Physical Therapy Clinic Feasibility Study in Wisconsin

Small tickets, steady use of 7(a)

Rehabilitation and therapy clinics in Wisconsin borrow in small amounts. SBA approved 32 loans for the class between FY2017 and FY2026, worth $7.5 million in gross dollars, which is a rank of 31 of 54 among states. Inside the state's own list of financed classes, therapy clinics come 22 of 39, and a location quotient of 0.44x shows a share of state approvals well under the national share. The median loan of $150,000 matches the nationwide figure for therapy clinics at 1.00x, so size is the one dimension in which Wisconsin is simply typical. No measure stands apart from both its parent records.

Loan sizes and program mix

Half of the approvals sit between $97,500 and $206,250, a tight band that suggests working capital, equipment and practice buy-ins rather than property purchases. Program choice was lopsided, with 7(a) carrying 30 of the 32 loans and SBA 504 only 2, and 3.1% of loans went to franchise brands. Annual volume was uneven, from 1 loan in FY2018 and FY2019 to 6 in FY2017 and FY2025, with FY2026 showing only 1 loan. The sum of the yearly dollar totals is small enough that one or two larger loans change the picture, so the dollar trend deserves caution.

Where the loans are

Dane and Waukesha counties each show 7 loans, Racine has 4 and Milwaukee 3, with Brown and Saint Croix at 2 each. The Wisconsin therapy page lists no lenders, and no cancellation or charge-off percentage is printed, because the page follows its own under-30 rule, which is Loan Analytics presentation and not an SBA rule; a missing rate means unpublished, not zero. A borrower should therefore ask a lender about recent experience with therapy practices instead of assuming a clean record.

What a Wisconsin therapy study has to test

A study should open with referral sources: physicians, surgeons and employers who send patients, and how many competing clinics share them. Payer mix and reimbursement need testing, because collections per visit, visit counts per therapist and patient attrition drive revenue more than space does. The plan should show staffing, since licensed therapists are the capacity limit, and test debt service coverage with a slow ramp. At a typical loan near $150,000 the build-out is usually light, so the appraisal question becomes the value of the business and its lease. Note the coding limit: one industry code gathers several kinds of therapy and rehabilitation providers.