The numbers work… but most buyers are locked out.
This commercial landscaping contractor is listed at $3.5M, doing about $7.7M in revenue and $1.37M in cash flow.
At this size — you’d expect strong returns.
And surprisingly… it delivers.
Deal Snapshot
After Financing
Here’s what you actually take home:
About $845K per year after debt.
That’s elite cash flow for a deal at this price.
Why It Looks Attractive
On paper, this is a strong deal:
- Near-market valuation at ~2.6x cash flow
- Very strong DSCR at 2.7
- Down payment recovered in under 6 months
- Nearly 50 years of operating history
- Massive equipment and receivables included
This is exactly what buyers are hunting for at this size.
But The Margin Tells A Story
There’s one issue:
Margins are 17.6% vs ~27% industry average.
In landscaping, that usually means:
- Heavy labor costs
- Operational inefficiency
- Or pricing pressure on contracts
So while the deal works — it’s not a perfect operator.
The Real Barrier
Now here’s what actually matters:
You need a C-27 contractor license to run this business.
And that changes everything.
- Most buyers don’t have it
- You can’t just step in and operate
- You either need to qualify… or rely on someone who does
Why This Matters
This isn’t just a detail.
It’s a gate.
The deal might look great — but if you can’t legally operate it, the numbers don’t matter.
And even if you partner with a license holder…
- You introduce dependency risk
- You reduce control
- You complicate the structure
The Real Insight
This is a buyer-filtered deal.
Not everyone gets to buy it.
And that’s why the pricing can stay reasonable despite strong cash flow.
BizHub Verdict
This deal scores an 8.2 / 10.
Strong cash flow. Fair pricing. Proven history.
But it only works if you can actually run it.
Great deal on paper…
But not for most buyers.
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