SBA 7(a) Veterinary Clinic Feasibility Study in Arizona

Arizona clinics borrow above the norm

For Arizona veterinary clinics the 7(a) median is $1.0 million, 1.63x the national reading, with an inner half from $300,000 to $1.6 million. The file has 78 loans from FY2017 to FY2026 worth $95.3 million. By count Arizona sits 10th across the nation, and the clinic class sits 13th of 39 within Arizona. Franchising is a small factor at 3.8% of loans.

Maricopa and a short list of holders

Maricopa County has 48 of the loans, Pima 11, Yavapai 5, Coconino 4, Navajo 3, and Cochise, Mohave and Yuma 2 each. That ratio is higher than in Colorado, where the Front Range is spread across several counties. Live Oak Banking Company tops the table with 13 loans and $20.1 million. PNC Bank, National Association has 9 for $10.6 million, Banc of California 8 for $20.0 million, Wells Fargo Bank National Association 6 for $2.4 million, and United Community Bank 5 for $7.2 million. Banc of California's average ticket is the highest on the list, and Wells Fargo's the lowest. The table records who holds the loans now.

Floors

The 13.4% floor for cancelled approvals is mirrored by an identical ceiling, and it is higher than in the Colorado clinics on a sibling page. Arizona's 49 early funded loans carry 0.00% charge-off on both bases, which loans still open could revise. Yearly approvals went from 13 loans and $7.1 million in FY2017 to 9 and $16.7 million in FY2021 and 5 and $8.2 million in FY2026.

What an Arizona clinic study must test

The study has to decide whether the loan funds an acquisition or a build. For an acquisition, it should test revenue and net income after the departing veterinarian's compensation is replaced, and the client retention through a change of ownership. For a new clinic, it should count pet-owning households in the catchment, the competing hospitals and emergency clinics, and the pace at which a client base can realistically grow. Arizona's heat, rapid suburban growth and seasonal residents shape demand, and the study should say which of these applies to the site. Staffing is a binding limit, so veterinarian and technician recruitment needs a plan. Cost and working capital should be tested against a loan near $1.0 million. An appraiser will weigh the practice and its building together.