SBA 7(a) Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in North Carolina

North Carolina beverage makers borrow nearly twice the national midpoint

The headline metric in North Carolina is size. The 116 beer, wine and spirits loans SBA approved through 7(a) between FY2017 and FY2026 total $84.5 million, and the median loan of $449,300 is 1.80x the nationwide 7(a) midpoint for the class. Loans in the central half start at $150,000 and top out at $919,500. Ranked by loan count the state is 10 among states, with beverage production at 11 of 39 inside North Carolina. Not one loan is franchised, at 0.00%, so these are producers financing their own plants, barrel rooms and stills, and not units of a chain. That combination, large loans and no franchising, is what this cell shows that neither North Carolina's all-class record nor the national beverage record shows.

Holders and counties

TowneBank holds 25 loans totalling $18.4 million, the largest position by a wide margin. HomeTrust Bank follows with 9 loans and $8.0 million, Live Oak Banking Company with 8 and $14.6 million, a big average, United Community Bank with 7 and $5.8 million, and PNC Bank, National Association with 5 and $1.9 million. The table reflects the holder SBA lists today and nothing about any bank's criteria. Mecklenburg and Wake counties each have 15 loans, Guilford 12, and Buncombe and Durham 5 each, so production is not limited to a single region.

Cancellations and a late-surfacing loss

Cancellation is 8.7% on the floor measure and 9.7% on the ceiling. Charge-offs split: the funded group approved FY2017 through FY2021 holds 54 loans, 5.6% of them charged off so far but 0.00% charged off at the five-year mark. A divergence like this means whatever losses exist appeared after the fifth year, and further ones may come as open loans mature. The yearly dollars show a large single peak of $20.6 million in FY2023 after $13.2 million in FY2021, then $3.3 million in FY2025.

What a study for a North Carolina producer must test

Larger loans mean larger projects, and the study must show what the money buys: building, fermentation or distillation equipment, packaging lines, and the inventory that sits unsold while product ages. The industry code does not show whether a borrower runs a tasting room or event space, and the class was assembled to include only beer, wine and spirits makers, so the study must declare the revenue model itself. Wholesale demand rests on distributor agreements and retail placement; direct sales rest on visitor traffic, hours and competition from neighbouring breweries. Cost lines should include licensing, water and wastewater handling and compliance with federal and state excise rules. The payment must be shown covered during the months before sales ramp up. An appraiser will treat special-purpose production space cautiously, so the proposal should state resale value under alternative uses and the equity the owner contributes.