SBA 7(a) Liquor Store Feasibility Study in Kentucky

One lender dominates Kentucky liquor lending

Community Trust Bank, Inc. is the single name in the Kentucky liquor store holder table, with 19 of the 48 loans and $3.0 million, and that concentration is what makes this cell different from the state or the class nationally. The 48 loans total $17.0 million, a midpoint of $187,500 that is 0.43x the national 7(a) liquor store midpoint, with the middle half between $75,000 and $360,000. Kentucky ranks 23 against other states in count, and inside Kentucky liquor store holds place 11 of 39. Franchising is nil, at 0.00%.

Geography and calendar

Fayette County, which holds Lexington, accounts for 8 loans, Jefferson for 4, and Boyd, Marion and Warren for 3 each, so lending is spread over several mid-sized markets rather than one city. FY2021 brought 10 loans worth $1.8 million, the busiest year by count, while FY2025 shows 2 loans and FY2026 has 3. FY2020 carried the largest dollar year at $5.5 million from 6 loans. The holder shown is who SBA lists at present, which may not be the originating bank.

Cancellations and withheld losses

Kentucky liquor approvals dated through FY2024 saw at least 14.0% fall away before funding; the ceiling reads 14.0% too. No loss rate is printed, since SBA needs a larger funded cohort, and the gap implies neither safety nor trouble. Every rate is a floor for loans still maturing. The class has no coding limit and the FY2024 lessor note does not apply.

What a Kentucky liquor store study has to show

A package store is a license, a location and a lease, and the study has to address each. Confirm that the license passes to the buyer or can be issued to the applicant, since a loan without one is useless. Measure demand from households within the draw, the number of competing package stores, and the sale rules for the county, which can change the market sharply from one county line to the next. For a purchase, reconcile the price with the seller's reported sales, inventory at cost and gross margin. A midpoint near $187,500 suggests acquisitions of small stores, so separate goodwill from inventory and equipment. Coverage should hold with a dip in sales after the ownership change. A lender depends on documented sales, so the study should explain how every figure was verified.