At Oaklyn Crest, we are committed to excellence in landscaping, horticultural services, and outdoor living.

We provide thoughtful, professional exit opportunities to retiring owners of exemplary businesses.

The opportunity in outdoor living & services

  • Large & Stable Market

    Every home and business has some form of outdoor space. 80% of households participate in gardening, 40% hire lawn care professionals. US landscaping industry is ~$200B and growing slowly at ~3%

  • Highly Fragmented

    Market remains highly fragmented with 750,000 landscaping service providers and garden centers in the US, with no player having more than 5% of the market.

  • Resilient Businesses

    Warming temperatures are driving more outsourcing of landscape maintenance. Demand is seasonal yet stable; plants are always growing.

  • Barriers to Entry

    Although anyone with clippers can trim plants, meaningful businesses require 6 figure investments in capital equipment, plus large teams to achieve scale.

  • Management Layer

    Outdoor services companies are frequently built and led by successful tradespeople who may benefit from partnering with professional management teams & investors.

  • Legacy Preservation

    Up to 1/3 of business owners who are nearing retirement are expected to transition their businesses in the next 5 years.

  • Safe from AI disruption

    Unlike professional services, outdoor services are safe from AI disruption; AI may help streamline back office operations to improve scheduling or cash management, but will not cut grass or deliver mulch anytime soon.

Our Process

1 - Discovery

Initial screening of recent financials and general fit with our criteria below. After learning about your goals we prepare and IOI to outline broad terms before moving forward with the opportunity. All confidential information is treated with the upmost discretion.

2 - Offer

We continue with industry diligence and take a harder look at company operations and projections. We perform a site visit and additional management calls. We prepare a detailed LOI outlining all the specifics of a potential deal. All offers are bespoke and pre-screened with capital providers. We are more diligent in these initial phases to ensure a smooth process later on.

3 - Closing

Once we've agreed on terms we will undertake a formal diligence process to review in detail all relevant matters pertaining to company performance. If everything checks out we will fund and close the deal, successfully de-risking your position as owner and providing liquidity to kickstart your hard-earned retirement.

4 - Transition

We work together to ensure a smooth handoff over the agreed timeframe of company operations to the next generation of skilled operators. We source leading operators from top companies, leverage qualified internal candidates, or jump in ourselves to provide the vision and guidance necessary to steward the enterprise through it’s next chapter.

Criteria

What we look for in potential acquisitions.

Please reach out if your business might be a good fit.

  • Outdoor services & outdoor living

  • Companies and sellers must have a sterling reputation for unwavering integrity among employees, management, customers, suppliers, partners, and other stakeholders.

  • Consistently generating $750K - $3M of annual discretionary cash flow or adjusted EBITDA, with margins >10%

  • A demonstrated history of consistent growth in revenue, even if slow and steady.

  • Legacy businesses with 15+ years of continuous operations

    Stable and repeat customer base

    Long-term employees

    Management in place

  • Mid-Atlantic

  • Asset and stock sales considered. Majority positions considered.

  • 2-4x SDE depending on fit with above criteria.

  • Strong preference to also acquire the business occupied real estate.

David has diverse experience leading high-complexity, high-pressure projects and teams, including:

  • $300M transformation program at an iconic American manufacturer, including launching digital supply chain tools

  • Developed growth and go-to-market strategies for F500 customers and led high caliber teams on $10M+ engagements while at BCG

  • Managed over $100M in post-disaster reconstruction projects in New York City, including helping secure one of the largest FEMA grants in US history ($1.8B)

  • MBA + MA Sustainability

In his spare time he studies investing in local businesses, analytics, and woodworking.

picture of founder with link to linkedin page

Testimonials

Anonymous feedback from a career leading diverse teams across high-impact projects

“David was fantastic to work with and has a strong knack for entrepreneurship, strategy and design...he lead by example on numerous occasions.”
“His patience helped me learn and grow”
“I always felt psychologically safe on his team”
“He was excellent at teaching us how to be effective”
“David provides tangible and actionable coaching”

Contact

Email me directly if you’d like to invest or apply for a leadership role at a portfolio company

Phone
(301) 664 4191

Location
Mid-Atlantic