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Marion, Williamson County

Marion Landscaping Company for Sale

A landscaping company in Marion is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Carbondale — 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 Marion file. Confidential sale. No upfront listing fee.

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Marion market

Selling a landscaping company in Marion

A landscaping company in Marion is priced on adjusted seller’s discretionary earnings after a buyer compares this book to Carbondale — 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 Marion file.

Marion is Williamson County’s I-57 commercial city — regional retail, the Illinois Centre corridor, and hospital orbit for the southern coal counties, not SIU’s Carbondale and not Herrin’s older Main Street.

Interchange and medical-campus licenses differ from a downtown shop. Southern Illinois operators and a few St. Louis buyers shop here. Heartland/SIH-adjacent professional books are a different file from a Route 13 restaurant. Herrin is the next town, not this city’s clone.

Marion has about 17,593 residents in Williamson County, inside the Carbondale-Marion area. Nearby markets buyers already compare this book to include Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, West Frankfort. That comparison changes who shows up: a buyer who will drive from Carbondale 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
Williamson County
Population
17,593
Metro
Carbondale-Marion
Nearby comps
Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, West Frankfort
Closing clock
Illinois CBS-1 (10 business days). No Chicago 45-day city notice unless the business also operates in Chicago
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Williamson County demand

Southern Illinois demand

Downstate and southern Illinois businesses are thinner on platform buyers and thicker on neighboring operators. Seller financing and a clean lease do more work than a headline multiple.

CBS-1 still applies. Local clerks and landlords set the real calendar.

Marion demand for landscaping companies is the customer list and the license path — not the Census population figure. About 17,593 residents is context for who already lives in the trade area. It is not a sale price.

Landscaping Company in Marion

What a Marion buyer will underwrite on this landscaping company

Marion is not a collar-county density play. A landscaping company here usually sells to an owner-operator who already covers Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, 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 Marion shop. Buyers here usually argue recurring contract revenue, equipment fleet, crew size, commercial vs residential mix, seasonal balance.

Closing clock for this Marion 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 Marion application of it.

Marion is a regional market. The first serious call is often an owner-operator from Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, 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 Marion

Southern Illinois operators and a few St. Louis buyers. Marion retail/interchange vs. Herrin small-city 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 Carbondale, Herrin, Benton, West Frankfort is a larger business than one that stops at the Marion city limit. Tell the truth about the route. Buyers will map it.

SDE recast

How a buyer will read the books on this Marion 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 Marion shop. A landscaping company whose tax return shows $125,000 of net profit is not worth $125,000 × a rumor multiple.

Add back the owner’s $73,000 W-2 and payroll tax, $10,500 of discretionary benefits, $5,500 of accepted one-time cost, and $8,500 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 $205,000. At the planning range 2.5x–4.0x, enterprise value is $512,500 to $820,000. Mid-range 3.25x is $666,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. A Marion buyer will argue the multiple after they ride with the staff and read the lease.

At 3.25 times $205,000 of seller’s discretionary earnings, enterprise value is $666,250 before debt, working capital, holdback, and tax. That is the planning conversation. It is not a listing-site guess.

SDE line items

  1. Reported net profit (tax return, not the marketing P&L)
  2. + Interest expense
  3. + Income taxes (not payroll, sales, or property tax)
  4. + Depreciation and amortization
  5. + Owner W-2, bonuses, and payroll taxes on the owner
  6. + Discretionary owner benefits that a buyer will not keep (auto, personal travel, family on payroll with no role)
  7. + Accepted one-time or non-recurring expenses
  8. − Market-rate replacement labor for owner work that will not transfer
  9. = Seller’s Discretionary Earnings (SDE)
Illustration recast for a Marion landscaping company — not a quote
Net profit$125,000
Owner W-2$73,000
Benefits$10,500
One-time$5,500
Personal$8,500
Replacement labor (subtract)−$17,000
Recast SDE$205,000
Planning EV at 3.25x$666,250

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.

$
1x 3.0x 8x
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.

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Williamson County closing

Licenses and closing steps for a Marion sale

Williamson (Marion, Herrin) uses state CBS-1. I-57 interchange and medical-campus (Heartland, SIH orbit) licenses differ.

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 Marion

For a landscaping company in Marion, the first labor question is: Multi-year commercial maintenance contracts the seller does not personally babysit.

I-57. Regional medical and retail hub for the southern coal counties.

More commercial density than most southern counties. Still not a PE default.

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 Marion 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 Marion 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.

$
%
%
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 Marion landscaping company for sale

  1. Recast this Marion landscaping company. Start with the tax return. Add owner pay. Subtract replacement labor if the seller still does the work a Marion buyer must hire. Do not treat a spike year as the new normal.
  2. Name who can operate on Monday. List every credential that lets this landscaping company pull a permit or see a patient in Marion, and whether that person stays. Personal licenses do not transfer with the assets.
  3. Tell the truth about the Marion 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 Marion limit.
  4. Open the lease and the labor file. Remaining term and assignment in Williamson County. Whether the crew can run without the seller living eight minutes away.
  5. 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.
  6. Read the statewide playbook, then talk. The Illinois landscaping companies hub is the statute and recast teaching. This page is the Marion file. Confidential consult — no upfront listing fee.
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Questions

Questions about landscaping companies in Marion

Answers for owners and buyers in Williamson County, including local closing steps.

Service Area

Landscaping Company Brokerage Near Marion

We serve landscaping companies owners and buyers across Williamson County and the surrounding region.

CarbondaleLandscaping Companies→HerrinLandscaping Companies→BentonLandscaping Companies→West FrankfortLandscaping Companies→Du QuoinLandscaping Companies→
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