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Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) are often associated with business succession, but Mosaic Capital Partners, LLC saw an opportunity to apply the structure as part of a private equity-backed growth strategy.
Mosaic, an employee ownership-focused private equity firm, invested in Southern Shade Tree Co., Inc. (Southern Shade Tree or SST), a full-service landscaping company operating throughout the Carolinas. Alongside the investment, Mosaic established an EOT to protect eligible employees’ right to share in the financial upside of the company’s success.
Founded in 1954, Southern Shade Tree later grew under longtime owner Roger Braswell into a leading landscaping company in the Charlotte market. Today, the company works with national and local homebuilders to install and maintain landscaping for new home communities, employing more than 350 people across 12 locations. Its services span grading, irrigation, planting, sodding, and landscape maintenance, while Bentwood Farms cultivates more than 4,500 acres of sod and 100 acres of tree and shrub nurseries.
Mosaic and Southern Shade Tree also announced the simultaneous acquisition of Atlantic Coast Landscaping Services (Atlantic Coast), a landscaping company headquartered in New Bern, North Carolina. Founded in 2003, Atlantic Coast provides a complementary range of landscaping services in eastern North Carolina.
Working with Common Trust and Douglas E. Singer, Partner at Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP, Mosaic established an EOT tied to an employee bonus plan that reflects the firm’s investment philosophy: employees should share in the value they help create.
The plan allocates 10% of proceeds from a future sale, change-in-control transaction, or similar liquidity event to eligible employees, including shorter-tenure employees and longtime team members.
Before key terms of the bonus plan can be changed, the EOT’s consent is required, with oversight provided by a stewardship committee and trust enforcer.
“Having participated in many transactions throughout my career, I found Mosaic’s employee ownership solution refreshing,” said Braswell. “I am excited that our entire team has a stake in Southern Shade’s continued success.”
Southern Shade Tree’s management team retained meaningful ownership and continues to lead the business. CEO Scott Roberts and President Brent Lovett have each been with the company for more than 20 years, while Braswell retained a sizable ownership position and remains actively involved. Atlantic Coast’s leaders remain in their roles as well.
“This transaction demonstrates the value that EOTs offer not just to selling owners, but to companies partnering with aligned investors for the next generation of growth,” said Zoe Schlag, CEO of Common Trust. “Here, employee participation was a central part of Mosaic’s investment thesis in Southern Shade, creating a structure where employees and investors alike can benefit from the company’s future growth.”
Together, the investment and EOT give Southern Shade Tree and Atlantic Coast a path into their next chapter, with Mosaic’s support for the business paired with a protected way for eligible employees to share in future upside.
If you're exploring how an Employee Ownership Trust could fit into a business transition or investment structure, we'd love to talk. Schedule a call with one of our advisors today.
