A landscaping company in Forsyth is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Decatur — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide landscaping companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Forsyth file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Forsyth market
Selling a landscaping company in Forsyth
A landscaping company in Forsyth is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Decatur — not on a statewide rumor multiple. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. The statewide landscaping companies playbook is on the industry hub; this page is the Forsyth file.
Forsyth is the Hickory Point village north of Decatur — mall and highway retail, not Decatur’s ADM river plants.
Hickory Point Mall–adjacent retail is the distinctive (and changing) story. Decatur plant-services buyers are the wrong process for a village shop. Population is small; customers are Decatur MSA households. Split mall traffic from local services on the recast.
Forsyth has about 3,572 residents in Macon County, inside the Decatur area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Decatur, Mount Zion, Sullivan. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Decatur is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Planning facts
Typical multiple
2.5x–4x SDE
Typical timeline
4–9 months
SBA eligible
Often — confirm
County
Macon County
Population
3,572
Metro
Decatur
Nearby comps
Decatur, Mount Zion, Sullivan
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Decatur, and nearby county seats sell to operators who already know the trade area. State-vendor and campus calendars matter on some books.
File CBS-1 on time. Do not paste a Naperville multiple onto a Sangamon or McLean file.
Forsyth demand for landscaping companies is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 3,572 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Landscaping Company in Forsyth
What a Forsyth buyer will underwrite on this landscaping company
Forsyth is not a collar-county density play. A landscaping company here usually sells to an owner-operator who already covers Decatur, Mount Zion, Sullivan, not a platform that needs a hired dispatcher and a second licensed person. Municipal registrations still reset on a new entity.
Landscaping Companies statewide typically plan around 2.5x–4x SDE and a 4–9 months process when books and the lease are ready. That is a planning range, not a price for this Forsyth shop. Buyers here usually argue recurring contract revenue, equipment fleet, crew size, commercial vs residential mix, seasonal balance.
Closing clock for this Forsyth file: Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. License path: Design-build landscaping is not a statewide licensed trade. The industry hub teaches the statewide rule. This URL is the Forsyth application of it.
Forsyth is a small town market. The first serious call is often an owner-operator from Decatur, Mount Zion, Sullivan, not a platform that needs $2 million of earnings to pay for diligence. SBA 7(a) and seller financing usually matter more here than a headline multiple.
Buyer pool
Who buys a landscaping company in Forsyth
Industrial and owner-operator. Chicago PE is uncommon.
Illustration: a Wheaton-area design-build landscaper with eight commercial maintenance properties, a patio-and-irrigation crew, and a seller who still draws every bid. Not a closed sale and not a lawn-chemical route.
A landscaping company whose customers already sit in Decatur, Mount Zion, Sullivan is a larger business than one that stops at the Forsyth city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Forsyth landscaping company
Landscaping recasts on contracted maintenance plus design-build gross profit, not a single HOA install year. Add back owner compensation and equipment-loan interest, then pull one-off hardscape projects and any snow that belongs in a different conversation. If the seller still designs every patio and bids every commercial property, subtract a production manager.
Illustration only — not a quote for any Forsyth shop. A landscaping company whose tax return shows $160,000 of net profit is not worth $160,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $49,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $26,500 of discretionary benefits, $1,000 of accepted one-time cost, and $6,500 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $83,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $160,000. At the planning range 2.5x–4.0x, enterprise value is $400,000 to $640,000. Mid-range 3.25x is $520,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Forsyth buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.25 times $160,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $520,000 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.
SDE line items
Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
+ Interest expense
+ Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
+ Depreciation and amortization
+ Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
+ Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
+ Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
− Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
= Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Forsyth landscaping company — not a quote
Net profit
$160,000
Owner W-2
$49,000
Benefits
$26,500
One-time
$1,000
Personal
$6,500
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$83,000
Recast SDE
$160,000
Planning EV at 3.25x
$520,000
Recast Seller’s Discretionary Earnings, then apply a planning multiple for landscaping companies.
Replacement labor is subtracted. This is a planning tool, not an appraisal.
Recast SDE—
Planning enterprise value—
Before debt, working-capital peg, holdback, and tax. Educational only.
Enter your annual Seller's Discretionary Earnings (SDE) — your net profit plus owner's salary and any personal expenses run through the business — to estimate a range.
