Franchisor anticipates good year for landscaping companies

A Grounds Guys worker adjusts sprinkler heads in an irrigation system.
Photo: The Grounds Guys

Growth in the U.S. housing market during the past five years has propped up demand for landscaping services, according to IBISWorld, lifting the green industry’s total revenue to an estimated $76 billion. The Grounds Guys, a commercial and residential grounds-care franchise, points to the IBISWorld research in projecting the award of 60 or more new franchise locations in 2016.

The company awarded 57 new franchises last year – 20 in the fourth quarter alone.

Employment and income growth in the United States also bodes well for landscapers, according to Grounds Guys, which currently has about 200 locations throughout the country.

“Regardless of the economic climate, The Grounds Guys continues to fill an integral need in residential and commercial communities across the United States and we have no intentions of slowing down …,” said Chris Elmore, president of the company. “We look forward to the boost in demand in 2016.”

In addition to meeting or exceeding all of its goals last year, Grounds Guys ended 2015 by wrapping up its annual charitable campaign, “weCARE Week.” Under that program, volunteers from nearly all of the company’s locations provided free lawn-care services to nonprofits and charitable organizations in their respective communities.

Also, as participants in the VetFran Program, Grounds Guys offers honorably discharged veterans up to 25 percent off its normal franchise fee.

Founded in 1987 under the name Sunshine Grounds Care, Grounds Guys was rebranded in 2010 by The Dwyer Group, an international franchise holding company. Dwyer’s seven franchise businesses support more than 1,600 locations worldwide.

For more information about The Grounds Guys, check out the company’s website here.