Landscaping Business Valuation Multiples 2025
Landscaping businesses command 2.5x–4.5x SDE in today's market. PE consolidation is accelerating. Here's what your landscaping company is worth and what drives the multiple.
Read Article →Valuation BenchmarksMay 2025 · 5 min read
Landscaping Business Valuation in Maine: Portland & Bar Harbor Market Data 2025
Maine landscaping businesses benefit from Bar Harbor's Acadia estate grounds, Portland's booming commercial landscaping market, and Maine's coastal estate accounts along Penobscot Bay and Kennebunkport. Maine's 7.15% income tax requires exit planning.
JT
Jason Taken
HedgeStone Business Advisors
Maine's landscaping market has grown substantially alongside Portland's emergence as one of New England's most dynamic mid-size cities and Bar Harbor's continued position as a premier luxury coastal destination. Maine's coastal estate market — running from Kennebunkport through Boothbay Harbor, Camden, and Bar Harbor — creates premium seasonal landscaping demand. Maine's 7.15% income tax requires careful exit planning.
Maine Landscaping Multiples
Maine landscaping businesses sell for 2.5x–4.5x SDE. Portland (Cumberland County) is the primary market — one of New England's fastest-growing culinary and creative cities, with Maine Medical Center campus grounds, University of Southern Maine, and Portland's booming commercial real estate development creating institutional and commercial landscaping accounts. The Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, and Falmouth residential corridors (Portland's affluent suburbs) add premium residential landscaping. Kennebunkport (York County) adds Maine's most famous resort community — the Bush family Walker's Point compound and its neighboring luxury resort community — while Camden (Knox County) and Bar Harbor (Hancock County) anchor the Midcoast and Downeast luxury estate grounds market.
Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park Corridor
Bar Harbor's proximity to Acadia National Park — Maine's most visited national park (4M+ visitors annually) — creates a distinctive landscape market where Acadia's carriage road maintenance aesthetic influences the private estate grounds standards of Mount Desert Island's luxury residential community. MDI estates (Great Harbor, Seal Harbor, Northeast Harbor, Southwest Harbor) represent Maine's most prestigious landscaping accounts — Rockefeller family connections historically defined Seal Harbor's aesthetic, and that legacy of naturalistic landscape design (woodland garden, native plant, and granite outcrop integration) continues to define the expectations of Mount Desert Island's estate clients. Estate grounds maintenance on Mount Desert Island generates $30,000–$120,000+ per year.
Kennebunkport and Southern Maine Coast
Kennebunkport — home of the Bush family Walker's Point compound and one of Maine's most photographed communities — has a luxury resort landscaping market anchored by The Colony Hotel, Cape Arundel Inn, and dozens of premium bed-and-breakfast and inn properties. The Kennebunks (Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Cape Porpoise) have attracted Boston and New York second-home buyers seeking a less expensive alternative to the Hamptons, creating a growing affluent residential landscaping market. York County's coastal estate corridor — from York Harbor through Wells and Ogunquit — provides additional premium residential landscaping accounts at billing rates 40–60% above Portland market pricing.
Maine at 7.15% — Seller Planning in New England's Upper Tax Tier
Maine's 7.15% top income tax rate creates substantial exit tax exposure — higher than Rhode Island (5.99%) and Connecticut (6.99%), though lower than Vermont (8.75%). On a $1.5M landscaping exit, Maine sellers pay $107,250 in state income taxes — versus $0 in New Hampshire or $89,850 in Rhode Island. Total effective rate in Maine is approximately 30–32%. Maine landscaping business owners with Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island estate accounts, Kennebunkport resort corridor grounds contracts, or Maine Medical Center campus grounds should engage a broker 12–18 months before their target sale. Tax planning options include installment sale elections and New Hampshire residency evaluation.
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