BrightView acquires Benchmark Landscapes in Texas

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – BrightView Holdings has acquired Benchmark Landscapes, a commercial landscaping company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Benchmark was founded in 2002 and provides landscape maintenance, design, installation, hardscapes, irrigation and tree care. It ranked No. 82 on Lawn & Landscape's Top 100 last year and reported a 2017 revenue of over $23 million. Benchmark’s 240 employees cover a service area from Austin to San Antonio, inclusive of the San Marcos and New Braunfels areas, and Corpus Christi. The company operates six branches in four markets.

“With the acquisition of Benchmark, we expand our footprint in one of the country’s fastest-growing markets and bring passionate and skilled team members into the BrightView family,” said BrightView President and CEO Andrew Masterman. “This transaction further strengthens our position in Texas and supports our ‘strong-on-strong’ acquisition strategy.”

“I am proud of the business and relationships our team at Benchmark has built," said Benchmark founder and owner Casey Vickrey. "We are excited to join the BrightView team and continue to grow the business, strengthen relationships and make new ones, all while taking care of the team that has been instrumental to making us who we are."

The acquisition was announced in BrightView's first quarter fiscal results presentation. The company reported total revenues at $526 million, which is down 4.6 percent from the same time period last year. BrightView also reported a net loss of $8.8 million, or $0.09 a share, and an adjusted EBITDA of $50.1 million.

Masterman said the company's new net sales are stronger than the last three years and their development project bookings are ahead of last year's pace. He also pointed to BrightView's other recent acquisitions, which include Emerald Landscape and Russo Lawn & Landscape. 

“Our financial results reflect the challenging prior-year hurricane comparisons, our strategic Managed Exit initiative ... as well as a slow start to the season for our snow removal services," Masterman said. "Since we planned for these seasonal and episodic factors, we are not changing our outlook for full fiscal 2019."