Gardening playbook.

London garden-maintenance firms running scheduled rounds of residential and small-commercial clients. The win is route density, contract retention and turning one-off visits into 12-month maintenance plans.

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Overview

A London gardening business with 1–3 crews typically turns over £140k–£480k. Profit is made on route density: a crew doing 9 jobs/day at £55 net beats one doing 5 jobs/day at £90. This playbook covers launching a maintenance-focused London gardening firm — van + tools, licensing, route planning and a credible 12-month plan.

8–11

Jobs / crew-day

82%

Annual retention

+24 pts

Contract conversion

№ 01 / What you'll need

Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.

Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.

Per crew

Van (Combo / Transit Connect — ULEZ compliant)

£8,500–£18,000 used · £280–£480 / mo lease

Plant trailer (single-axle 750 kg)

£900–£2,400

Van racking + secure tool storage

£600–£1,800

Stihl / Husqvarna battery system (mower, hedge cutter, blower, strimmer)

£2,400–£5,500 per crew

Petrol mower (commercial cylinder or rotary)

£600–£2,400

Hand tools (shears, rakes, secateurs, trowels)

£280–£600 per person

PPE (boots, hi-vis, ear defenders, gloves)

£140–£320 per person

Back-office

Job-management software (Tradify / ServiceM8 / Powered Now)

£35–£75 / user / month

Route optimiser (built-in or Routific / OptimoRoute)

£0–£120 / user / month

GoCardless direct debit

1% per txn (capped £2)

Storage lock-up (small)

£140–£420 / month

№ 02 / Where to set up

Location is half the business.

Catchment density

≥ 2,500 private gardens within 20 min drive

Round density makes the model. Without density you're a single-visit business.

Storage

Lock-up or van-only ops in residential areas (with neighbour consent)

Most one-van operators run from home initially; second van triggers lock-up.

ULEZ compliance

Euro 6 diesel or electric van mandatory inside ULEZ

£12.50/day non-compliance fee kills margin on intra-zone rounds.

Water on site (lock-up)

Mandatory for crew welfare

Wash-down of mowers and crew hygiene.

Area tier

Rent / month

Notes

Inner London (Islington, Hackney, Battersea)

Lock-up £400–£900

Average plan £85–£140 / month. Compact gardens; 12+ jobs per crew-day.

Outer London (Richmond, Bromley, Sutton, Enfield)

Lock-up £280–£700

Sweet spot — larger gardens, plan £120–£240, 8–10 jobs/day.

Commuter belt (Surrey, Hertfordshire, Essex border)

Lock-up £200–£500

Largest gardens (plan £180–£380), 6–8 jobs/day, very strong retention.

№ 03 / Licences & registrations

Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.

UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.

Requirement

Who issues

Cost

Lead time

ReqRegister company + HMRC accounts

Companies House / HMRC

£50

1–3 days

ReqWaste Carrier Licence (Upper Tier)

Environment Agency

£154 / 3 yrs

1–2 weeks

OptPA1 / PA6 pesticide certificate (if spraying)

City & Guilds / NPTC

£250–£500

2–4 weeks

OptChainsaw CS30/CS31 (if hedge / tree work)

NPTC

£400–£800

1–2 weeks

ReqPublic liability (£5m) + employer's liability

Insure4Sport / Simply Business

£280–£900 / yr

1 week

ReqTools-in-transit + van insurance

Specialist broker

£800–£1,800 / yr per van

1 week

ReqFirst Aid at Work (1 per crew)

St John / Red Cross

£180–£320

3 days

OptVAT registration (if turnover > £90k)

HMRC

Free

30 days

ReqICO data protection registration

ICO

£40 / yr

Same day

№ 04 / Build-out timeline

From decision to open in 12 weeks.

Phase 1 · Plan + register

Week −6 to −4

Pick 2 adjacent postcodes, plan a starter round of 25–40 properties.
Register company + Waste Carrier + bind insurance.
Buy / lease lead van + battery tool set.

Phase 2 · Round building

Week −4 to 0

Door-to-door + Nextdoor + flyer 800–1,500 homes in target postcodes.
Set up Tradify + GoCardless direct debit.
Build mini-website with postcode landing pages.

Phase 3 · Compound

Month 1–12

Month 1: NAVIZIX route optimiser + weather-reschedule live.
Month 3: Hit 70%+ contract mix; first DNA scan.
Month 6: Add second crew once first crew at 90%+ utilisation.
Month 12: First peer benchmark.

№ 05 / Budget

Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.

One-off · Startup

Setting up the shop

Van + racking

£9,500 → £20,000

Battery + petrol kit + hand tools

£3,200 → £7,500

Insurance + licences year 1

£900 → £2,800

Brand + website + flyers + photography

£1,400 → £5,500

Software year 1

£500 → £1,400

Working capital (2 months)

£6,500 → £18,000

Typical total

£35k → £85k

Recurring · Monthly

Keeping the lights on

Van + insurance + finance / lease

£500 → £1,400

Crew wages (2 per van, PAYE + helper)

£5,500 → £14,000

Fuel + battery / petrol

£280 → £900

Waste disposal

£140 → £480

Software + GoCardless + card fees

£140 → £480

Marketing (Google + flyers + Nextdoor)

£180 → £900

Lock-up + storage (when scaled)

£0 → £700

Typical total

£5.8k → £23k

№ 06 / Numbers that compound

How a gardening actually looks on a chart.

Interactive projections rebuilt from real UK operating data — toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.

12-month revenue ramp

Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)

High Low

Source · NAVIZIX cohort · 1–3 crew London residential gardening rounds · 2025–2026

№ 07 / First 90 days

Dates that actually matter after opening.

01Day 0

First 25 properties live on weekly / fortnightly schedule. Direct-debit mandates active.

02Day 14

First DNA scan — usually flags route density + post-visit photo follow-up.

03Day 30

Contract mix above 70%; first retention measurement.

04Day 60

First peer benchmark on jobs/crew-day + retention.

05Day 90

Second crew evaluated against backlog; annual contract renewal automation live.

№ 08 / What's inside

DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a gardening.

01Move

DNA dimensions

Route density (jobs per crew-day), contract retention, average monthly plan value, weather slippage, complaint rate and review velocity.

02Move

Suggested route

Tighten route density first (it pays for the second van), automate weather-rescheduling + stage payments, then build a referral loop with verified reviews on each round.

03Move

Automations

Day-before SMS reminder, weather-triggered re-schedule, post-visit photo update, monthly direct-debit reminder, annual contract renewal and lapsed-client win-back.

04Move

Integrations

GoCardless, Xero, Tradify / ServiceM8, Google Business Profile, Checkatrade, Stripe + Google Maps API.

05Move

Benchmarks

Jobs per crew-day, retention and average monthly plan value vs London gardening rounds in the same catchment band.

06Move

Advisors

Encore advisors from multi-van London gardening groups paired with NAVIZIX AI for daily route + retention nudges.

№ 09 / Stack