Physical Therapy Clinic Feasibility Study in Arizona

A clinic loan nearly twice the national size

Arizona stands out in outpatient therapy for how large each loan is. From FY2017 to FY2026, the agency signed off on 81 loans for rehabilitation and therapy clinics in this state, totalling $49.1 million. The median loan is $286,000, or 1.91x the nationwide median for clinics of this kind. The state ranks 12 of 54 for these loans and the class ranks 15 of 39 within Arizona, while the location quotient of 1.10x shows only a mild tilt toward therapy compared with the national mix. In short, the volume is ordinary but the ticket is not: Arizona clinics borrow far more per project than the national norm, which points to build-outs, equipment packages and perhaps practice acquisitions rather than small start-ups.

How the loans are sized and who makes them

The central half of clinic approvals spans $100,000 to $806,400, which means the lower end still reaches small working capital and fit-out requests. SBA 7(a) accounts for 63 loans and SBA 504 for 18, and franchising is minor at 1.2% of loans. On the 7(a) side the named lenders are JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association with 11 loans worth $3.2 million. The Bank of Missouri has 6, and Enterprise Bank & Trust has 5 whose $5.4 million signals larger average tickets than its peers. The 504 table is led by The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation, with 8 loans and $9.1 million, then Arizona Capital Source with 6. Maricopa County holds 58 loans and Pima County 11, with Coconino at 4.

Cancellations, charge-offs and timing

The cancellation floor for approvals made between FY2017 and FY2024 is 6.2%, and the ceiling that treats undisbursed loans as cancelled lands on the same 6.2%. Of the 32 loans that funded between FY2017 and FY2021, none shows a charge-off yet, and the five-year reading is likewise 0.00%. These are floors from a small cohort, so a lender should read them as an encouraging sign and not as proof of zero risk. Approvals were thin in the early years, with 3 in FY2019, then rose to 14 loans and $7.7 million in FY2023 and have held at 8 a year in FY2024, FY2025 and FY2026.

What the feasibility study must establish

Larger tickets mean the underwriting leans on the clinic's cash flow rather than on collateral. A study should therefore build a visit-volume model from referral sources, payer mix and therapist capacity, and test whether the proposed rent and build-out cost leave enough income to meet debt service coverage at realistic reimbursement. It should check competing clinics within the trade area, since Maricopa County dominates the record and many projects share the same suburbs. The appraisal question is how much of the borrowed amount is leasehold improvement that a lender cannot recover if the practice closes. Loan Analytics presents these loan records so borrowers and lenders can compare a proposal with what SBA has actually approved.