SBA 7(a) Veterinary Clinic Feasibility Study in Illinois

Losing a fifth of approvals before funding

Illinois veterinary clinics hold 68 SBA 7(a) loans and $63.4 million in gross dollars, ranked 13th among states for the pairing, while veterinary care is the 18 of 39 class in Illinois. Cancellation is large: at least 19.6% of approvals through FY2024 were cancelled, and 21.6% when loans not yet disbursed are included. The file gives no reason for any cancellation.

A median of $409,500 equals 0.66x the national one, and loans cluster from $168,750 up to $1.1 million. No clinic carries a franchise; the share is 0.00%. The Huntington National Bank holds 9 loans, Live Oak Banking Company 8 and PNC Bank, National Association 5. Think of the names as a ledger of paper held, not a policy statement. Cook County has 18 loans, DuPage 10, and Tazewell 9 (McHenry, Morgan and Will have 3 each), ahead of Lake and Madison with 5 each. Volume peaked at 11 loans and $9.2 million in FY2018 and again at 10 loans in FY2022. FY2017 had 4 loans worth $3.8 million, FY2023 had 6 worth $11.7 million, and FY2026 had 8 worth $6.4 million.

A withheld loss rate

The cell carries no charge-off figure, because the funded cohort is under 30 loans. The blank is a data limit and not a zero, and clinics here should not be presumed free of losses on account of it. Cancellation is therefore the only outcome measure, and it is a heavy one.

What an Illinois veterinary study must prove

Keep the practice and the property apart. On the practice side: the client base, services and species, the number of veterinarians and technicians, and the revenue each can carry. For an acquisition, test how much goodwill depends on the seller's presence, and build a transition plan. Because a large share of approvals do not fund, the study should show the purchase agreement, lease and licensing status. Equipment and any construction need itemized cost against a median ticket that runs below the national norm. Debt service coverage must hold in a year when staffing slips. Because a cancelled deal costs the borrower time, the study should also show a fallback plan if the purchase price or the lease terms change before closing.