CHICAGO, Ill.—January 11, 2018: Prospect Partners, LLC, a leading private equity firm investing in lower-middle-market companies, today announced the recapitalization, in partnership with management, of Bland Landscaping Company, Inc. (Bland Landscaping), of Apex, North Carolina.
Bland Landscaping is one of North Carolina’s leading full-service providers of landscape design, installation, enhancement, and maintenance services for commercial properties and high-end residential estates. The company, established in 1976, primarily serves offices, hospitals, universities, municipalities, and homeowner associations statewide, including the Triangle, Triad, and metropolitan Charlotte regions. Over the years, Bland Landscaping — whose in-house team of nearly 300 landscape experts includes professional turfgrass and horticulture managers, landscape designers, chemical technicians, and floriculturists — has developed a strong reputation for sustainability and excellence, earning more than 100 state and national awards for environmental improvement and landscape excellence. Second generation owners Kurt Bland, President and CEO, and Matt Bland, CFO and COO, lead the company.
“Bland Landscaping is a rapidly growing niche market leader long known for its superb commercial landscape maintenance and management services, innovation, commitment to the environment, and great customer relationships,” said Erik Maurer, a Principal of Prospect Partners. “We look forward to supporting management as they continue to scale the company and expand its regional presence.”
Said CEO Kurt Bland: “This is an exciting time for Bland Landscaping as we actively build upon our company’s pioneering legacy. As we pursue our goal of becoming the leading regional provider of the complete life cycle of commercial landscape management services, Prospect Partners offers proven expertise growing niche companies like ours as well as investment capital that will help us continue to be the best at what we do. We look forward to what is in store for the future of Bland Landscaping and our team members.”
Going forward, Bland Landscaping seeks to invest in add-on acquisitions of well-respected, local providers of commercial landscape management services based in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
Serving the company’s Board of Directors from Prospect Partners are Mr. Maurer, as Chairman, and Brad O’Dell, Principal, as a Director.
Bland Landscaping becomes Prospect Partners’ 50th portfolio company overall, and the 14th in the firm’s current fund, Prospect Partners III, L.P.
CCG Advisors, an Atlanta-based mergers and acquisitions firm, represented Bland Landscaping in this transaction. Freeport Financial Partners, LLC, provided financial for the recapitalization.
About Prospect Partners
Prospect Partners is a leading private equity firm investing in smaller lower-middle-market companies, managing $470 million across three funds. A highly experienced and active investor, Prospect Partners focuses exclusively on management-led leveraged recapitalizations and acquisitions of niche market leaders with revenues typically under $75 million. Since 1998, Prospect Partners has completed more than 150 transactions nationwide in the building of 50 platform companies in widely diverse niche manufacturing, distribution, and specialty service markets.