Veterinary Clinic Feasibility Study in Tennessee

Live Oak holds a large share of Tennessee vet loans, all under 7(a)

Every one of Tennessee's 50 veterinary loans from FY2017 to FY2026 went through SBA 7(a); the 504 count is 0. The total is $56.3 million, which ranks the state 23 of 53, and the location quotient of 1.42x shows veterinary lending claiming a notably bigger slice of SBA activity here than in the country overall, even though in Tennessee's own mix the class holds just 12 of 39. Loans are on the large side as well: a median of $741,000 is 1.19x the national midpoint for veterinary loans, and most requests run from $211,250 to $1.4 million.

One dominant lender and a few counties

Live Oak Banking Company accounts for 15 of the 50 loans, worth $18.7 million, so about three in ten Tennessee clinics in this file sit with a single lender. No other lender reaches our five-loan reporting line. Franchise affiliation reaches 10.0% of loans. Knox County has 9 loans and Rutherford 8, with Shelby at 4 and Davidson and Montgomery at 3 each.

Cancellations run high; charge-offs are withheld

Cancellations hit at least 17.5% of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals and rise to 20.0% when loans still undisbursed are counted. Nobody should schedule staff, leases or seller payments around an approval alone. This page shows no charge-off rate for Tennessee, because Loan Analytics reports a rate only when at least 30 disbursed loans are in the cohort, and silence is not evidence of a perfect record. Volume moves in jumps, from 11 loans in FY2017 to 2 in FY2019, and FY2026 shows only 4 loans but $10.4 million.

What a Tennessee clinic study must show

A feasibility study must separate the three deals hiding in this class: a startup clinic, a purchase of an existing practice, and a relocation into new space. Each has its own demand evidence, from pet household counts and competing hospitals to the production history of a practice being bought. Equipment, build-out and working capital must be priced with a contingency. Run coverage assuming a sluggish opening twelve months and with the owner's own salary included. The appraisal must split real estate, equipment and goodwill, as lenders discount goodwill.