Tree care business acquisitions sit in a 1.8×–3.2× SDE band. Top-of-band placement requires certified arborist depth, documented recurring maintenance contracts, and a credentialed safety record.

Equipment book value vs. appraised value is the most systematically mispriced element in tree care deals. Cranes, bucket trucks, and chippers used in storm response and high-canopy removal accumulate wear that outpaces GAAP depreciation schedules. A crane on the books at $180K may appraise at $65K. A buyer who does not obtain an independent equipment appraisal before LOI is making a capital allocation assumption that the lender's appraiser will correct at commitment stage — at maximum disruption to the deal timeline.

Storm normalization requires 5 years of revenue data, not 3. A 3-year average that includes two active storm years is still a distorted baseline in a market with cyclical storm patterns. Request year-by-year revenue broken into: (1) scheduled pruning and maintenance, (2) plant health care, (3) commercial contracts, (4) emergency/storm removal. The ratio of steady-state categories to emergency categories is the core underwriting question. Any seller who cannot produce this breakdown has an information gap that should affect how you structure the deal.