Selling a Land Management Business

Most land management companies sell on a multiple of SDE or EBITDA. Value usually swings with how startable your backlog is, depth of license coverage for herbicide and burn work, claims history, and how repeatable your work sources are (utility task orders and renewals typically read better than one-off jobs). Equipment can help or hurt depending on capex needs and lease transfer terms. For a quick estimate, try Rejigg’s free valuation calculator, then sanity-check it against backlog constraints and owner dependence.

Often, yes. SBA lenders tend to like vegetation management and ROW maintenance when the books are clean and cash flow is consistent. They will dig into customer stability, claims and insurance, and whether licensed supervision for spraying or other regulated scopes will stay in place after closing. Working capital matters because payroll, fuel, and repairs hit before approvals and closeout packets turn into payments. Use Rejigg’s SBA loan calculator to model what purchase price the cash flow can support.

Many sales finish in a few months, but timing depends on how quickly a buyer can get comfortable with continuity. Delays usually come from unclear credential coverage, backlog that is heavy on permits or access, and job files that do not support billing and change orders. Seasonality also matters. Buyers may prefer diligence during or right after peak season, when production and closeouts are easy to verify. Rejigg helps by combining buyer vetting, NDAs, a data room, and deal tracking in one workflow.

No. A broker can help, but many owners run a solid process themselves if they have the right tools. Brokers often charge 5–10%, and that fee may or may not pencil out for your deal size. Rejigg gives you pre-vetted buyers, digital NDAs, a secure data room, and a way to compare offers side-by-side. Sellers do not pay. Steps and timelines are covered in the Owner’s Guide.

Buyers will ask for financials and tax returns, plus land management specifics that prove work can start and be billed promptly. That usually includes job-by-job backlog with constraints, permit and access logs (ROW entry, right-of-entry, locates), license and certification copies with renewals, safety program and claims runs, key customer contracts and task orders, subcontractor agreements and COIs, and a mission-critical equipment list with maintenance and lease details. Rejigg’s data room keeps these organized with permission controls. See the checklist in due diligence and closing.

Most buyers value the business off cash flow, then adjust for the real condition of the fleet. Mission-critical gear with good maintenance records supports your production story. Deferred maintenance, a single mulcher or spray rig with no backup, and messy leases can lead to price chips or closing adjustments. In practice, buyers care more about uptime and the replacement plan than a long inventory spreadsheet. An owned-vs.-leased list, payoff amounts, and basic downtime history usually prevent last-minute surprises in diligence.

Working capital targets are set so the buyer receives a business that can run payroll and cover fuel and maintenance without immediately injecting cash. In land management, the “normal” level depends on seasonality and customer mix, especially if utilities and municipalities drive longer AR cycles and retainage. Buyers usually look at several months, and sometimes a full year, to avoid setting a target based on a temporary AR spike or a payables crunch. Rejigg’s deal tracking helps you compare offers that use different working-capital formulas so you can see the real economics.

Earnouts show up when results depend on renewals, access timing, burn windows, weather, or owner relationships. If you go that route, the earnout needs clean measurement and documentation standards, or you can end up fighting over factors neither side controls. Many sellers prefer tying earnouts to program renewals, gross profit on defined accounts, or backlog conversion on a named job list. Use the negotiation guide and track competing structures in Rejigg’s offer comparison dashboard.

Transition length depends on what you personally hold together. Buyers often want time for introductions to utility and municipal contacts, a handoff of access and permitting know-how, and the field judgment that keeps a job moving when conditions change. If you are a key license holder for herbicide supervision or prescribed fire responsibility, the transition can run longer until coverage is duplicated. A solid plan names who takes over estimating, scheduling, client updates, and compliance, with a clear taper for your involvement. Rejigg’s transition planning guide walks through that structure.

Some registrations transfer with the entity, but many regulated scopes depend on named individuals and their credentials. Multi-county or multi-state work adds risk because renewal rules and local “how it really works” steps vary by agency. Buyers will ask who holds each credential, whether they are staying, and how renewals are handled. A clean inventory helps. List every required permit, registration, and certification, assign an owner, show renewal history, and identify backups. Rejigg’s data room makes it easy to share credential packets under NDA.

Taxes depend on the deal structure and how the purchase price is allocated. Asset sales and stock sales are taxed differently, and equipment-heavy businesses can face meaningful depreciation recapture. Allocation between equipment, non-compete, and goodwill can also change your after-tax result. Buyers often push for an asset deal to limit liabilities, and sellers often prefer stock for tax and simplicity, but it varies by situation. Get your CPA involved before signing an LOI so you know what terms really mean in dollars. Rejigg helps you compare offers across price, working capital, seller notes, and earnouts, not just the headline number.

Most owners keep it quiet early because crew leads, schedulers, and licensed staff can get nervous and leave. Buyers will still want a retention plan for key people, especially anyone tied to permits, safety documentation, spray supervision, or burn qualifications. A staged approach usually works best: keep the circle small until you have a credible buyer and a near-final LOI, then communicate clearly what changes and what stays. Rejigg’s buyer vetting and digital NDAs reduce the number of outsiders who see details before you are ready.

Buyers usually sample individual jobs rather than accepting a total backlog number. Expect requests for executed task orders and contracts, permit and access status, locates, planned start dates, assigned crew and equipment, and proof of client closeout requirements like photos, tickets, and reporting formats. With your permission, they may contact customers to confirm timing and performance. If your backlog depends on burn windows, nesting seasons, or ROW access, buyers often model conversion more conservatively. Keeping job files and status trackers in Rejigg’s data room speeds this up and limits disruption.

Many deals include cash at close plus some seller financing, especially when buyers see risk in customer concentration, regulated scopes, or access-heavy backlog. Working capital targets are common, and equipment payoffs and lease transfers usually get spelled out at closing. Buyers also expect a defined transition period and typically ask for non-competes because relationships matter in this industry. Compare the whole package: price, structure, closing certainty, and timeline. Rejigg’s offer dashboard shows terms side-by-side so you can evaluate risk, not just the top-line number.

Non-competes and non-solicits are standard because utility, municipal, and prime relationships can follow the seller. The scope should match your real service area and the work you actually perform. Overly broad restrictions can be hard to enforce, and overly narrow ones may not protect the buyer. Employee non-solicits matter too, since crew leads and credential holders are often the backbone of capacity. Ask for clear definitions, counties covered, term length, and how it interacts with your transition role. Track these terms with price in Rejigg so they do not get missed late.

Confidentiality matters because customers and key crew members can react fast. Most owners pre-vet buyers, require an NDA before sharing anything identifiable, and hold back customer names, exact locations, and pricing until late. Use a permissioned data room instead of emailing files, so you can control access and revoke it if needed. Rejigg is built for this: buyers are pre-vetted, NDAs are signed digitally, and you control what each buyer can see. For process steps, see finding your dream buyer.

It depends on your service mix and seasonality. Many owners sell when backlog is visible and startable, often going into the next busy season with permits and access status clearly documented. Selling right after peak season can also work if you can show clean closeouts, collections, and safety performance. The toughest timing is when the story rests on approvals that are “coming soon” without a track record. Rejigg helps you run a sale process without losing the operational thread by keeping buyers, diligence, and messaging organized.

Compare offers on closing certainty and real cash, not just headline price. In land management, the big swing factors are financing risk, how the buyer underwrites access and permit constraints, treatment of key employees and credential holders, and the working capital and equipment payoff language. A slightly lower offer with clear terms can beat a higher offer tied up in earnouts or vague working-capital targets. Rejigg’s offer comparison makes it easy to line up terms side-by-side so you can choose the best risk-adjusted outcome.