A landscaping company in Gurnee is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Waukegan — 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 Gurnee file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.
Confidential • No upfront fees • Illinois statewide
Gurnee market
Selling a landscaping company in Gurnee
A landscaping company in Gurnee is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Waukegan — 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 Gurnee file.
Gurnee is the Lake County tourism interchange: Gurnee Mills, Six Flags Great America, and I-94 outlets — visitor traffic on top of a residential village.
Outlet and theme-park seasonality belongs in the recast. Franchise and mall landlords control more leases here than in Libertyville’s downtown. Great Lakes Naval Station is nearby payroll, not this village’s identity. A household HVAC book and a Mills-adjacent restaurant are two sales.
Gurnee has about 31,295 residents in Lake County, inside the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Waukegan 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
Lake County
Population
31,295
Metro
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
Nearby comps
Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, and neighboring collar shops sell on household density and the I-88, I-90, I-94, and I-55 corridors.
There is no Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago. Buyers still compare this suburb to the next one on the same highway.
Gurnee demand for landscaping companies is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 31,295 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.
Landscaping Company in Gurnee
What a Gurnee buyer will underwrite on this landscaping company
Home-service density in Gurnee helps the route — and it is why a public asking price on a recognizable landscaping company van is a leak. Municipal permit desks here are not the same as Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake. Winter no-heat or storm response time is local. The statewide license rules live on the landscaping companies hub; this page is who pulls the next Gurnee permit.
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 Gurnee shop. Buyers here usually argue recurring contract revenue, equipment fleet, crew size, commercial vs residential mix, seasonal balance.
Closing clock for this Gurnee 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 Gurnee application of it.
In a suburb like Gurnee, owner-operators, pe-backed roll-ups, strategic acquirers are the names that usually appear on the NDA list. A buyer who will drive from Waukegan is not the same buyer who will fly in from a coastal platform.
Buyer pool
Who buys a landscaping company in Gurnee
Split buyer pool: North Shore and Libertyville businesses attract SBA and strategics who want household income; Waukegan and industrial I-94 businesses attract operator and logistics buyers. Great Lakes Naval Station and tourism along the lake change seasonality for some retail and hospitality books.
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 Waukegan, Libertyville, Round Lake is a larger business than one that stops at the Gurnee city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.
SDE recast
How a buyer will read the books on this Gurnee 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 Gurnee shop. A landscaping company whose tax return shows $172,000 of net profit is not worth $172,000 × a rumor multiple.
Add back the owner’s $81,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $8,500 of discretionary benefits, $0 of accepted one-time cost, and $11,000 of personal expenses that a buyer will not run. Then subtract $17,000 of replacement labor if the owner still diagnoses, sells, or closes the books.
Adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings are $255,000. At the planning range 2.5x–4.0x, enterprise value is $637,500 to $1,020,000. Mid-range 3.25x is $828,750 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Gurnee buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.
At 3.25 times $255,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $828,750 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 Gurnee landscaping company — not a quote
Net profit
$172,000
Owner W-2
$81,000
Benefits
$8,500
One-time
$0
Personal
$11,000
Replacement labor (subtract)
−$17,000
Recast SDE
$255,000
Planning EV at 3.25x
$828,750
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.
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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.
Lake County closings use state CBS-1 plus municipal licenses (Waukegan, Gurnee, Libertyville, and North Shore villages each differ). No Chicago 45-day notice unless you also have a Chicago location. Lake County health and contractor registrations are common diligence items for food and trades.
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 Gurnee
For a landscaping company in Gurnee, the first labor question is: Multi-year commercial maintenance contracts the seller does not personally babysit.
I-94 is the spine. Route density is real between Buffalo Grove and Gurnee and thinner toward the Wisconsin line. Leases in outlet and tourism corridors can be franchise- or landlord-controlled. Winter lake-effect operations matter for home services.
Lake mixes Fortune-campus remnants, naval payroll, and bedroom suburbs. Do not price a Waukegan industrial book like a Libertyville professional practice.
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 Gurnee 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 Gurnee 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—
Est. Monthly Payment—
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 Gurnee landscaping company for sale
Recast this Gurnee landscaping company. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Gurnee 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 Gurnee, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
Tell the truth about the Gurnee 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 Gurnee limit.
Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Lake 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 Gurnee file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
Answers for owners and buyers in Lake 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 Gurnee close within 4–9 months. The process tends to move faster for companies with clean contracts, documented equipment lists, and organized financials.
Most Gurnee asset sales file Illinois Form CBS-1 at least 10 business days before closing. Lake 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.
Buyers in Gurnee are often SBA owner-operators and neighboring operators along the same corridor. Larger recurring books can draw a platform. They will compare this suburb to the next town in Lake County.
No. The planning multiple for landscaping companies is a statewide starting point, not a Gurnee appraisal. Buyers in Lake County still adjust seller’s discretionary earnings, then argue the lease, licenses, labor, and owner dependency.
Service Area
Landscaping Company Brokerage Near Gurnee
We serve landscaping companies owners and buyers across Lake County and the surrounding region.