Schill Grounds Management Switches Sponsors

TruArc Partners has acquired Schill Grounds Management, a provider of commercial landscaping services, from Argonne Capital Group.

Schill’s services include landscape maintenance, snow and ice removal, landscape enhancement, and hardscaping. The company’s services are used primarily by property managers overseeing multifamily residential communities, retail and office complexes, healthcare facilities, industrial properties, and distribution centers.

Schill operates across the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes, and Mid-Atlantic regions and has more than 30 branches across Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada. The company was founded in 1993 by CEO Jerry Schill and is headquartered in Cleveland.

After Argonne Capital Group acquired a controlling stake in Schill in September 2020, in a transaction that also funded the acquisition of Ohio-based McCoy Landscape Services, Schill pursued an active add-on strategy that included the purchase of the commercial landscaping division of The Ohio Valley Group in Cleveland (2021), Ward + Thornton Landscapes and Fredericks Landscaping in the Cincinnati market (2021), North Canton, Ohio-based Enviroscapes (2022), London, Ontario-based TLC Landscaping, Cincinnati-based Grounds Elite (2022), Cincinnati- and Dayton-focused GrassCor (2023), and, most recently, Indianapolis-area BAM Outdoor (2024). These add-ons were in addition to several smaller tuck-in acquisitions that were integrated into existing branches, bringing the total number of add-on acquisitions during Argonne’s ownership to 12.

TruArc Partners’ buy of SGM is its first in the landscaping sector; however, the firm has extensive experience in the business services sector that shares core characteristics with commercial landscaping, including recurring revenue models, branch-based or field-service operations, labor-intensive delivery, and a heavy reliance on local execution and customer retention.

“TruArc’s experience supporting essential services businesses, together with their collaborative approach, aligns well with our culture and objectives and make them an ideal partner for Schill as we embark on this next phase of our evolution,” said Mr. Schill. “I am thrilled to be partnering with them and look forward to taking advantage of the growth opportunities we see across our business.”

“Schill has built a trusted and respected brand with commercial clients across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic,” said Brandon Kiss, a partner at TruArc Partners. “We are excited to partner with the Schill team to support the company’s next phase of growth as it seeks to expand its footprint and service capabilities.”

New York City-based TruArc (formerly Snow Phipps Group) makes equity investments of $50 million to $150 million in companies with EBITDA from $10 million to $50 million. Sectors of specific interest include specialty manufacturing and business services.

Argonne Capital makes equity investments of up to $300 million in companies with $5 million to $150 million of EBITDA. Sectors of interest include specialty manufacturing, light industrial, distribution, multi-unit restaurant, retail, and service industries. The firm was founded by Michael Klump in 2003 and is based in Atlanta.

William Blair & Company and Citizens Capital Markets were the financial advisors to TruArc Partners, and Solomon Partners was the financial advisor to Schill Grounds Management and Argonne Capital.