SBA 7(a) Gas Station Feasibility Study in North Carolina

A lower-ticket fuel market

North Carolina gas station and truck stop lending under SBA 7(a) is distinguished by loan size: the median of $841,050 is 0.77x the typical national 7(a) fuel-station loan, and loans in the middle of the range fall from $485,000 to $1.2 million. The state still ranks 9th by count, with 134 loans worth $133.5 million across FY2017 to FY2026, so it is a major market made up of smaller deals. The class itself sits only 10th of 39 in the state. Franchises appear in 37.3% of loans, which is a mixed brand picture, in contrast to fuel markets where a single supplier brand dominates.

Lenders and counties

One name stands out among holders: Citizens Bank has 36 loans worth $38.3 million, more than three times the next holder, Pinnacle Bank, at 11 loans and $13.2 million. Further down are Readycap Lending, LLC with 8 loans and $5.2 million, HomeTrust Bank with 6 and $6.8 million, and Metro City Bank with 5 and $4.8 million. Mecklenburg County has 12 loans and Alamance 11. Cumberland and Wake each have 7, and Catawba, Cleveland, Stanly, Union and Wilkes have 5 each, with Davidson at 4. That is a statewide scatter of small towns and corridors rather than a Charlotte-Raleigh pairing, so precedent for a rural site is easy to find.

Floors

Cancellation after approval is at least 12.5%, and the ceiling matches it. For the 61 loans in the early funded cohort, SBA's records give 0.00% for charge-offs so far, and the same 0.00% on a five-year clock. A floor is all that means, because loans still open could deteriorate. Yearly volume ran at 22 loans and $17.3 million in FY2017, 22 and $25.4 million in FY2021, and 11 and $11.9 million in FY2026, so activity has halved in loan count even as the dollars per loan held up.

What the North Carolina study covers

A fuel and convenience project has a feasibility question that differs from most retail: the fuel margin and the inside sales are two businesses on one lot. The study should test traffic past the site in both directions, the competing stations at the same intersection or exit, the gallons the site can sell, and inside sales that cover debt service without leaning on fuel alone. Cost should be compared with a ticket near $841,050, along with tank, environmental and canopy work. The appraisal will cover land, buildings and the operating business together. Coding adds a caveat: the industry shown is whatever the borrower reported, travel centers cannot be pulled apart from ordinary stations, and the 2022 index offers no category for vehicle charging, so a charging-led site would not appear as its own class here.