SBA 7(a) Veterinary Clinic Feasibility Study in South Carolina

South Carolina veterinary clinics show a median loan of $978,000, 1.58x the nationwide 7(a) clinic median. The 48 loans carry $65.7 million, with half between $445,000 and $1.7 million. The state is 21st by loan count, while the class ranks 12 of 39 inside South Carolina. No franchise sits in the cell: the share is 0.00%.

Lenders and the coast

By loan count the table opens with Live Oak Banking Company: 11 loans, $19.1 million. Then come United Community Bank (7 loans, $6.9 million), Fifth Third Bank (5, $9.9 million) and, level with it on count, First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company (5, $2.8 million). Fifth Third's five loans carry more dollars than United Community's seven, so its average is larger. These are SBA's holder records, which show volume and nothing about what any bank requires. By county, Charleston and Greenville have 9 each, Horry and Lexington 5, Berkeley, Richland and York 3, and Beaufort, Marion and Newberry 2.

Year pattern and cancellation

Approvals began at 7 in FY2017 with $11.5 million, then ran 5, 4, 6 and 4, hit 4 again in FY2022 at only $1.8 million, and moved through 3, 6, 4 and 5 afterwards. The dollar swings are much larger than the count swings, so a few large loans may account for much of the dollar volume. Cancellation after approval stood at no less than 7.7% of approvals through FY2024, and the ceiling is that same figure.

Loss rate not given

Loss experience is absent because the funded pool is thin; the omission is not evidence of a spotless record.

What a Carolina practice study should contain

With a median close to a million dollars, many of these loans must buy a going practice, so the report should compare the price paid with collections, the handover from the selling doctor, and whether clients stay after a sale. It should estimate pet ownership and competing clinics in the trade area, model veterinarian and technician pay, and run coverage on a year with lost revenue during the handover. If the loan also buys property, ask the appraiser for land and building value apart from goodwill and equipment. The plan should also name who will own the practice after closing, what experience that person has in managing a clinic, and how the first year of cash is expected to cover payroll, supplies and rent while the loan payments begin.