Investment firm acquires majority stake in Ruppert Landscape

Knox Lane, an investment firm focused on partnering with businesses in the services and consumer sectors, has acquired a majority stake in Ruppert Landscape, a Lawn & Landscape Top 100 company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ruppert is a family and employee-owned business and provides commercial landscaping services. Since its founding in 2004, the company has grown to serve over 3,500 customers throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeastern U.S., employing more than 1,800 professionals across 30 branch locations.

The partnership with Knox Lane will support the Ruppert team's long-term vision to continue growing the company's footprint within current and adjacent markets, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. Ruppert founder and CEO, Craig Ruppert, and the current management team will retain a significant investment in the business and continue to lead the company.

"We are incredibly proud of our team and the successful business we have established together over the past two decades," said Craig Ruppert and Phil Key in a joint statement. Key is the president of Ruppert Landscape. "Knox Lane's investment is a testament to the strength of our company, outstanding culture, and exceptional employees. We look forward to leveraging Knox Lane's extensive operational expertise and experience building and scaling high-quality businesses as we continue our focus on our team, customers, and innovation across all facets of the company."

In another joint statement, Shamik Patel, partner at Knox Lane, and David Coghlan, principal at Knox Lane, added, "The commercial landscape services market is large and growing, underpinned by resilient customer demand. At Knox Lane, we are dedicated to partnering with quality businesses and exceptional teams, and we look forward to working with Craig, Phil, and the Ruppert team to execute on a shared vision and capitalize on new opportunities together."

"We are thrilled to welcome Ruppert Landscape to the Knox Lane family," said John Bailey, managing partner at Knox Lane. "Ruppert's phenomenal, longstanding organic growth is a direct result of its best-in-class service, operational discipline, and strong culture. We are excited to partner with yet another exceptional founder-owned business and look forward to building on the strong foundation Craig, Phil, and the Ruppert team have created."