Argonne Capital invests in Schill Grounds Management

ATLANTA — Argonne Capital Group has made a controlling investment in Schill Grounds Management, a privately held commercial landscaping company based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Proceeds from the investment funded shareholder liquidity and the acquisition of McCoy Landscape Services, a complementary landscaping company in Marion, Ohio. The investment paves the way for Argonne and Schill to make additional investments in the highly fragmented commercial landscaping industry. 

Jerry Schill 

Schill was founded more than two decades ago by Jerry Schill, who will continue to serve as CEO and maintain a meaningful ownership stake. 

Argonne was attracted to the commercial landscape market because of its recurring non-discretionary revenue model, fragmentation and natural resistance to economic cycles. In partnership with Schill, the private investment firm is actively seeking additional acquisitions in the commercial landscaping industry.

“Jerry Schill and his team have set the standard for best-in-class service in Northeast Ohio for more than 25 years and shown remarkable resilience during the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Bill Weimar, managing director at Argonne. “Argonne is excited to be partnering with the Schill team to support the company’s efforts to accelerate growth organically and through acquisitions.”

Since founding the company in 1993, Jerry Schill has led Schill Grounds Management through periods of expansion. The company added multiple locations in Northeast Ohio to serve the year-round landscaping and snow and ice removal needs of over 700 multi-family, commercial, office, health care and industrial properties.

“Argonne will be a great partner to help us execute the next chapter of growth,” said Schill. “The firm brings a significant amount of expertise to our organization and has a history of working with closely-held businesses like Schill to achieve great results. I am excited to leverage the combined experience of Schill, McCoy and Argonne to provide a customer experience that is unmatched in the industry.”

Advisors on the transaction were Jeff Harkness of Three Point Group and King & Spalding LLP. Plexus Capital provided senior debt financing for the investment.