BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BV) (the “Company” or “BrightView”), the leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, today reported unaudited results for the fourth quarter and audited results for the full fiscal year ended September 30, 2019.

“Our strategic initiatives, designed to establish a base for sustainable, long-term growth, began delivering results in fiscal 2019. Underlying commercial landscaping revenue grew in the fourth quarter and full year, despite facing significant weather-related challenges across many key markets. And we continued executing our Strong-on-Strong M&A strategy while reducing our Net Debt. Nonetheless, we fell short of some of our full year targets and are working hard to deliver on the long-term potential of our business, beginning with fiscal 2020,” said Andrew Masterman, BrightView President and Chief Executive Officer. “We will build on our 2019 successes, including (a) the sequential revenue improvement in underlying commercial landscaping, (b) the excellent results that our Development Segment generated in the second half of 2019 with strong bookings going into 2020, and (c) the reliable revenue growth that our M&A pipeline, once again, delivered. We will also maintain our targeted plans to invest in technology to support our sales and account manager teams, enhancing our customer relationships and driving both revenue growth and cash generation, which we believe are the cornerstones of stockholder value.”

Read the full report here.

BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BV) (the “Company” or “BrightView”), the leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, today reported unaudited results for the third quarter and nine months ended June 30, 2019.

“Today we are reporting the highest quarterly revenue and adjusted EBITDA results in BrightView’s history. Our Maintenance Services Segment increased its base contract revenue, demonstrating that we are pursuing the right strategy to build a strong foundation for sustainable, future organic growth. Our Development Services Segment capitalized on a robust book of business to deliver meaningful growth in both revenue and profitability, despite the challenging wet weather conditions faced by both segments throughout the quarter and across much of the country,” said Andrew Masterman, BrightView President and Chief Executive Officer. “Moving forward, we will continue to invest in generating profitable, long-term growth. Results in our existing business are starting to show the benefits of our reorganized sales team and the initiatives we’ve implemented to “digitize” the Company by leveraging technology. Finally, our M&A pipeline remains attractive as we continue driving growth through our strong-on-strong acquisition strategy.”

Read the full report here.

BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BV) (“the Company” or “BrightView”), the leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, today announced the acquisition of Luke’s Landscaping, Inc. (“Luke’s”), and Desert Classic Landscaping (“Desert Classic”), both previously owned and operated by FirstService Residential, a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation (TSX: FSV; NASDAQ: FSV). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Both Luke’s and Desert Classic are leading, single-source, year-round landscape service providers, offering a full suite of commercial landscaping solutions, including grounds management, landscape enhancement, irrigation, spray, and arbor services. Luke’s was founded more than 40 years ago and currently operates two branches in South Florida with nearly 250 employees, serving customers between Coral Springs and Miami. Desert Classic was established in 2002 and currently operates two branches with more than 250 employees serving customers across the entire valley area of Phoenix, Ariz.

“We are pleased to be strengthening our presence in two important evergreen markets: South Florida and Phoenix. I’d like to welcome the nearly 500 talented employees, and the customers they serve across both markets, to the BrightView family,” said Andrew Masterman, BrightView President and Chief Executive Officer. “Halfway through our third fiscal quarter, we are well-positioned to achieve our fiscal 2019 target for realized acquired revenue, as well as our baseline target ‘wrap-around’ from acquired revenue for fiscal 2020. We look forward to working with both teams to continue delivering the intense customer focus that our customers have come to expect from BrightView.”

About FirstService Corporation

FirstService Corporation is a North American leader in the property services sector, serving its customers through two industry-leading service platforms: FirstService Residential, North America’s largest manager of residential communities; and FirstService Brands, one of North America’s largest providers of essential property services delivered through individually branded franchise systems and company-owned operations.

FirstService generates approximately $2 billion in annual revenues and has more than 20,000 employees across North America. With significant insider ownership and an experienced management team, FirstService has a long-term track record of creating value and superior returns for shareholders. The common shares of FirstService trade on NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “FSV.”

BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BV) (the “Company” or “BrightView”), the leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, today reported unaudited results for the second quarter ended March 31, 2019.

“Strong Maintenance Segment revenue and profitability highlighted our second quarter results and drove growth at the consolidated level. In fact, we delivered one of our best ever March quarters, with notable performance in Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin. In addition to gains in our Maintenance business, the quarter included lower corporate expenses, and more normalized levels of snowfall,” said Andrew Masterman, BrightView President and Chief Executive Officer. “With the beginning of the ‘green’ season, we’re pleased with the trends in our Maintenance landscape revenue and have built a robust book of business for the remainder of the fiscal year in our Development Segment. We remain confident in our full-year outlook and are maintaining our guidance ranges for both total revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for the full-year fiscal 2019.”

Read the full report here.

BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BV) (“BrightView”), the nation’s leading commercial landscaping services company, today announced the acquisition of Benchmark Landscapes, LLC, a commercial landscaping company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Benchmark was founded in 2002 and today is a leading provider of commercial landscaping services in Texas, including landscape maintenance, design, installation, hardscapes, irrigation and tree care. Benchmark’s 240 employees cover a service area from Austin to San Antonio, inclusive of the San Marcos and New Braunfels areas, and Corpus Christi. The company operates six branches in four markets.

“With the acquisition of Benchmark, we expand our footprint in one of the country’s fastest-growing markets and bring passionate and skilled team members into the BrightView family,” said BrightView President and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Masterman. “This transaction further strengthens our position in Texas and supports our ‘strong-on-strong’ acquisition strategy.”

