SBA 7(a) Gas Station Feasibility Study in Arizona

Arizona fuel stops borrow more

Arizona's gas stations and truck stops stand out for ticket size. A $1.4 million median is 1.29x the national 7(a) reading for fuel stops, with the central half of loans between $649,100 and $2.3 million. SBA approved 103 loans from FY2017 to FY2026, worth $171.5 million, which puts Arizona 15th by count, while the class is 12th of 39 inside the state. More than half the loans, 56.3%, belong to a franchise.

Maricopa and the long highways

Maricopa County has 48 loans, but Mohave County is a distant second with 18, which says a great deal about where fuel lending goes in Arizona: Mohave sits on interstate corridors. Cochise has 7, Pinal 6, Pima 5, Coconino and Yavapai 4 each, and Apache, Gila and Graham 2 each. Celtic Bank Corporation leads the holders with 26 loans and $50.6 million, Alerus Financial, National Association has 16 and $14.6 million, Readycap Lending, LLC has 7 and $11.4 million, and Arizona Financial Credit Union has 6 and $3.4 million. Those names come from SBA's current-holder data for these approvals and say nothing about their credit policies.

Floors and the calendar

Cancellation after approval is at least 13.8%, with the same ceiling. Among 55 early loans that funded, SBA's tallies read 0.00% for both measures of charge-off, a floor that loans still open could alter. Volume was 11 loans and $15.2 million in FY2017, 22 and $39.6 million in FY2021 and 9 and $16.1 million in FY2026.

What the Arizona study must test

A study for an Arizona fuel station has to say which kind of site it is. A metro convenience store needs a trade area, competing stations and inside sales, while a highway site depends on through traffic, seasonal travel and distance to the next stop. Either way, it should test fuel volume and margin, inside sales, environmental and tank costs, and debt service against a ticket near $1.4 million, with allowance for the larger loans typical here. The appraisal covers land, building and operating business. On coding, the class follows the borrower's own industry entry, travel centers cannot be sorted from stations lacking a store, and the 2022 index has no line for vehicle charging, which hides a charging-led site from this record.