Gas Station Feasibility Study in South Carolina

Smaller tickets than the national class, mostly 7(a)

What stands apart in South Carolina is loan size. The median loan of $800,000 is 0.76x the nationwide gas station and truck stop median, and the central half of loans runs from $590,250 to $1.3 million. Over FY2017 to FY2026 the state recorded 67 loans worth $71.3 million, 24 of 53 among states, and in South Carolina's own mix it holds 10 of 39. With a location quotient of 0.88x, fuel retail is a bit lighter in this state's lending than in the country at large.

Brands, lenders and counties

SBA 7(a) carried 59 loans and SBA 504 carried 8, a heavy tilt toward 7(a). Franchise affiliation is 32.8% of loans. TD Bank, National Association holds 9 loans worth $5.8 million, while Citizens Bank holds 7 worth $7.7 million, so the loans Citizens holds are larger on average. Richland County has 10 loans and Lexington 8; Aiken and Lancaster have 5 each, Oconee and Spartanburg 4, with Cherokee, Chesterfield, Hampton and Marlboro at 3.

Cancellations, volume and the withheld charge-off rate

Cancellations touched at least 16.3% of the approvals dated FY2017 to FY2024; with undisbursed loans included the figure stays put, so roughly one deal in six did not fund. A borrower still needs to assume that an approval does not guarantee closing. South Carolina's charge-off figure is withheld since the disbursed cohort has under 30 loans; nothing is shown, and nothing should be inferred. Annual counts bounce from 11 loans in FY2019 to 3 in FY2024, and FY2026 stands at 9 loans and $12.8 million, the biggest dollar year in the table.

What the study has to prove

A South Carolina fuel station study needs location-specific traffic and competing-pump analysis rather than state averages, then inside sales that justify the capital. Cost must include tanks, canopy and environmental diligence, with the ticket sizes here as a reference. Coverage has to hold at lean fuel margins. The appraisal should treat the site, improvements and any brand supply agreement separately, since a lender will look hard at what is left if the operator leaves.

Classification follows what the borrower reports as its industry. That leaves truck stops and travel centers lumped in with fuel outlets that sell no groceries, and the 2022 NAICS index has no line for vehicle charging sites.