Veterinary Clinic Feasibility Study in Louisiana

Louisiana veterinary lending: large tickets, twice the national share

Louisiana shows 48 veterinary clinic loans between FY2017 and FY2026, with $57.6 million approved. The location quotient of 2.01x means the state takes roughly twice the national share of these loans. The state is 24 of 53 for the class, while inside Louisiana veterinary clinics hold 10 of 39 class places. The distinctive metric is the median loan: $845,350 is 1.36x what the class borrows nationally, and half of loans fall between $353,250 to $1.6 million. Louisiana clinics, in other words, are financed at large scale, and most look like acquisitions or ground-up hospitals.

An all-7(a) cell led by a specialist

Every one of the 48 loans is SBA 7(a), with no SBA 504 loans at all, and the franchise share is 4.2%. Live Oak Banking Company dominates with 11 loans and $20.0 million, the only lender at the 5-loan cutoff. That concentration matters: a borrower in Louisiana has realistically one specialist route and a scattering of community banks. Live Oak lends nationally on veterinary practices, so its underwriting standards, including how it treats goodwill and practice cash flow, set the pattern for the market.

Cancellation stands at 16.7% as a floor, and also 16.7% as a ceiling, for the FY2017 to FY2024 cohort. For clinics, a failed acquisition or an unresolved lease can end a deal after approval. Louisiana's seasoned veterinary cohort is under 30 loans, so a loss rate is not printed, and no zero is implied.

What a Louisiana study should test

Saint Tammany has 6 loans, Ascension 5, and Jefferson 4, with Bossier, East Baton Rouge, Ouachita and Tangipahoa at 3 each, which spreads lending across the Northshore, Baton Rouge suburbs and regional cities. A study should test pet ownership and competing hospitals in the specific parish, the clinic's case mix and the revenue per doctor. Cost should cover equipment, renovation or construction after storm exposure, and insurance. Coverage should be tested on the owner-veterinarian's pay and on the departure of an associate. The appraisal needs to value the real estate apart from goodwill. The yearly record dips to 2 loans in FY2022 and 1 in FY2023, then recovers to 7 loans and $6.6 million in FY2026.