Benchmark founder and owner Casey Vickrey agreed that Benchmark represents a good fit for BrightView’s expanding portfolio. “I am proud of the business and relationships our team at Benchmark has built. We are excited to join the BrightView team and continue to grow the business, strengthen relationships and make new ones, all while taking care of the team that has been instrumental to making us who we are,” he said.

K&L Gates LLP served as legal advisor to BrightView; Shepherd Law LLC served as legal advisor to Benchmark.

BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BV) (the “Company” or “BrightView”), the leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, today reported unaudited results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2018.

“Our financial results reflect the challenging prior-year hurricane comparisons, our strategic Managed Exit initiative and other operating conditions that we highlighted in our guidance on our November 2018 earnings conference call, as well as a slow start to the season for our snow removal services. Since we planned for these seasonal and episodic factors, we are not changing our outlook for full fiscal 2019. Our net new sales, which will benefit the upcoming ‘green’ maintenance season, are the highest they have been in three years; our development project bookings are ahead of last year’s pace and our strong-on-strong acquisition strategy already has added three companies with enough expected revenue impact to reach our full year fiscal 2019 target of $75 million,” said Andrew Masterman, BrightView President and Chief Executive Officer. “As we move through the year we will build on our best-in-class operating foundation by executing against our key growth drivers of maximizing existing customer relationships, adding new customers to our portfolio, and expanding our national footprint.”

Read the full report here.

BrightView Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BV) (the “Company” or “BrightView”), the leading commercial landscaping services company in the United States, today reported unaudited results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year ended September 30, 2018.

“I am very pleased with the progress we made last year to support sustainable topline growth, capture efficiencies in our cost structure and generate substantial adjusted free cash flow. We delivered the highest revenue and profitability in our history, meaningfully reduced our balance sheet leverage, and successfully completed our IPO. Moving forward now as a public company, we will remain focused on growing our existing customer relationships, continuing our 'strong on strong’ acquisition strategy, and driving further cash flow generation,” said Andrew Masterman, BrightView Chief Executive Officer. “As we begin our 2019 fiscal year, industry trends remain favorable, our acquisition pipeline is strong, and I am confident that we have the right strategy in place to create significant stockholder value as we continue consolidating our position as the Nation’s Landscaper.”

Read the full report here.

Creating a workplace that aids employee recruitment, increases productivity, reduces healthcare costs, and saves money may be more achievable than many property managers realize; if they are willing to shift their focus outdoors. “Facility Executive Magazine” highlights companies that are adding multi-use green spaces, organic gardens, barbecue patios, and more to increase the appeal and utility of their campuses.

The National Association of Landscape Professionals reports 7 percent higher rental rates for commercial offices with high-quality landscapes, which can be achieved through simple enhancements such as walking paths, shade canopies, comfortable seating, and attractive plant materials. 

The article in “Facility Executive Magazine” expands on current trends in commercial landscaping, including experiential landscape design, climate-cognizant landscaping, productivity, connectivity, and water management/conservation. 

BrightView’s work at Oracle’s Redwood City and Santa Clara facilities achieved a savings of $573,000 in the first three months after 50 conventional controllers were converted to smart controllers. The campuses went on to save 91 million gallons of potable water in the first year. 

In addition to saving water with smart irrigation controllers, several landscaping products are being enhanced to make tasks less time consuming, including the use of mobile apps to track and plan services in real time. 

“Anything that can help you understand, track, manage, and analyze your site certainly is valuable,” said Megan Horn, Principal at BrightView Design Group. “Long-term data collection will deepen your understanding of the site and be highly informative for maintenance planning and evaluation. I suspect it would also assist in management and overall facility planning.” 

To read the full article, visit Facility Executive Magazine.

Governors Island has undergone significant transformations over its lifetime, from a fort during the American Revolution and a Civil War prison to a base for the U.S. Army and U.S. Coast Guard before shutting its doors in 1996 and leaving the 172 acres abandoned.

“The island used to be closed off to the public,” said David Opferkuch, Project Manager with BrightView Landscape Development. “Military service members were the only people who could experience it, and then it was just empty when they left.”

Seven years later, the island was transferred to New York with a portion of the top becoming a National Park and the bottom being redeveloped as a public park. One of the most notable features of the park at The Hills, four themed mounds on the southern portion of the island with breathtaking views of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline. BrightView left a major mark on the island, designing and installing Slide Hill, landscaping all four hills, installing the pathway on Discovery Hill, installing two baseball fields, and turned an old golf course into the Parade Grounds.

“We can sit here and watch [the plants and trees] grow over the years and become places where people can relax and enjoy the shade provided,” Opferkuch said. “Unlike buildings, which remain the same, a park like this gets better with age. It’s the best part of being in the landscaping industry.”

To read the full article, visit Parks & Rec Business.

Many landscapers across the United States are facing the harsh reality of having to cancel thousands of dollars worth of contracts because they simply cannot find enough workers to handle all their business. Some landscaping companies are even having to close down their business due to the shortage.

The severe labor shortage the industry faces is brought on by the lowest levels of American unemployment in two decades, combined with a high volume of requests for H-2B visas for only a limited number being released. There are several other industries being impacted by the visa shortage, but none more than the landscape industry, which accounts for 50 percent of all H-2B visas certified this year. 

BrightView, the largest commercial landscaping company in the country, is also the biggest user of H-2B visas in the industry. However, it is often smaller companies that are hit the hardest by the shortage, resulting in less revenue and sometimes in a closed business. 

To read the full article, visit the Wall Street Journal.