Worked Example: Conventional Bank Gas Station Feasibility Study in Missouri
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Missouri, financed with a conventional bank loan.
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Jefferson City, MO Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
SBA files rank Jefferson City 294 of 928 by loans: 224 approvals in FY2017 to FY2026, $106.6 million gross. Median loan: $150,000 in Jefferson City, 0.72x the national median. That makes Jefferson City a smaller-ticket market. In Jefferson City, the middle half of in Jefferson City loans runs from $50,000 to $372,950. Because $50,000 and $372,950 frame the middle half, a Jefferson City borrower should weigh any Jefferson City request against $150,000 in Jefferson City.
Program mix in Jefferson City: 196 under SBA 7(a) and 28 under SBA 504. As SBA flags them, 9.4% of Jefferson City loans are franchise loans. Asset by asset, Jefferson City shows full-service restaurant with 10, limited-service restaurant with 9 and fitness center with 7. A further 164 Jefferson City loans sit in no named class in Jefferson City. The class lines for Jefferson City therefore never sum to 224. County by county, Jefferson City reads Cole County, MO with 120, Callaway County, MO with 84 and Moniteau County, MO with 11 in Jefferson City.
In Jefferson City, holder lists use SBA's reporting on in Jefferson City loans a holder in Jefferson City keeps or kept in Jefferson City, in the holder field, and say nothing of lender standards. Jefferson City holders should be read that way. The Jefferson City SBA 7(a) table opens with The Central Trust Bank with 46 loans worth $12.8 million; Hawthorn Bank with 41 loans worth $10.6 million; The Callaway Bank with 33 loans worth $3.8 million. Under SBA 504, Jefferson City lists Rural Missouri, Inc. with 14 loans worth $5.5 million first. In Jefferson City, the top holder leads the rest. A Jefferson City borrower may still approach any lender in Jefferson City.
Of Jefferson City approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, at least 15.6% were cancelled after approval. The Jefferson City ceiling, counting loans still to disburse as cancelled stays unprinted for Jefferson City, as withheld. In Jefferson City, 8.0% of the 113 loans disbursed in FY2017 in Jefferson City to FY2021 are charged off to date, a floor; the five-year measure is withheld. Jefferson City's busiest printed year was FY2017, with 41 loans. Jefferson City membership follows whichever county the project names using the July 2023 delineation, therefore a loan whose county cannot be placed is dropped from all areas. The 224 loans in Jefferson City, MO include those in no named class in Jefferson City.
Start with demand in Jefferson City. Show the draw of the project address alone, then test a late opening in Jefferson City. Cost needs care in Jefferson City. The norm of $150,000 is only a guide, while each line belongs on a quote, adding a visible contingency for Jefferson City. Coverage of the Jefferson City loan payment follows. Run the ratio at the proposed amount once more on conservative revenue, saying how far Jefferson City revenue can fall. Lenders in Jefferson City also rely on appraisals, so the study's rent and caps needs to reconcile with value in Jefferson City. Inside Jefferson City, MO, submarkets differ widely. Its 224 loans average across them all, so a Jefferson City study must name the Jefferson City submarket it means in Jefferson City. At 0.72x of the national median, Jefferson City projects run modest in Jefferson City. A large project must show why Jefferson City can absorb its scale, against $150,000.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 224 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $106.6 million |
| Median loan | $150,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $50,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $372,950 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 196 |
| SBA 504 loans | 28 |
| Franchise share of loans | 9.4% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 294 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.72x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 15.6% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | withheld |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 8.0% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 113 |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA loans approved in the Jefferson City, MO Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 41 | $13.8 million |
| FY2018 | 17 | $4.9 million |
| FY2019 | 19 | $7.1 million |
| FY2020 | 27 | $13.7 million |
| FY2021 | 33 | $14.0 million |
| FY2022 | 26 | $17.6 million |
| FY2023 | 17 | $6.9 million |
| FY2024 | 19 | $4.0 million |
| FY2025 | 10 | $13.1 million |
| FY2026 | 15 | $11.7 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 164 |
| Full-service restaurant | 10 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 9 |
| Fitness center | 7 |
| Child care center | 7 |
| Hotel and motel | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Rural Missouri, Inc. | 14 | $5.5 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| The Central Trust Bank | 46 | $12.8 million |
| Hawthorn Bank | 41 | $10.6 million |
| The Callaway Bank | 33 | $3.8 million |
| The Bank of Missouri | 16 | $4.1 million |
| Commerce Bank | 10 | $20.7 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Cole County, MO | 120 |
| Callaway County, MO | 84 |
| Moniteau County, MO | 11 |
| Osage County, MO | 9 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MT-27620.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Missouri, financed with a conventional bank loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Jefferson City, MO Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.
Start with the data.
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