SBA 7(a) Physical Therapy Clinic Feasibility Study in Georgia

A class growing faster than it used to

Georgia's rehabilitation and therapy clinics took 96 SBA 7(a) loans and $38.9 million in gross dollars, 9th among states for the pairing, and the class placed 16 of 39 in Georgia's own ranking. The standout is how recent the growth is. After 3 loans and $190,000 in FY2018, only 2 loans in FY2022 and 7 in FY2023, volume jumped to 16 loans in FY2024, 26 loans and $14.2 million in FY2025 and 13 loans in FY2026. A lender looking at the whole span would misjudge the cell, because most of its history is recent. The median loan is $220,500, 1.57x the national median, and the bulk of loans range from $87,875 to $385,000.

Live Oak Banking Company holds 10 loans and Wells Fargo Bank National Association 7. Northeast Bank holds 6. At 5 each come The Huntington National Bank and, last on the list, Readycap Lending, LLC. Franchises account for 8.3% of loans. These are holder records from SBA, not a view of any lender's practice. Gwinnett County leads with 18 loans, Fulton has 12, DeKalb 9, Cobb 8 and Cherokee 7, with Forsyth at 6 and Chatham and Clayton at 5. The pattern is the north Atlanta suburbs, with Chatham County the one coastal exception.

Floors, and a cohort at the threshold

Georgia's cancellation floor is 7.0% and the ceiling is the same. The funded cohort has 30 loans, the smallest size at which a charged-off floor is reported: 3.3% at the least have been charged off to date, whereas the five-year measure sits at 0.00%. With a cohort that small, one loan moves the percentage a great deal, and loans still open can fail, so a lender should read these as thin evidence. Neither measure was distinctive against Georgia overall or therapy clinics nationally.

What a Georgia clinic study must prove

Referral sources come first: physicians, hospital systems and employers, and the payer contracts through which visits are reimbursed. The study should show the clinician hiring plan, since revenue depends on treatment hours, and the time a new site needs to fill its schedule. Because Georgia tickets run above the national median, it should say whether the loan covers a build-out, equipment, an acquisition or working capital. Coverage of debt service coverage needs a ramp and a lean first-year case, and a purchase needs a transition case. The appraiser will rely on documented collections.