$
1x3.0x8x
Estimated Value Range—to—
This is an estimate for planning purposes only. Actual value depends on lease terms, asset quality, customer concentration, and current market conditions. Request a professional valuation for a precise number.
Macon (Decatur) uses state CBS-1 and city licenses. Agri-processing and industrial businesses need environmental and union diligence.
Design-build landscaping is not a statewide licensed trade. Irrigation backflow, pesticide applications, and municipal contractor registrations are the live items. If the company sprays, the Illinois Department of Agriculture applicator license is personal to the operator. Chicago and many suburbs require contractor registration and dump or water-use permits that reset on a new entity.
Labor and lease
What has to keep working on Monday after close in Forsyth
For a landscaping company in Forsyth, the first labor question is: Multi-year commercial maintenance contracts the seller does not personally babysit.
ADM and related processing shape labor and trucking. Forsyth retail is a different buyer than a Decatur plant-services book.
Central Illinois processing city. Cash flow and customer concentration first.
Diligence
What a serious landscaping company buyer will open
Levers that move the multiple in this vertical: Multi-year commercial maintenance contracts the seller does not personally babysit; Design-build margin that repeats without the owner’s sketchbook; Owned production equipment versus rented iron; True off-season contracted work; Property-manager relationships that survive a logo change.
Have these ready before anyone hears the name of the Forsyth business: Commercial maintenance contracts: term, cancellation, and who holds the relationship; Design-build backlog versus completed one-off patios; Skid-steer, dump-truck, and irrigation-equipment list with liens; HOA and property-manager concentration; Off-season work (snow, holiday lighting, interiorscape) that is actually contracted; Pesticide or irrigation licenses on staying employees.
Buyer tool
SBA payment sketch for a Forsyth landscaping company buyer
Most Illinois owner-operator acquisitions use SBA 7(a). This is a payment sketch, not an approval.
SBA 7(a) loans are the most common financing for business acquisitions. Estimate your monthly payment and required down payment based on the purchase price.
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yrs
Down Payment Required—
Loan Amount—
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This calculator provides estimates for planning purposes only. Actual SBA loan terms depend on your credit profile, the specific lender, and current market conditions. Contact us to connect with SBA-approved lenders in Illinois.
Sale steps
How to prepare a Forsyth landscaping company for sale
Recast this Forsyth landscaping company. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Forsyth buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this landscaping company pull a permit or see a patient in Forsyth, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Forsyth trade area. Map customers against neighboring towns. Buyers will. A book that already covers those towns is larger than a book that stops at the Forsyth limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Macon County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
Calendar the notices that apply here. Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Start them at letter of intent, not the week of funding.
Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois landscaping companies hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Forsyth file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Macon County, including local closing steps.
Illinois landscaping companies typically sell for 2.5x–4x SDE. Businesses with significant recurring commercial maintenance contracts command the higher end. A company generating $200,000 in SDE with strong contracts could be valued at $500,000–$800,000.
Annual recurring maintenance contracts are the most powerful value driver in landscaping. Each dollar of contracted revenue is worth significantly more than one-time project revenue in a buyer's eyes.
Buyers include PE-backed landscaping roll-up platforms, larger regional landscapers, and owner-operators. Illinois has seen significant consolidation activity in the landscaping space over the past several years.
Many sellers prefer to list in late fall or winter, giving time to work through the process ahead of the busy season. However, the right time to sell is when your financials are at their strongest and you're personally ready.
Most landscaping company sales in Forsyth close within 4–9 months. The process tends to move faster for companies with clean contracts, documented equipment lists, and organized financials.
Most Forsyth asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Macon County does not use Chicago’s 45-day city notice unless the business also operates there. Municipal licenses and the lease still need their own calendar.
The first serious call in Forsyth is usually an owner-operator or a neighboring shop, not a coastal fund. Macon County buyers already know the trade area. Seller financing and a clean lease matter more than a headline multiple.
No. The planning multiple for landscaping companies is a statewide starting point, not a Forsyth appraisal. Buyers in Macon County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Landscaping Company Brokerage Near Forsyth
We serve landscaping companies owners and buyers across Macon County and the surrounding region.