Gas Station Feasibility Study in Wisconsin

Frequent, branded, below the national ticket

Fuel retail punches above its weight in Wisconsin's SBA activity: the location quotient is 1.61x, the state ranks 6 of 53 for the class, and inside Wisconsin it is 7 of 39. Across 241 approvals worth $243.6 million from FY2017 to FY2026, though, the loans are smaller than the class elsewhere. Wisconsin's median station loan is $780,000, 0.74x what fuel retailers borrow at the national midpoint, a difference our screen marks as distinctive against both Wisconsin's all-class lending and the class across the country. The central half of Wisconsin approvals spans $320,000 to $1.4 million.

Branding is the norm. Franchise or branded operations hold 58.5% of the loans, so most borrowers buy into a supply and image agreement that shapes margins and capital spending. Byline Bank and Bank Five Nine dominate the 7(a) book, with 41 loans worth $44.7 million and 36 worth $34.1 million. T Bank, National Association holds 11 for $19.6 million, much larger tickets than the 11 held by The Huntington National Bank for $4.8 million, and Celtic Bank Corporation holds 10 worth $8.9 million. SBA 504 financed 46 Wisconsin station approvals and SBA 7(a) 195.

Late, light losses

Loss experience is light and late. Of 136 Wisconsin station loans paid out over FY2017 to FY2021, charge-offs claim 1.5%, a floor, and all of them struck after year five, as the Wisconsin five-year rate is 0.00%. Wisconsin cancellations run at 11.0% of FY2017 through FY2024 approvals, unchanged at the ceiling. Volume has fallen steadily from 44 approvals in FY2021 to 15 in FY2025 and 7 in FY2026, so the pipeline is thinner now than at any point in the period.

Testing a Wisconsin station project

Milwaukee County holds 41 approvals, with Waukesha at 16, Kenosha at 13, and Brown, Racine, Sheboygan and Washington at 10 each, so the demand case is usually southeastern Wisconsin. A feasibility study has to test traffic counts and turning movements at the site, fuel gallons against competing stations, and inside-store sales per customer. Costs have to reflect tank and dispenser condition, brand image upgrades required by the supply contract, and environmental review. Stress debt service coverage for fuel margin swings and for the store carrying more of the load. The appraisal has to allocate value among real estate, equipment and business, and test whether the site works for another brand. A note on what the Wisconsin record can and cannot show: it classifies the borrower, not the site, it lumps travel plazas and truck stops with stations that sell no groceries, and it has nothing on electric vehicle charging, which the 2022 index omits.