Illustration courtesy of Natalya Kosarevich/iStock

Private equity is becoming more visible in tree care. Some business owners are being approached about selling their companies, while others are seeing nearby businesses merge, change ownership or become part of larger regional operations. For owners who have spent years managing day-to-day work and building customer trust, these developments can raise practical questions about ownership, operations and control.

What is private equity?

To understand what’s happening, it helps to understand the basic model. Private equity refers to investment firms that raise money from investors and use that money to buy or invest in companies. The goal is to increase the value of those companies over time, then eventually sell the investment.

The money behind private-equity funds often comes from large institutional investors, such as pension funds, university endowments and insurance companies, as well as wealthy individuals. Private-equity firms typically invest in companies that are not publicly traded, which is one reason their activity can feel less visible than acquisitions involving public companies.

Morgan Stanley reports that global private-equity assets under management increased from $744 billion in 2004 to $9.7 trillion as of December 2024. As that pool of capital has grown, more small and midsize businesses, including service businesses, have have drawn increased interest from private-equity firms.

Why tree care fits the model

Tree care has many qualities investors look for in field-service industries. The work is local, necessary and relationship driven. It requires skilled labor, specialized equipment and customer trust. Many companies also have repeat residential, commercial, municipal or plant health care (PHC) work, which can make revenue more predictable. IBISWorld, a market-research firm, estimates U.S. tree-trimming-
services revenue at $39.5 billion in 2025, after growing at a 5.3% compound annual growth rate from 2020 to 2025. The firm projects revenue will reach $43.7 billion by 2030.

The industry also is fragmented, meaning there are many independent companies rather than only a few dominant national players. IBISWorld counted 175,035 U.S. tree-trimming-services businesses in 2025, and describes the industry as having low market-share concentration. That creates an opportunity for consolidation, or for someone to buy multiple smaller companies and bring them together under one larger organization.

Private-equity activity has already been visible in related green-industry sectors. Hyde Park Capital, an investment bank that tracks landscaping transactions, reported that private equity was involved in 78 of 108 landscaping-services transactions in the U.S. and Canada through September 2025. Landscaping is not tree care, but the two sectors share traits investors often look for.

Platforms, add-ons and roll-ups

Private-equity-backed growth often starts with a “platform” company. This is usually a larger, established business with enough management, systems and market presence to serve as a base for expansion. In tree care, that might mean a company with branch managers, accounting systems, HR support, safety processes, sales leadership and a strong regional reputation.

Smaller companies acquired later are often called “add-ons” or “tuck-ins.” These businesses may be folded into the platform company, sometimes with changes to software, billing, benefits, reporting, purchasing or branding.

A “roll-up” is the broader strategy of acquiring multiple companies in the same or adjacent markets to create a larger business. The theory is that a larger company may have advantages a smaller company does not, including purchasing power, stronger recruiting and access to capital for equipment or expansion.

The good, the bad and the reality of change

After a sale, the day-to-day experience of the business may change in practical ways. A larger company may bring more formal accounting systems, HR support, job-costing tools, recruiting resources or access to capital for equipment and growth. Employees may see new career paths in training, operations, sales or regional management.

At the same time, a change in ownership can bring new expectations. Reporting may become more detailed. Budgets, pricing, purchasing, benefits or leadership roles may be reviewed. If debt was used to finance the acquisition, the business also will need to generate enough cash to support those obligations.

For many owners and employees, the biggest question is culture. Tree care companies are often built on long-standing relationships among owners, crews and customers. Those relationships do not automatically disappear after a sale, but they may be tested as new systems, expectations and decision-making structures are introduced. That’s why understanding what could change – and what an owner wants to protect – is an important part of evaluating any deal.

Conclusion

Private equity is not the only path for tree care companies, and it’s not a simple measure of whether the industry is moving in a good or bad direction. It is one more sign that professional tree care is being viewed as a valuable, mature and investable service industry.

For owners, that makes education especially important. Understanding private equity helps them ask better questions, compare options and think clearly about what kind of future makes sense for the business they’ve built.

Esther de Hollander is the director of editorial & content strategy for TCI Magazine. This article is the first in a series designed to help tree care business owners better understand private equity and related transition options. If you have any questions or feedback about this series, please email editor@tcia.org.