SBA 7(a) Gas Station Feasibility Study in Washington

Big-ticket fuel lending

Gas stations and truck stops financed under SBA 7(a) in Washington look nothing like the smaller-ticket classes. The program approved 591 loans from FY2017 to FY2026, worth $1.25 billion, at a median of $1.8 million that is 1.68x the 7(a) median for the class nationally. The middle half spans $1.0 million to $3.0 million. On rank, Washington is 3 among states for this program and class, and the class holds 3 of 39 among Washington asset classes. Franchise loans account for 61.4%, mostly branded fuel.

Cancellation and the odd charge-off record

Cancellation after approval hit 11.2% or more of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, and 11.4% if undisbursed loans count. The charge-off picture is unusually benign: among 266 loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021, 0.38% show as charged off to date, against 0.00% inside five years of approval. Those are printed floors; later years may differ, and a small cohort can mask risk.

Lenders

Readycap Lending, LLC holds 94 loans worth $234.4 million, PCB Bank 74 worth $165.4 million, Commonwealth Business Bank 63 worth $112.2 million, Celtic Bank Corporation 38 worth $90.6 million and Hanmi Bank 36 worth $83.6 million. These are SBA's listings of the current holder, and they show books rather than appetite. By county, Pierce has 96 loans, King 82, Snohomish 69, Yakima 44, Thurston 41 and Kitsap 38.

Coding limit and timing

The code follows the borrower's industry; travel centers sit in the same bucket as plain fuel stops; charging stations are missing from the 2022 industry index altogether. Annual volume reached 81 loans and $162.3 million in FY2021 and $186.2 million in FY2024.

Testing a 7(a) fuel-site loan

Because these checks are large, the study has to carry the weight of a real-estate underwriting. It should test traffic counts, fuel gallons per day and in-store margin, tank age, environmental history and cleanup liability, and the cost of any shift toward charging. The loan must be set against the going-concern value and the land, with coverage shown when fuel margins narrow. Supply contracts and brand image requirements can change both cost and exit value, so the study should state them plainly and say what a new owner would pay.