Gas Station Feasibility Study in Minnesota

Small fuel loans by national standards

Minnesota fuel retailers borrow far less under SBA than gas station owners in most states. The median across 159 approvals from FY2017 to FY2026 is $479,000, just 0.46x the fuel retail median nationwide, a gap our screen counts as distinctive against both Minnesota's lending in every class and the class nationally. The quartiles fall at $185,000 and $991,000, and approvals total $115.1 million. A Minnesota station loan, in other words, is more often an equipment upgrade, a tank or canopy replacement, or the purchase of a small-town store than a new highway travel center.

Minnesota station lending is also lighter than its national weight, a location quotient of 0.77x, even though Minnesota ranks 8 of 53 by count and the class is 11 of 39 among the state's. SBA 504 carried 35 approvals and SBA 7(a) 124. Midwest Business Finance Corporation leads the 504 holders with 15 worth $7.4 million, Amplio Economic Development Corporation's 7 total $10.2 million, while Twin Cities-Metro Certified Development Company has 5 worth $5.1 million. Among 7(a) holders, Sunrise Banks National Association has 10, United Prairie Bank 9, Security Bank USA 8 worth $2.0 million and Old National Bank 5. Branded franchise operations make up 32.1% of the loans.

Few losses, a steady share of cancellations

Minnesota station loans rarely go bad. Of 90 paid out over FY2017 to FY2021, the loss floor stands at 1.1%, and since the five-year share matches it, every charge-off so far came early. Cancellation is the more common failure: 12.4% of Minnesota approvals in FY2017 through FY2024 were cancelled, a share that holds at the ceiling even with Minnesota's undisbursed approvals folded in. Volume spiked to 39 approvals in FY2021 and has since run between 7 and 17 a year.

What a Minnesota station study must test

The record is split between the Twin Cities and outstate Minnesota: Hennepin County holds 22 approvals, Anoka 17 and Dakota 12, but Beltrami has 11, Kandiyohi 8 and Otter Tail 7. In a rural market the feasibility study has to show the fuel gallons and inside sales that local traffic can sustain, with any seasonal swing measured rather than assumed; in the metro it has to show the site can hold share against chain operators nearby. Cost testing must price tanks, dispensers, canopy and environmental compliance at current quotes, and a Phase I review belongs in every acquisition. Coverage should lean on inside-store margin as much as fuel margin, since fuel margins move with wholesale prices. Appraisers should split each Minnesota station into land and building, fuel equipment and going concern. Bear in mind what the code records: the borrower's own line of business. Minnesota's highway truck plazas count as stations here, and electric vehicle charging, absent from the 2022 industry index, leaves no trace in this record.