Sperber adds Bemus Landscape

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Cali. — Sperber Landscape Companies has added Bemus Landscape. The partnership marks Sperber’s return to the Southern California region, where ValleyCrest was founded by Burt Sperber over 70 years ago.

Headquartered in Orange County, California, Bemus was founded by Bill Bemus in 1973 and provides commercial landscape services in the areas of Orange County, San Diego, and the Inland Empire.

“The Sperber partnership creates an exciting new chapter for the company my family has carefully built throughout the last six decades,” said Bill Bemus, who retired from day to day operations in 2017. “We have a longstanding relationship with the Sperber Family, and I feel confident and comfortable joining forces with them for this next phase of Bemus’ growth.”

Bill Bemus’s three sons (Colin Bemus, Corin Bemus and Spencer Bemus) will continue active leadership of the company. As a result of the Sperber partnership, they will now be shareholders in the company.

“When evaluating a variety of potential partners, it was important for us to choose a parent company that had a deep understanding of the nuances of our industry,” said Bemus CEO Corin Bemus. “Sperber’s seven decades of experience in landscaping reinforces our confidence that this partnership will allow us to retain our culture, treat our employees well and take care of our clients properly.”

“We are excited at the opportunity to partner with the Bemus Family and work towards the shared vision of becoming Southern California’s leading landscape service provider,” said Managing Partner Richard Sperber. “We not only view Southern California as a market of unmatched growth, but it is also where we call ‘home.’”

Bemus was exclusively represented by CCG Advisors, an Atlanta based investment banking firm.

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. — Aspire has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Go iLawn, an online property measurement software that gives users the ability to find, view and measure any property in the U.S. or Canada in seconds.

All Go iLawn employees will join Aspire and will focus on the continued development of the Go iLawn solution with additional resources and investment from Aspire and its parent company, ServiceTitan.

Go iLawn will continue to be sold as a stand-alone solution. With a future planned integration with Aspire’s business management system, contractors who purchase both solutions will be able to share Go iLawn’s property intelligence within the Aspire application.

Aspire will also acquire LandOne Software, a cloud-based digital takeoff and design tool.

LandOne will also be sold as a stand-alone solution.

“The addition of Go iLawn and LandOne will help meet Aspire’s goal of providing end-to-end services and solutions to the landscaping industry,” said Mark Tipton, CEO of Aspire Software. “By adding online tools for property measurement and design, we’re one step closer to that goal. Our plans to integrate both solutions with Aspire’s business management software will give landscapers yet another reason to switch to Aspire as their core operating system.”

BEDFORD HILLS, NY — SavATree merged with Oregon-based tree care company, Northwest Tree Specialists. This merger broadens SavATree’s market in the Greater Portland area.

Landscape Workshop, which landed at No. 47 on our most recent Top 100 list, gained 12 employees in the acquisition.

In 2010, founder Jeff Hebner began his landscape career with just a truck and small trailer. Hebner will remain on-board in a consultant role during the transition period to ensure a smooth changeover before moving on to pursue his other interests.

“I feel like this transition will benefit my current customers with an upgrade in service and care because LW has more resources to ensure all aspects of the property are handled,” Hebner said. “My current team will be afforded benefits and a 401k that they so much deserve. I’m excited for everyone involved to get the full experience LW has to offer. Thanks for 11 years of business to all my current customers and team members.”

“We are thrilled at the opportunity to expand our footprint in the Florida Panhandle area. With the combined resources of Landscape Workshop and Quality Lawns, we have the ability to provide top notch green industry expertise and quality customer service,” said Landscape Workshop CEO J.T. Price. “Jeff has built a notable reputation in the Emerald Coast area. We are fully dedicated to continue providing the level of customer service that Jeff and his team have worked so hard to establish.”

Landscape Workshop’s Austin McClure will continue as general manager of Emerald Coast operations and the current senior leadership will remain consistent within the combined organization.

