Ameri-Pride Pest Control Services, Inc., the Clearwater-based company operating as Prime-Scape Services, filed for Chapter 11 Subchapter V bankruptcy protection on August 21, listing estimated liabilities between $1,000,001 and $10 million against assets of no more than $50,000. The filing covers a company that markets itself as a 35-year-old full-service landscaping and property maintenance firm serving Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, and Polk counties.
The voluntary petition, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida under case number 8:26-bk-07498-ced, was signed by Timothy D. Lockhart, according to WhatNow. Buddy D. Ford represents the company in the case, per case records cited by the outlet, and the debtor is listed with an estimated 1 to 49 creditors. Florida Division of Corporations records show the current corporate entity was registered as a Florida profit corporation in February 2006, with Lockhart as registered agent, even as the business promotes decades of service under its brand names.
Chapter 11 does not necessarily mean Prime-Scape is closing or going out of business. The Subchapter V track, created to streamline reorganization for qualifying small businesses, lets a company keep operating while restructuring its debts under a court-approved repayment plan, and the filing indicates funds are expected to be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.
Who Prime-Scape Owes and Who It Serves
Among the company’s largest unsecured creditors are Lendistry, Rapid Finance, Marlin Leasing Corporation, Bay First Bank, The Fundworks, LLC, and FC Market Place LLC, a mix that points toward reliance on alternative lenders and merchant cash advance financing common among cash-strapped small businesses. Prime-Scape describes itself as fully licensed and insured, with a team that includes landscaping professionals, horticulturalists, irrigation technicians, landscape architects, designers, project managers, and an ISA certified arborist on staff…