Is it valued separately?
Usually it is valued together with the construction revenue it feeds, because the two depend on each other. We look at how many designs become construction jobs, who holds the client relationship, and whether the designer is an employee or the owner. If the design work depends on a single person who is leaving, that is a risk we describe and price.
Does a slow winter or a wet year hurt the valuation?
Only to the extent that it was unusual. Every landscaping business has slow months, so we look at monthly results over several years to see the normal pattern and adopt earnings that a typical year would produce. A single wet year is normalised, and a business that has repeatedly struggled to fund its slow months is noted as a risk.
Related industries and guides
Valuing a landscaping business? Start with a short intake.
An Independent Business Valuation is $1,995 + GST, with a draft before the report is finalised. Typical turnaround is 3 to 7 business days once all required information has been received.