Ares Management has acquired a majority interest in Landscape Workshop, a provider of commercial groundskeeping services across the Southeastern United States, from Carousel Capital and McKinney Capital.
Landscape Workshop provides its services – landscape maintenance, enhancements, seasonal color programs, irrigation systems, and new landscape installations – to property managers, commercial real estate owners, retail centers, and corporate campuses.
Source: Landscape Workshop
The company, led by CEO J.T. Price, was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with 38 locations across Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, and North Carolina.
“This is a pivotal next step in Landscape Workshop’s journey and a credit to our exceptional team for their dedication to our disciplined growth strategy while maintaining quality service for our clients,” said Mr. Price. “As one of the largest landscaping companies in the nation, we have focused on establishing a strong culture of high-performance, collaboration and entrepreneurship that extends across our operations. We are thrilled to partner with Ares and leverage their investing experience to help accelerate our growth both organically and through acquisitions and create long-term shareholder value. Looking ahead, we remain steadfast in our commitment to provide great service to our customers and an exciting and supportive workplace for our current and future team members to succeed.”
Mr. Price also acknowledged the prior investor, stating, “On behalf of Landscape Workshop, I would also like to thank Carousel Capital for their partnership over the last five years as well as their ongoing support as we continue to build on our momentum.”
Carousel Capital acquired a majority equity interest in Landscape Workshop in September 2020 from McKinney Capital (which maintained a minority ownership position in the business). During its ownership term, Landscape Workshop completed more than a dozen add-on acquisitions, including A-Stellar Property Maintenance and Landscaping in April and Green Dream Landscaping earlier this month.
Source: Landscape Workshop
“We are thrilled by the opportunity to partner with J.T. and the entire Landscape Workshop team as they continue their growth trajectory,” said Partner Natasha Li and Principal Mike Nawrot in a released statement from Ares. “Landscape Workshop has positioned itself as a differentiated platform in the industry, leading with a highly professional, service-led focus that resonates with its customers and employees and a strong reputation as an acquisition partner. We look forward to supporting and further investing in these efforts as Landscape Workshop continues to expand its position in new and existing regions.”
Ares Management (NYSE: ARES) has approximately $546 billion of assets under management and invests in private equity, leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, distressed debt, and private debt. Within Ares, its private equity group manages $25 billion of assets and is currently investing its $5.7 billion sixth private equity fund. Ares is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.
Carousel Capital invests in non-cyclical and growth-oriented companies headquartered in the southeastern United States. Typical targets have enterprise values of up to $250 million and EBITDA of at least $3 million. Sectors of specific interest include business, consumer, and healthcare services. Carousel was founded in 1996 and is led by Managing Partners Charles Grigg and Jason Schmidly.
McKinney Capital is a private, family-owned investment firm that invests exclusively in field services companies that are valued up to $20 million and with EBITDA from $500,000 to $2 million. The firm is based in Birmingham, Alabama.
Piper Sandler was the financial advisor to Landscape Workshop on this transaction.
Ares Management has acquired a majority interest in Landscape Workshop, a provider of commercial groundskeeping services across the Southeastern United States, from Carousel Capital and McKinney Capital.
“This is a pivotal next step in Landscape Workshop’s journey and a credit to our exceptional team for their dedication to our disciplined growth strategy while maintaining quality service for our clients,” said Mr. Price. “As one of the largest landscaping companies in the nation, we have focused on establishing a strong culture of high-performance, collaboration and entrepreneurship that extends across our operations. We are thrilled to partner with Ares and leverage their investing experience to help accelerate our growth both organically and through acquisitions and create long-term shareholder value. Looking ahead, we remain steadfast in our commitment to provide great service to our customers and an exciting and supportive workplace for our current and future team members to succeed.”
