SBA 7(a) Quick Service Restaurant Feasibility Study in New Hampshire

Small tickets and a clean charge-off record

New Hampshire is a small state, yet limited-service restaurants stand second among its 39 asset classes in SBA 7(a) lending. The agency approved 157 loans for them there across FY2017 to FY2026, worth $34.9 million. The state ranks 31 among states for this class and program, so the class matters more locally than the state's national position suggests. What distinguishes the record is how modest the lending is: a $100,000 median sits at 0.34x the nationwide figure, so a New Hampshire counter-service operator borrows far less than peers in other states.

Who lends and where

The middle half of loans falls between $45,000 and $255,000. Franchise brands appear on 20.4% of loans, so independents make up the bulk of borrowers. Primary Bank is the largest current holder in SBA's records with 22 loans worth $5.0 million, with TD Bank, National Association behind it at 19 worth $2.6 million and Merrimack County Savings Bank with 16 worth $2.7 million. Two smaller names hold 8 loans apiece: Savings Bank of Walpole with $1.1 million and Kennebunk Savings Bank with the same $1.1 million. The page shows these as holders SBA reports, and it does not describe any institution's policies. Hillsborough and Rockingham counties each account for 47 loans, with Merrimack at 17, Carroll and Strafford at 13 apiece, and Coos and Sullivan at 1 each, so the activity runs along the southern tier and the lakes region far more than the north.

Cancellations, charge-offs and the annual rhythm

In New Hampshire, cancellation took at least 9.8% of approvals made through FY2024, and 11.5% once undisbursed loans are counted as lost, so a borrower should expect that a noticeable share of approved projects never close. Of the 68 early New Hampshire loans that funded, 0.00% show a 0.00% charge-off floor, and 0.00% did so inside five years; with loans still open, that spotless reading is a minimum and no guarantee that none will fail. Yearly volume has stayed between 11 and 23 loans, with the high of 23 in FY2017 and 21 in FY2025.

A feasibility study for a New Hampshire quick-service restaurant has to test things the loan data cannot. Traffic counts and visibility on the corridor decide a counter-service concept, so the study should measure drive-by volume and the competing brands within a short trade area, and it should state whether the site depends on summer or ski-season visitors. Revenue should be modelled for a sales-to-investment relationship that suits a loan near the state's modest median, and the debt service coverage ratio should be tested with a lower-sales case. If the concept is a franchise, the study should read the franchise disclosure figures against local wages. The appraisal will weigh the real estate, equipment and any going-concern value separately, and the study should keep those categories apart.