After operating for nearly 50 years, Eastern Land Management landed its first acquisition this winter.
Despite receiving offers in the past, ELM’s President and CEO Bruce Moore Jr. made his first move because Marty Devaney’s Contour Landscaping “checked a lot of boxes.”
“I got along with (Devaney); we shared a lot of the same values,” Moore Jr. says. “We treated this just like new employees – we hire slow and make sure that it’s a culture fit.”
Of course, Moore knew a little about Contour before the acquisition – they’ve each operated in Stamford, Connecticut, for three decades. But they were never really competitors: Moore’s company, Eastern Land Management, had been fully commercial maintenance and Contour handles lots of homeowner associations and condo complexes. And while they knew a little about each other, they also hadn’t really had many conversations in the past.
So, when Devaney approached Moore Jr. about an exit plan two years ago, the pair had to do more than just talk shop. They grabbed coffee many mornings and lunch many afternoons. They spent time at Devaney’s office and time out in the field, looking at the quality of Contour’s work. But one thing really struck Moore Jr. as particularly insightful along the way.
“He’s got extremely high employee retention,” Moore Jr. says. “That tells me the culture is good.”
The fit was good, too. As Moore Jr. has hoped to grow ELM organically, he also saw Contour Landscaping as an attractive partner. While other companies often had too many residential clients to be a good purchase for ELM, Contour’s HOA clientele mix offered some diversification from ELM’s commercial accounts. While commercial real estate has also taken a dramatic hit since COVID-19, Moore Jr.’s also noticed that multifamily housing is growing in just about every market.
“Commercial office real estate vacancy rates are extremely high right now,” he says. “We thought this was a good opportunity for us to learn from (Contour).”
Moore Jr. also cited Contour’s density and the quality of their work as reasons he decided now was the time to make his first purchase. Contour also provides some tree services, further expanding ELM’s portfolio.
Devaney stays on as a branch manager of 30 new employees at Contour Landscaping, an ELM Company. Moore Jr. says the name will stick for the foreseeable future. Devaney’s employees now have access to ELM’s benefits like holiday and paid time off. And after a day of essentially onboarding for the new employees, Moore Jr. says the team feels like it’s integrating nicely already. Contour’s employees received new uniforms and detailed explanations about ELM’s processes and perks.
Moore Jr. believes it’s a win-win situation: Contour can use ELM's back office support and recruiting help, while ELM has added expertise in revenue avenues they had not previously explored.
“(M&A can be good) for smaller companies to continue their legacy and limit their amount of risk they have now as a business owner,” Moore Jr. says. “We’re taking care of payroll, back office, admin, etc. For a guy like Marty, he’s able to continue doing what he loves, and that’s going to help us integrate as well.”
