Yardmaster, a commercial grounds management platform backed by private equity firm Unity Partners, announced on October 27 that it has completed the acquisitions of Twin Oaks Landscape of Ann Arbor, Michigan and ProScape Lawn & Landscape Services of Marion, Ohio. The two deals add density in southeast Michigan and central Ohio and bring more than 100 teammates to the platform. Terms were not disclosed.
The asset.
Twin Oaks was founded in 2001 by Chris Speen and is a full-service lawn and landscape maintenance company serving commercial and residential properties in southeast Michigan.
ProScape was founded in 2005 by Luke Henry. It provides commercial grounds management in central Ohio across HOAs, multifamily properties, warehouses, retail centers, healthcare facilities, schools and office buildings.
Both businesses fit where Yardmaster already operates. Ann Arbor is home to Good Guys Lawn and Landscape, one of the companies Unity combined to form the platform, and Marion sits about an hour north of Yardmaster's Columbus headquarters. These are density deals, not market entries.
The platform.
Yardmaster was founded in 1971 in Columbus and provides landscape maintenance, enhancement, installation and snow management to commercial clients. Unity Partners formed the current platform in late 2025 by combining Yardmaster with Big Lakes Lawncare of Detroit, Good Guys Lawn and Landscape of Ann Arbor, and Kunco Landscape of Erie, Pennsylvania, all integrated under the Yardmaster brand and led by CEO Mike Montenaro. Its end markets are commercial, multifamily, HOA, office, industrial and retail.
Twin Oaks and ProScape are the first add-ons Yardmaster has announced since that combination. Unity said the platform will keep acquiring to broaden its services and geographic reach across the Midwest, and Unity vice president Brett Stoehr said the firm expects to "continue our momentum in 2027."
Employee ownership as part of the offer.
The detail worth noticing is what one of the sellers said tipped the decision. "The opportunity for our employees to become owners through the Employee Purpose Plan made it clear this was the right home for our team," Twin Oaks founder Chris Speen said in the release.
Unity puts that plan into every platform it owns. When it formed Yardmaster, the firm said the plan gives all employees a meaningful stake in the company's financial success and in its capital events, meaning a future sale. Broad-based employee equity is still uncommon in lower middle market trades roll-ups, where rollover equity usually goes to the selling owner and a small management group.
For an owner whose biggest worry about selling is what happens to the crew, that changes the conversation. It also gives the buyer something besides price to compete on. In a labor-heavy business like commercial grounds maintenance, where crew leaders and account managers hold the customer relationships, a buyer that can promise those people a share of the next exit has a real argument for why they should stay.
The commercial landscaping environment.
Yardmaster is one of several sponsor-backed commercial landscaping platforms buying regional operators this fall. Earlier this month, Kian Capital acquired Integrity Landscape as a West Coast commercial platform, and Trivest-backed LMC Landscape Partners added Nash Landscaping in Houston and Helping Hand Lawn Care in Central Florida. The common thread is recurring maintenance contracts with commercial, HOA and multifamily property owners, bought in clusters close enough to share equipment, crews and management.
What it means.
If you own a commercial landscape or grounds maintenance company in the Midwest, there is now a sponsor-backed buyer actively adding operators in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and it is willing to buy companies near the branches it already has. Buyers in this space typically look hard at how much of your revenue is recurring maintenance versus one-time installation, how concentrated your customer list is, and whether your account managers and crew leaders will stay. How a buyer plans to treat your employees after closing, including whether they get any equity, is now a fair question to put on the table alongside price and structure.
Own a landscaping or grounds maintenance company?
Schryver & Co. advises trades owners with roughly $5 million to $100 million of revenue and $1 million to $5 million or more of EBITDA, depending on the vertical. If a platform has reached out, or you just want a clear read on who would compete for your business, reach Will at will@schryverco.com.
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