SBA 7(a) Gas Station Feasibility Study in Kentucky

Franchised, smaller loans, and a cancellation range

Kentucky gas stations and truck stops under 7(a) combine a small loan size with brand ties. The 41 loans total $30.2 million. The median loan is the one distinctive metric: $450,000, roughly 0.41x the median that SBA 7(a) shows nationally for this class. The middle half of loans runs from $333,000 to $885,000. Franchised loans are 29.3%. Approvals dated through FY2024 lost at least 12.9% to cancellation, with a ceiling of 16.1% if undisbursed loans are treated as cancelled, so the range is wide enough to matter. Kentucky ranks 33 by count nationally, and the class holds the 12 of 39 place inside Kentucky.

Holders, counties and years

Community Trust Bank, Inc.: 15 loans, $8.0 million. The Huntington National Bank: 10 loans, $3.6 million. Both are listed by SBA as current holders. By county, Kenton leads with 6 loans, Campbell with 5 and Jefferson with 5, then Marion with 3. The calendar has a hole: FY2024 shows 0 loans and $0, while FY2026, the last year of the record, has just 2 loans carrying $9.2 million, so that year rests on large loans. FY2019 and FY2025 each saw 8 loans.

What the code can and cannot tell a reader

SBA's industry code follows the borrower's line of business. A travel center with trucks and showers cannot be told from a corner pump island, and the 2022 index has no entry for electric charging, so a charging site cannot be found among Kentucky's loans. The Kentucky loss rate is blank because the Kentucky funded group is below 30 loans, and it is Loan Analytics' own rule to show no rate for a group that small; nothing is implied by it.

Testing a Kentucky fuel station

A study for a Kentucky station starts with road counts and the share of passing traffic that stops, set against the pumps and stores already on the route. Fuel margin is thin and often set by the supplier, so revenue has to be built from inside sales, prepared food, tobacco and lottery or beverage mix, each with its own assumption. The position of the site relative to interstate exits and the local rules on beer and spirits sales can change a store's profile, so the study should name which applies. A franchised site must cost the brand's fees and image standards. Tank age, release history and closure cost belong in the study through an environmental assessment. Coverage should hold at lower gallons and when a competing exit opens. The appraisal should separate real estate from the supply contract.