Backyard landscaping. (BusinessDen file photo)
A Denver landscaping company has filed for bankruptcy to prevent a possible closure.
“We filed the bankruptcy case as an emergency, or hurry-up case if you will, to avoid KeyBank taking drastic action against the assets and trying to get sheriff’s orders or judgments to liquidate,” Jamie Buechler, an attorney for Horizon Landscaping, said by phone.
Horizon, formerly called Plant Escape, was purchased in 2021 by Steven Brown, a local investor who has acquired several such businesses in the area since 2018.
“He then merged the companies but, unfortunately, given the state of the economy and the business of landscaping and snowplowing being what it is, the cash flows were not sufficient to support debt service payments,” said Buechler, with the Buechler Law Office.
“There is a trend in 2025 of less new housing, less landscaping. The market is also very competitive right now, there are a lot of players in the industry, so it is very difficult to get long-term contracts for landscaping services,” according to the bankruptcy attorney. “Horizon just cannot compete with some of those cheaper competitors in the market.”
Steven Brown (LinkedIn)
The company was sued in early 2024 by KeyBank, one of the lenders that financed Brown’s purchases of Horizon and other landscaping businesses. Horizon has agreed to pay $2.3 million to the bank and has also been surrendering some collateral to KeyBank recently.
Though the company’s finances appear bleak — it has $3.9 million in debt and $1.4 million in assets — Buechler believes that Brown can save Horizon.
“He is a down-to-earth kind of guy who shows up with his cowboy hat and boots on. He’s not one of those C-suite executives, he’s out there doing the daily grind with his folks, working side by side with his employees,” she said, calling that rare among landscaping owners.
“I think his intimate knowledge of how his crews are run, his customer base, and his negotiations with creditors will result in, hopefully, a successful exit from bankruptcy.”
Backyard landscaping. (BusinessDen file photo)
A Denver landscaping company has filed for bankruptcy to prevent a possible closure.
“We filed the bankruptcy case as an emergency, or hurry-up case if you will, to avoid KeyBank taking drastic action against the assets and trying to get sheriff’s orders or judgments to liquidate,” Jamie Buechler, an attorney for Horizon Landscaping, said by phone.
Horizon, formerly called Plant Escape, was purchased in 2021 by Steven Brown, a local investor who has acquired several such businesses in the area since 2018.
“He then merged the companies but, unfortunately, given the state of the economy and the business of landscaping and snowplowing being what it is, the cash flows were not sufficient to support debt service payments,” said Buechler, with the Buechler Law Office.
“There is a trend in 2025 of less new housing, less landscaping. The market is also very competitive right now, there are a lot of players in the industry, so it is very difficult to get long-term contracts for landscaping services,” according to the bankruptcy attorney. “Horizon just cannot compete with some of those cheaper competitors in the market.”
Steven Brown (LinkedIn)
The company was sued in early 2024 by KeyBank, one of the lenders that financed Brown’s purchases of Horizon and other landscaping businesses. Horizon has agreed to pay $2.3 million to the bank and has also been surrendering some collateral to KeyBank recently.
Though the company’s finances appear bleak — it has $3.9 million in debt and $1.4 million in assets — Buechler believes that Brown can save Horizon.
“He is a down-to-earth kind of guy who shows up with his cowboy hat and boots on. He’s not one of those C-suite executives, he’s out there doing the daily grind with his folks, working side by side with his employees,” she said, calling that rare among landscaping owners.
“I think his intimate knowledge of how his crews are run, his customer base, and his negotiations with creditors will result in, hopefully, a successful exit from bankruptcy.”
