International commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has advised on the sale of Countrywide Grounds Maintenance to The Dwyer Group, one of the world’s largest parent companies of trade service brands.

Based in Manchester, Countrywide offers commercial grass cutting, landscape maintenance, sports grounds maintenance and winter gritting services. Established by Founder Martin Stott in 1985, he and his family have grown Countrywide Grounds Maintenance from a family-owned and operated business into a system with more than 50 franchisees across the UK.

Hill Dickinson corporate partners Ian Gillis and Jonathan Gillow advised Countrywide on the deal with assistance from associate Katie Somerville.

The deal marks the tenth acquisition for Dwyer Group, which will now have 19 brands with more than 2,850 franchisees and 700 employees across their service brands throughout North America, U.K. and Germany.

Commenting on the transaction, head of Hill Dickinson’s Manchester corporate team, Ian Gillis, said: “Countrywide has had an amazing success story to date. With more than 30 years’ experience, this deal will allow the company to build on that success and provide further opportunities for growth. It has been a pleasure working with Countrywide and we wish them the best of luck for the future.”