Veterinary Clinic Feasibility Study in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area

Bay Area clinics: large loans, light share, one dominant holder

Veterinary borrowing around San Francisco, Oakland and Fremont is large. 42 loans came to $79.4 million between FY2017 and FY2026, and a median of $1.0 million is 1.63x the national median for the class. The location quotient of 0.92x shows a slightly lower share than nationally, the class ranks 16 of 39 locally, and the metro is 15 of 485 for veterinary loans.

Lenders, programs and counties

The middle half spans $367,500 to $3.7 million, a very wide band. Programs split 32 for 7(a) and 10 for 504, and the franchise share is 0.00%. Live Oak Banking Company holds 16 of the 7(a) loans, worth $48.4 million; that line is SBA's holder record and says nothing about the bank's practices. Alameda County has 13 loans, Contra Costa County 12 and San Mateo County 8.

Printed years: 6 loans in FY2017 ($14.9 million), 7 in FY2018 ($11.9 million) and 5 in FY2024 ($10.0 million). Nine years are withheld. The cancellation floor reads 17.6% over FY2017 to FY2024 approvals, and two further measures go unpublished: the harsher count and the charge-off rate. Only a floor is available, and open loans can change it. Metro placement follows project counties on the 2023 list.

The width of the middle band, from $367,500 to $3.7 million, means a reader cannot treat the median as a target. The band is wide enough that a plan must state whether it resembles a small clinic buying equipment or a larger hospital buying a building. With no franchise flags and one lender holding 16 of the 7(a) loans, the holder list is narrow, and a borrower whose structure differs should explain how it differs.

How a Bay Area clinic plan should be tested

A veterinary plan in this part of California must test a catchment, competing hospitals and specialty services, and the staffing plan for veterinarians and technicians. Cost of the building, equipment and imaging must be set against a median near $1.0 million, and the study should show cash flow covering debt service through the first year. If the loan buys a practice, the study needs a client-retention plan and a separate view of real estate and goodwill. The cancellation floor suggests that closing steps deserve a clear schedule. Nothing here forecasts an outcome.