The Grounds Guys, a Neighborly company, has awarded more than 15 new franchise agreements and opened almost 20 new locations from January-June of 2020. The total size of the network is now more than 200 locations open and in development across North America.

“We have seen continued growth across the system this year and are tracking above our 2019 results, even with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Josh Sevick, president of The Grounds Guys. “We were one of the fastest-growing companies in the landscaping industry last year, and with highlights so far this year including franchise owners nearing their breakeven points earlier than we’ve ever seen before and first-year franchise owners achieving historic sales levels, we expect to be near the top of the list again in 2020.”

New agreements in the first and second quarters expanded The Grounds Guys to seven new markets, including Boston; Seattle; Boise, Idaho; Virginia Beach, Va.; Lubbock, Texas and Charleston, S.C. Additionally, new territories awarded will grow the brand’s existing presence in markets like Houston; Dallas-Fort Worth; Atlanta; Nashville, Tenn.; Cincinnati; Baltimore; Cleveland and Jacksonville, Fla.

The  company says highlights from the first half of 2020 included:

• Heavily refocusing business on upscale residential services, earning The Grounds Guys the title of the largest full-service residential landscape company in North America;
• Introduction of several new tools and resources for franchise owners, including:
  • Broadly NPS review platform;
  • Developments and improvements on GGPro CRM system;
  • Penn Foster technical training vendor availability to all our franchise owners;
  • New website for Canada;
  • More than 48 opportunities for training, ranging from weekly webinars to all-day virtual training events;
  • New Sure Start program for new franchise owners;
  • New marketing campaigns and materials to increase marketing reach;
  • Marketing Plan implementation and new structure;
• Appointments of Paul Packevicius as new Vice President of Operations and Kenny Littlefield as new Director of Systems;
• Inclusion in top industry rankings, including Landscape Management’s LM150 (No. 21)

“Across our roster of brands, Neighborly has benefited in recent months from the essential nature of our home service brands,” said Brad Stevenson, Chief Development Officer of Neighborly, the parent company of The Grounds Guys. “I commend our The Grounds Guys franchise owners’ willingness to adapt in the face of adversity and to continue to serve customers at the highest level. Through The Grounds Guys’ continued commitment to growth through franchise development, its ongoing implementation of useful tools and resources for franchise owners and its consistent recognition as a leader in the landscaping space, The Grounds Guys is playing an important role in furthering Neighborly’s vision to ‘own the home’ with our family of home service brands.”