The Riverside Co. (Riverside), a global private investor focused on the smaller end of the middle market, invested in U.S. Lawns, a franchised provider of commercial landscaping and snow removal services for U.S. commercial properties. This investment is the latest add-on to Riverside’s portfolio company, EverSmith Brands, a growing franchised brands platform. U.S. Lawns was acquired from BrightView, No. 1 on the 2023 LM150 list.
Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Orlando, Fla., U.S. Lawns offers services for commercial property needs, such as irrigation and landscaping. With a national network of landscape professionals, the company currently has more than 200 locations spanning 37 states.
“This investment brings a unique opportunity to join together the expertise of the U.S. Lawns network in landscape management and Clintar, a snow management and landscape brand that we acquired in 2020 to create a new powerhouse in the landscaping industry,” said Riverside Micro-Cap Fund Managing Partner, Loren Schlachet. “By leveraging EverSmith’s deep franchise development know-how, we expect to expand the national footprint and accelerate new business acquisition for the landscape brand.”
With the acquisition, Ken Hutcheson, the current President of U.S. Lawns, is appointed as president of landscaping and snow services, for EverSmith Brands. Hutcheson’s expanded responsibilities will include bringing together the U.S. Lawns and Clintar teams to leverage both businesses’ unique strengths.
“Our goal is to take advantage of available possibilities by leaning on U.S. Lawns’ expertise to build an even stronger position in the landscaping industry,” said EverSmith Brands CEO Rob Gannett. “U.S. Lawns’ regional account relationships and local lead generation activities are already strong – the company is well-positioned for success, and we look forward to being a part of it.”
