SBA 7(a) Grocery Store Feasibility Study in Maryland

Maryland grocery store lending in SBA's records

In Maryland, SBA 7(a) approved 48 loans in the grocery store class. Across FY2017 to FY2026 in Maryland that came to $22.1 million gross. Counting grocery store loans, Maryland ranks 20 across states for grocery store under this program, and grocery store sits 13 of 39 among Maryland classes. A median of $100,000 is 0.32x of the national grocery store median under SBA 7(a), so Maryland runs below the norm. For grocery store in Maryland, the middle half spans $25,000 to $262,500, and franchise flags mark 0.00% of Maryland grocery store loans.

Who holds the grocery store loans, and where

The largest named grocery store holder in Maryland is Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company: 17 loans worth $995,000; behind it TD Bank, National Association, 7 loans ($320,000). Holders in Maryland are those SBA currently lists. The Maryland grocery store county count starts with Prince Georges at 11, Baltimore City at 8, Frederick at 6, Montgomery at 6, Baltimore at 5.

Timing of Maryland approvals

The Maryland grocery store calendar shows 3 loans ($145,000) in FY2019, then in Maryland 1 in FY2020 ($35,000), and in Maryland 3 in FY2021 ($735,000), 8 in FY2023 ($5.0 million) and 7 in FY2024 ($3.9 million) against Maryland's peak of 8 in FY2023.

Grocery store cancel and charge-off floors

In Maryland, approval did not always mean a grocery store loan: of FY2017 to FY2024 Maryland approvals, at least 22.2% ended in Maryland cancellation, with 25.0% the ceiling if undisbursed grocery store loans are added. The grocery store cohort funded in Maryland is too small, so Maryland holds no stable charge-off rate for grocery store loans in Maryland funded FY2017 to FY2021; Maryland withholds the rate, and Maryland lenders should not read it as zero.

Maryland: what a grocery study has to establish

Grocery operates on thin margins, so a Maryland study has to prove volume. It should define the trade area by drive time, tally rival supermarkets, discounters and specialty stores, and test the sales per square foot the format needs against what the neighbourhood's spending can supply. Shrink, labour and perishables handling belong in the cost model, and any purchase of an existing store should reconcile to its sales history. Set the investment against loans centred near $100,000 and show coverage after an honest ramp, with a competitor-opens case beside it.

Maryland grocers: scope of the figures

Grocery stores carry no recorded coding caveat, so Maryland figures speak to them directly. A lender will still ask whether the building holds value if the operator leaves.