SBA 7(a) Veterinary Clinic Feasibility Study in New York

Upstate and Long Island practices, with a thin loan record in 2023

In New York, veterinary clinics drew 106 loans from the 7(a) program in FY2017 through FY2026, totalling $98.0 million in gross dollars. The state is seventh among states for the class yet the clinic line places only 17 of 39 at home. Its feature is the width of the size range: the central half of loans starts at $85,000 and reaches $1.5 million, while the $333,000 median is just 0.54x of the national reading. A few large acquisitions therefore pull the dollars well above what the typical clinic borrows. No loan is franchised, with the share at 0.00%.

Geography and holders

The map is not what one would expect of New York: Suffolk County has 17 loans and Monroe County 15, ahead of Saratoga with 10, Nassau with 6, and Erie and Onondaga with 5 each, while Kings has 4. Live Oak Banking Company is shown as holder of 20 loans worth $44.4 million, a big average. Genesee Regional Bank has 11 worth $4.3 million, the 9 loans of Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company total $2.4 million, Wells Fargo Bank National Association 8 worth $7.8 million and Firstrust Savings Bank 7 worth $5.7 million. Names in this table only say who holds a loan today. Annual volume ran from 23 loans and $12.7 million in FY2017 down to just 2 loans and $100,000 in FY2023, then rose to 12 loans and $18.3 million in FY2025.

How approved clinics fared

Cancellation removed 13.3% or more of approvals dated through FY2024, and 14.4% in the broader reading. Of 59 loans funded in the early years, 1.7% are charged off so far, yet the opening half-decade reads 0.00%, which places any loss late. Open loans leave both as minimums.

A New York clinic study should state what is being financed: a start-up, a purchase from a retiring owner, or an addition such as surgery, imaging or boarding. For a purchase, the revenue history by service, the client base and the veterinarian's plan to stay through a transition matter most. For a start-up, the study needs households with pets in the trade area, existing practices and emergency hospitals nearby, and the pace at which an appointment book fills. Associate recruitment is hard in many regions, so coverage should be run with an open position. Clinics in Suffolk and Nassau pay different rents and wages from those around Rochester or Saratoga, and the study should use local figures. The appraisal will separate the practice's goodwill from the building and equipment.