PORTSMOUTH, NH — Odyssey Landscaping has become a 100% employee-owned company through the sale of stock to a newly created Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

Odyssey was founded in 1982 in California by Martin Gates and initially focused on landscape installation. The company has since expanded to include landscape design, construction, maintenance and erosion control services. The company primarily provides landscape construction and maintenance services, as well as erosion and concrete services. The company has approximately 140 employees.

Atlantic Management Company served as independent financial advisor to the trustee of the ESOP.

“We are proud to have worked on Odyssey’s transition to employee ownership and are greatly looking forward to following the new employee owners’ future successes,” said Cory Melnick of Atlantic.

ANCASTER, Ontario — Davey Tree Expert Co. of Canada has added Antler Services of Brantford, Ontario, to its family of brands.

Antler Services has provided landscape, lawn care, snow removal, equipment maintenance and pest control services for over 40 years and employs almost 50 local industry professionals. Additionally, its garden center serves homeowners and businesses across the Brantford area. The addition of Antler is Davey Canada’s entry into the commercial landscape services (CLS) sector. The company will initially service Brantford and the surrounding areas, but it plans to expand its service area in the future.

“The Antler team is excited about this new association with Davey and the extended value we can offer our existing clients,” said Syd Antler, co-founder of Antler Services. “Davey shares many of the same core values as us at Antler, which was an important factor in solidifying this new partnership.” Syd will be joining his brother Dan Antler on the Davey team.

Mike Nash, vice president and general manager, residential operations, Davey Canada, said this acquisition has answered Davey’s clients’ desires for extended services, with the same level of client experience.

Nash also said Antler employees will also benefit from Davey’s extensive training and educational resources, as well as additional opportunities for promotion.

HOLMDEL, N.J. — WorkWave has announced Tim Robinson as chief operating officer of WorkWave. Robinson joins WorkWave from Real Green Systems, where he also served as COO.

“I am honored to help lead the WorkWave team as we continue to charge through this next stage of growth, ensuring we are providing value to our customers and their businesses,” Robinson said. “The joining together of our industry-leading companies allows us to leverage our extensive industry knowledge and expertise to create the strongest possible partnerships with our customers.”

“When you acquire great companies, you get great people, and Tim Robinson is a perfect example,” said David F. Giannetto, CEO of WorkWave. “He adds tremendous talent and experience to our leadership team, and I hope that his appointment will show our growing employee and customer base that we value and respect each of these great companies we’ve brought into the WorkWave family.”

WorkWave also experienced significant revenue growth of 92% year-over-year, fueled by organic growth of 45% and a 78% increase in its customer base.

“It is an amazing testament to the ability of this expanding WorkWave team that we’ve been able to engage in the most important series of acquisitions that our industry has seen in decades and still continue to produce the strongest growth and financial performance results in the industry,” Giannetto said.

This move is combined with WorkWave’s acquisition of TEAM Software, a provider of software and solutions to the cleaning, janitorial and security industries. This expands WorkWave’s market across three additional verticals of asset-light field service where recurrent service models are most common. The recent acquisitions have also allowed WorkWave to grow its employee base by 246% year-to-date.

ORLANDO — Massey Services has promoted Bill Cohn to director of quality assurance for the company’s GreenUP Landscape Services Division.

Cohn joined Massey in 1998 as a lawn specialist and has held a variety of operations and technical and training roles with increasing responsibility over the past 20 years, most recently serving as irrigation technical and training director for the company.

In his new role, Cohn will oversee the field training managers and technical and training directors for Massey Service’s irrigation and landscape service lines.

“Bill’s knowledge and experience in the landscape business have played an integral role in the growth of our irrigation division,” said Tony Massey, president and CEO of Massey Services. “His passion for ongoing development and team member training has made him a critical asset to our company.”

Cohn is involved in the National Association of Landscape Professionals, the Irrigation Association and the Florida Turfgrass Association. Bill also played a leadership role, partnering with the Orlando Utilities Commission, to update and redesign the landscaping around the OnePULSE foundation’s headquarters in downtown Orlando.