Physical Therapy Clinic Feasibility Study in Florida

Florida therapy clinics: a large, fast-growing book

Florida ranks 3 of 54 among states for rehabilitation and therapy clinic lending. From FY2017 to FY2026, 291 SBA approvals worth $102.3 million went to Florida clinics, and the location quotient of 1.12x shows the class carrying a little more of the Florida book than of the national one; it ranks 13 of 39 among Florida asset classes. The Florida median was $198,000, which is 1.32x the national median for the class, with loans between the quartiles ranging from $100,000 to $359,500. Florida's median and its two floors are not outliers, so the Florida story is volume, growth and loss experience.

Growth has been sharp. Florida approvals rose from 14 in FY2020 to 41 in FY2023 and 49 in FY2024, then 39 in FY2025 and 40 worth $21.8 million in FY2026. A large part of this book is therefore young.

TD Bank, National Association holds 47 Florida clinic loans, but they total only $4.8 million, so the loans it holds are small. The Huntington National Bank holds 16, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association 13, and Seacoast National Bank and Wells Fargo Bank National Association 10 each. SBA 504 carries 49 approvals against 242 under 7(a); Florida Business Development Corporation holds 27 worth $24.7 million, while Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, Inc. is the holder of 17. Franchise clinics are 10.3% of loans.

The Florida floors

Credit is the gauge to watch. Of 86 Florida clinic loans disbursed over FY2017 to FY2021, a 9.3% share is charged off already, and 4.7% failed within five years, so Florida losses have come both early and later in the term. Both are floors on loans still repaying, and the newer, larger cohorts have not been tested yet. Florida clinic cancellations reach 11.8% at the floor across FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, 13.7% at the ceiling.

What a Florida therapy clinic study must test

Miami-Dade County holds 69 approvals, Orange 31, Broward 29, Palm Beach 21, Sarasota 18, and Hillsborough and Lee 17 each. With that many recently financed Florida clinics, a feasibility study must test referral sources, the payer mix and reimbursement rates, and the number of competing clinics and therapists in the trade area. It should model patient visits per therapist and staffing cost, since therapist hiring can cap growth. Cost work should cover build-out and equipment at current quotes. Given the charge-off floor, the coverage ratio should be run on realistic visit volume and collections, not on capacity. If the Florida loan includes real estate, the appraisal should value it as medical or general office space apart from the practice.