Southern Shade Tree Acquired by Mosaic Capital Partners

What happened

Mosaic Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired Southern Shade Tree Co., Inc., a full-service landscaping company headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina, with operations throughout the Carolinas. Mosaic announced the deal as an investment and classifies it as an employee ownership buyout. The deal included the simultaneous acquisition of Atlantic Coast Landscaping Services, LLC, an eastern North Carolina landscaping operation. As part of the deal, Mosaic established an Employee Ownership Trust to create upside participation for all employees at Southern Shade Tree. The size of the stake Mosaic acquired and the financial terms were not disclosed.

The seller

Ralph E. Boone founded Southern Shade Tree in 1954, and the company built its name in Charlotte and the surrounding markets. Roger Braswell began growing the business in 1977 and is now its chairman. Brent Lovett became president in 2006, and he and chief executive Scott Roberts have each been with the company for more than 20 years.

The company works with national and local homebuilders, installing and maintaining landscaping for new homes. It runs as a design-build operation covering grading, irrigation, planting, and sodding, with landscape maintenance behind that work. Its past projects include the Billy Graham Library, Bank of America Stadium, and South Park Mall. It employs more than 350 people across 12 operating locations.

In 2020 the company acquired Bentwood Farms, Inc., which cultivates more than 4,500 acres of sod and 100 acres of tree and shrub nurseries across eight professionally managed farms. The farms give Southern Shade Tree more control over the materials used in its projects and reduce its dependence on outside suppliers. Charlie Baucom, a 30-year industry veteran, leads Bentwood.

The management team kept meaningful ownership and will continue to lead the company. Braswell kept a sizable ownership position and will remain actively involved. "Having participated in many transactions throughout my career, I found Mosaic's employee ownership solution refreshing," he said. "I am excited that our entire team has a stake in Southern Shade's continued success."

Atlantic Coast, founded in 2003 and based in New Bern, North Carolina, offers landscape design, installation, maintenance, lawn care, irrigation, and hardscape construction. Its leaders will remain in their roles.

The buyer

Mosaic invests in lower-middle-market companies through employee ownership transactions. Its other current holdings range from pet services to business services and niche manufacturing. Southfield Mezzanine made a subordinated debt and equity investment to support the acquisition, and Spring Capital Partners and Pine Street Capital Partners participated alongside Southfield.

"We found SST's vertically-integrated business model to be highly differentiated relative to other landscaping operations, particularly in the Carolinas," said Steve Buchanan, a partner at Mosaic. Brett Findlay, a principal at the firm, said, "There is tremendous momentum in the business and additional markets to be served."

One investor, two employee ownership vehicles

The closest comparison in Mosaic's own portfolio is another trade contractor. In May 2025 it invested in the newly formed ESOP of Ickler Electric, a commercial electrical contractor in Poway, California, founded in 1985, with nearly 350 employees. Mosaic classifies that deal as an ESOP buyout. That ESOP provides a retirement benefit to all eligible full-time employees. Fifteen months later, at a landscaping company of similar headcount, the vehicle Mosaic announced was an Employee Ownership Trust. Owners weighing outside capital more broadly can read our guide on selling a landscaping business to private equity.

What this means for landscaping owners

Buchanan's praise rests on an asset rather than a customer list: the sod and nursery acreage Southern Shade Tree bought in 2020. For an owner who has built their own supply of materials, this deal shows an investor naming that asset as what sets the company apart. It also shows that employee ownership can sit alongside, rather than replace, the stakes of a longtime chairman and the management team. An owner considering this kind of buyer should ask which vehicle is on the table, an ESOP or a trust, because this one firm has used both with trade contractors in the past two years.

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: Mosaic Capital Partners - https://www.mosaic-cp.com/mosaic-capital-partners-invests-in-southern-shade-tree/