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Last updated: 30 July 2024
How much does a landscape gardener earn in the UK?
Landscape gardeners have never been more popular in this country. In recent years, there’s been a noticeable increase in homeowners looking for landscaping services. But how much does a landscape gardener earn in the UK? Read on to find out what you could be earning.
You might be starting out as an apprentice landscaper or thinking about becoming a self-employed landscape gardener. You could also be looking to hire a team of landscapers. If you're looking for the average landscaper salary for the UK, then this guide is for you.
In this guide we look at how much landscape gardeners earn in the UK and average landscape company revenue. We’ll also look at what kind of lawn care business profits you might expect to generate.
How much does a landscape gardener earn in the UK?
The average yearly earnings of a landscaper in the UK can range a lot. They can be from around £11,063for an apprentice landscaper, to up to £58,264for a landscaping business owner.
The amount you can expect to earn as a landscape gardener will depend on a number of factors, including your:
Level of experience
Skills
Qualifications
Type of landscaping work you do
Location
We've had a look at the average landscaper salary from across the UK, and this is what you could expect to earn:
| Level | Per hour | Per day | Per year | Business Costs* | Approximate Take Home Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | £6.30 | £50.40 | £11,063 | 0 | £9,139 |
| Newly Qualified | £10.50 | £84 | £18,438 | 0 | £12,437 |
| Employed | £20 | £160 | £41,600 | 0 | £20,466 |
| Sole Trader | £35 | £280 | £51,626 | £6,453 | £34,114 |
| Business Owner (ltd company) | £39.50 | £316 | £58,264 | £10,196 | £47,853 |
| *includes estimated costs for business expenses such as vehicle, tools, insurance, fuel etc | |||||
| Last updated: May 2024 Our costs are ballpark averages - get a local tradesperson to quote now | |||||
If you decide to start your own landscaping business, this could be as a sole trader or a limited business. This is a way that you can potentially earn a lot more.
How much does a landscaper make a year?
Here is a quick breakdown of the average landscaper salary UK tiers you could expect to take home. Remember these are estimated on averages from across the UK. These figures are based on take home pay after tax deductions.
Apprentice landscaper – £9,139 per year
Newly qualified landscaper – £12,437 per year
Employed landscaper – £20,466 per year
Sole trader landscaper – £34,114 per year
Landscaping business owner – £47,853 per year
How much do landscapers make per month?
Here are the average figures for how much money a landscape gardener could expect to make in a month. This figure is before tax or business costs have been taken away.
Apprentice – £1091.92 per year per month
Newly qualified – £1819.86per month
Employed – £3466.4per month
Sole trader – £6066.2per month
Business owner (Ltd company) – £6846.14per month
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How much does a landscape gardener earn per week?
Now let's break it down still further. Here are some of the average figures for how much a landscape gardener earns per week:
Apprentice – £252per week
Newly qualified – £420per week
Employed – £800per week
Sole trader – £1400per week
Business owner (Ltd company) – £1580per week
Average day rate for a landscaper in the UK
Now you know how much you could earn as a landscape gardener, let's look at how much you could be charging for a day rate. This is also useful if you need to take on labourers for short term jobs.
Apprentice – £50.40per day
Newly qualified – £84per day
Employed – £160per day
Sole trader – £280per day
Business owner (Ltd company) – £316per day
How much does an apprentice landscaper earn?
If you want to become an apprentice landscaper, you can expect to earn a salary of around £11,063 per year (pre-tax). You’ll be on this starting salary while you learn the trade and gain valuable experience in landscape gardening.
In terms of rates, that means you can expect to earn around £6.30 per hour or £50.40 per day.
How much does a newly qualified landscaper earn?
Once you’re qualified, you can expect your base salary to go up to around £11,063 per year. That equates to an hourly rate of around £10.50per hour, and a day rate of roughly £84per day.
From this point, your typical landscaper salary will vary depending on how long you’ve been qualified for. Any additional landscape training you’ve completed, and any specialism or niche skills you’ve acquired will also help.
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What is a typical self-employed landscaper salary for the UK?
When it comes to earning potential, starting your own business as a self-employed landscaper will help you earn more.
As a self-employed landscape gardener, you can expect to earn around £51,626 per year.That works out as a take-home pay of around £34,114per year (after tax and business costs have been factored in).
What should a landscape company revenue look like?
Setting up a landscaping business is a great way to boost your earning potential as a landscaper. As a limited company, the average landscaping business revenue in the UK is somewhere in the region of £72,000 per year.
The exact revenue that you can generate will depend on a number of factors. For example, the size of your landscaping company, where your business is based, and the types of landscaping services you offer.
Want some tips to boost your landscaping business revenue? Check out our guide on how to grow your business.
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What is the average profit margin for a landscaping business?
Running a successful landscaping business means you’ll need to make a profit on the work that you carry out. So, you need to make sure you price your landscaping jobs correctly. And factor in the costs of running your business.
Managing costs like your vehicle, fuel, tools and insurance will help you to know what your landscaping business profit is.
In the UK, the running costs for a self-employed sole trader are around £6,453, and for a limited company, they’re about £10,196.
Profit margins for landscaping work will vary, depending on the exact job you’re working on. That said, the average profit margin for landscaping businesses is usually somewhere in the region of 5% to 20%.
How to make your landscaping business more profitable
Building a landscaping business is an exciting venture and one that should fill you with excitement and pride. But making sure your business is profitable is one of the main challenges that you’ll be faced with.
We’ve put together our top tips to help you boost your turnover and make your landscaping business more profitable.
1. Make sure you're charging enough
You need to make sure you’re earning enough to cover your outgoings (including your tools, materials, insurance, marketing, wages, and fuel). If not, you may need to look at raising your prices.
2. Choose to specialise in areas that are the most profitable
Some landscaping jobs make more money with less spending on your part (for tools and materials, for instance). Look at which jobs tend to earn you the most for the least outgoings and do more of them.
3. Consider how large the area you cover should be
Travelling further afield will eat into your profits through vehicle and fuel costs. So, if possible, stick to your local area or charge extra for jobs that are further away.
If you are travelling further, you need to make sure it makes sense for your business. Either the job value is worth it, or you charge for travel to and from the job for the duration of the project.
4. Minimise your outgoings
Try to have no or as little debt as possible. Remember, interest on credit cards or loans can impact your vital profits. Make sure you shop around for the best value tools, equipment, materials and workwear too.
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How to get landscaping customers
How can I get more landscaping customers? So, you’ve recently set up your own landscaping business. You’ve got a steady flow of customers, but you want to take your company to the next level. To do this, you’re going to need get more landscaping customers in your area. There are several ways to get
5. Work on getting visibility for your business
This can be through advertising, your website, your company brand, customer reviews, or industry contacts who can send work your way. Our guide on how to boost your SEO can help with the basics when setting up your site.
Investing in marketing is essential for growing your business – check out our free marketing planning template for more guidance.
6. Provide the best customer experience
By providing excellent service to all your customers, you’ll quickly build a strong reputation. This can help you to win more work through word of mouth and gain positive customer reviews.
Why not also join a trade directory like Checkatrade to build your reviews and online reputation?
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