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Selling a pond and lake management company?
A permanent home for your pond and lake management business
HOAs, golf courses, property managers, and towns all have water that needs looking after, month after month. If your crews are the ones keeping it clear and healthy, we'd like to hear your story.
Why we like it
Why we buy pond and lake management businesses
We get it: when the pond at the front entrance turns green in July, the HOA hears about it by lunch, and you hear about it right after.
We buy essential service businesses across the Southeast and keep them. Pond and lake management is our kind of work: your customers need it on a schedule, and they can't skip it.
Recurring by nature
Algae, aquatic weeds, and water quality don't stay fixed. Most customers need ongoing service, often on monthly contracts, rather than a one-time job.
A long Southeastern growing season
Warm weather across much of the Southeast means a long season for algae and weed growth, which keeps demand for treatment and maintenance high for most of the year.
Stormwater ponds have to work
Retention and detention ponds are part of a property's stormwater system, and many communities expect them to be maintained so they keep functioning as designed.
Licensing and know-how matter
Applying aquatic herbicides generally requires state pesticide licensing, and in some cases permit coverage. Experienced, licensed applicators are hard to replace.
What we look for
What stands out to us
No business checks every box. These are the strengths we get excited about.
- Recurring maintenance contracts with HOAs, property managers, golf courses, or municipalities
- Licensed aquatic applicators and strong safety and compliance habits
- Aeration, fountain, and water quality services alongside treatment
- Dense service routes in a defined territory
- Long-standing customer relationships and a strong local reputation
Our criteria
- Geography
- Across the Southeast, with deeper interest in Atlanta and Georgia. We love investing in our community.
- Revenue
- $2.5 – $50 million. Typically recurring or reoccurring
- Cash flow
- $0.5 – $5 million
- Ownership
- Founder owned or long-time owner
- Structure
- Majority to full buyout, including partnerships with management
For owners
What happens after you sell
We buy with our own money and we keep what we buy. No fund clock, and no plan to flip it in a few years.
Your customers and your team come first. We invest in people, equipment, and technology and build on what you started. Deals range from majority to full buyouts, including partnerships with management.
Confidential from the first conversation. We know how sensitive a possible sale is for your team and your customers. What you tell us stays between us.
Know a pond and lake management business owner?
Introduce us. If we buy the company, you get $10,000 in cash at close. (Not available to brokers, investment bankers, or other financial intermediaries.)
Contact
Not ready to sell? Let's talk anyway.
Most conversations start years early. Whether you're ready now or just starting to think about the future of your pond and lake management business, it costs nothing and stays between us.
Questions owners ask
Is Howler Mountain a private equity firm?
No. We're a family-owned company based in Atlanta. We buy with our own money and keep what we buy. We don't buy businesses to flip them.
Will our conversations stay confidential?
Yes. We know how sensitive a possible sale is for your team and your customers. What you tell us stays between us.
My business is smaller than your criteria. Should I still reach out?
Yes. A smaller company can be a great add-on to one we already own, so it's worth a conversation.
Other industries we buy