Juniper Acquires Hilton Head Landscapes in Its Second Lowcountry Deal

What happened

Juniper Landscaping acquired Hilton Head Landscapes, LLC (HHL), a landscape maintenance and installation company based on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina's Lowcountry, the company announced on May 28, 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The seller

Nicholas Welliver founded Hilton Head Landscapes in 2009, running it while he earned degrees in business administration and marketing at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. His brother, Aaron Welliver, and sister, Caroline Welliver, helped him build it in the early years. Welliver's career began at Johnson's Landscapes in Washington, D.C., and continued at LandCare South, Inc., the Hilton Head company his mother, Marianne Welliver, operated, where he rose from crewman to operations and commercial sales manager and a seat on the board.

HHL works across Hilton Head, Bluffton and the surrounding coastal markets, doing landscape design, installation, maintenance, hardscaping and irrigation for homeowners and commercial properties. On the commercial side it serves HOAs and communities, schools, churches, medical offices, senior living and municipal clients. Its public work includes the Bluffton Town Hall landscape and Wright Family Park, along with projects for the Town of Hilton Head. Its crews have maintained the Colleton River Club landscape, and it has installed residential landscapes in Sea Pines, Palmetto Bluff, Berkeley Hall and Spring Island.

"We are proud of the business and customer relationships our team has built across the Hilton Head market," Welliver said in the announcement. "Partnering with Juniper gives us the resources and operational support to continue growing while maintaining the level of service and local commitment our customers expect."

The buyer

Juniper, founded in 2001 and headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, provides landscape installation and maintenance to homeowners' associations, commercial, government and other clients, with branches in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Pennsylvania. It is a portfolio company of Bregal Partners, a New York-based middle-market investor that has backed it since January 2022. Under chief executive Brandon Duke, Juniper has grown from a 15-branch Florida operator into one of the Southeast's largest commercial landscaping companies, according to Private Equity Professional.

"This acquisition reflects our continued focus on partnering with high-quality local teams, expanding in high-growth Sunbelt markets and building market density across the Southeast," Duke said. The release adds that Juniper and Bregal are "actively seeking acquisition targets in Florida and all Sunbelt states."

Juniper's second deal in the Hilton Head market

HHL is not Juniper's first business in Hilton Head. In May 2024, Juniper acquired Davis Landscaping, a commercial maintenance, installation and snow removal company founded in 1934, with regional divisions in the greater Raleigh, Hilton Head and Harrisburg markets. That deal carried Juniper into the Carolinas and Pennsylvania and took it to 33 branches across five states. At the time, Duke described Juniper's growing presence in the Carolinas and Pennsylvania as one "we expect will include additional strategic acquisitions in these markets." The HHL announcement describes the new deal as building on that initial entry. Owners weighing an approach from a platform like this can read our guide on selling a landscaping business to private equity.

What this means for landscaping owners

Because Juniper already ran a Hilton Head division, HHL adds density in a market it serves rather than opening a new one. What HHL adds on the record is a different book of work: Davis was announced in 2024 as a commercial provider, while HHL's customers run from residential communities to two town governments. For an owner in the area, the platform with a branch nearby is a potential buyer as well as a competitor, and Juniper has now bought in Hilton Head twice.

OffDeal is an advisory firm that helps lower-middle-market business owners sell with confidence. Reach out to learn more about our expertise with landscaping businesses in South Carolina.

Own a landscaping business with $5M–$100M in revenue? We’re glad to give you an honest read on what it’s worth and who would buy it — no pitch, no pressure. Get a free valuation.

Source: Business Wire - https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260528447577/en/Juniper-Landscaping-Expands-South-Carolina-Footprint-with-Acquisition-of-Hilton-Head-Landscapes