Veterinary Clinic Feasibility Study in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area

Washington: veterinary lending sixteenth in class, but large loans

The Washington record for veterinary clinic spans FY2017 to FY2026: 39 loans, $43.9 million. Washington is 17 of 485 among metropolitan and micropolitan areas for veterinary clinic, and veterinary clinic is 16 of 39 there. At 0.69x, the location quotient shows Washington lending less to veterinary clinic, proportionally, than the country does. The county detail is thin: Montgomery County, MD leads, with Fairfax County, VA and Spotsylvania County, VA behind. Project counties: Montgomery County, MD (9), Fairfax County, VA (5), and Spotsylvania County, VA (5).

A Washington loan at the midpoint is $669,000, and the middle half spans $122,500 to $1.7 million. At 1.08x of the national figure, veterinary clinic loans in Washington are typical in size. Program counts for Washington are withheld; neither program is absent. For Washington, the franchise figure is suppressed, and blank is not zero.

Live Oak Banking Company dominates the dollars

Live Oak Banking Company carries a large dollar total across its loans, while Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company shows a small one. 15 loans for $27.6 million at Live Oak Banking Company and 8 loans for $1.3 million at Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company hold the 7(a) loans shown. Washington lenders appear as SBA records them, so read them as holdings.

Washington shows no cancellation floor or ceiling, making no claim on losses. Year by year, 9 loans worth $10.4 million in FY2017, 6 loans worth $5.2 million in FY2019, 5 loans worth $6.5 million in FY2021, and 5 loans worth $9.2 million in FY2024. In Washington, thin counts hide the missing years. Every Washington count passes through a county match, and unplaced projects go missing.

Washington: what the study must test

The spread between the quartiles says this file covers everything from a single-doctor practice to a larger hospital, so the study must define the project. Client demand should be built from pet-owning households near the site and compared with clinics and emergency hospitals already open on each side of the state lines. Veterinarian and technician hiring often limits revenue more than floor space, and the plan should name who will staff the rooms. Diagnostic and surgical equipment drive the budget. The cash plan must still work if the lead veterinarian departs. Valuation must split goodwill from real estate, since kennel and surgical space suits few other users.