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Research · Franchise financing

The State of SBA Franchise Financing

Which franchises get SBA-funded, which default most, what they borrow, and who lends, measured across every franchise loan in the public SBA record.

By Mario Bailey · Source: SBA FOIA data, as of 2026-03-31

Published · Updated

102,782
franchise SBA loans

9.9% of all SBA lending

$79.7B
funded to franchisees
$776K
average franchise loan
4.3%
average 7(a) charge-off

but it ranges 0% to 20%+ by brand

20.4%
riskiest brand (DICKEY'S BARBECUE PIT)
64
brands with a reliable track record

200+ 7(a) loans each

Free to cite with a link. Computed from the public SBA 7(a) and 504 record, FY2010–2026; charge-off is 7(a)-only.

Buying a franchise is one of the most-financed paths in small business: across the record, 102,782 SBA loans (9.9% of all SBA lending) went to franchisees of 5,914 brands, worth $79.7B. But "it's a franchise" tells you little. The brand you pick swings the odds enormously.

The most-financed franchises

  1. 1. The UPS Store 1,573 loans · $497.5M
  2. 2. SUBWAY 1,276 loans · $368.7M
  3. 3. ANYTIME FITNESS 1,128 loans · $492.5M
  4. 4. JIMMY JOHN'S 881 loans · $419.1M
  5. 5. Ace Hardware 800 loans · $661.4M
  6. 6. SUBWAY SANDWICH SHOP 709 loans · $172.3M
  7. 7. The Goddard School 679 loans · $1.3B
  8. 8. SERVPRO 654 loans · $354.1M
  9. 9. FIREHOUSE SUBS 612 loans · $197.1M
  10. 10. Primrose Schools 571 loans · $1.3B

Safest and riskiest brands

The single most useful number for a franchise buyer: how often that brand's SBA loans go bad. Among brands with 200+ 7(a) loans, the spread is staggering.

Lowest charge-off
  1. Primrose Schools 0.0%
  2. Nothing Bundt Cakes 0.0%
  3. Crumbl 0.0%
  4. Club Pilates 0.0%
  5. La Quinta by Wyndham a.k.a. La Quinta Inn & Suites 0.0%
  6. CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AUTOMOTIVE 0.0%
Highest charge-off
  1. DICKEY'S BARBECUE PIT 20.4%
  2. The Grounds Guys 15.1%
  3. MENCHIE'S 11.1%
  4. AAMCO Transmissions 9.6%
  5. EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS 9.4%
  6. ANYTIME FITNESS 7.1%

The biggest-ticket franchises

Hotels dominate the large end: real estate makes the average loan a multiple of a food or fitness franchise. Top brands by average loan size (100+ loans):

  1. Fairfield by Marriott/Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott/Fairfield Inn by Marriott $3.8M avg
  2. La Quinta by Wyndham a.k.a. La Quinta Inn & Suites $3.6M avg
  3. Holiday Inn Express/Holiday Inn Express & Suites $3.5M avg
  4. Hampton Inn $3.5M avg
  5. Candlewood Suites $3.3M avg
  6. Comfort Suites by Choice Hotels $3.3M avg

Franchise lending over time

SBA funded volume to franchises by fiscal year

Who funds franchises

A few lenders do most franchise SBA lending, by loan count:

  1. 1. The Huntington National Bank 10,685 loans
  2. 2. Live Oak Banking Company 2,280 loans
  3. 3. GBank 810 loans
  4. 4. Wells Fargo Bank National Association 3,193 loans
  5. 5. Celtic Bank Corporation 2,074 loans
  6. 6. Byline Bank 1,087 loans
  7. 7. Bank of Hope 654 loans
  8. 8. Readycap Lending, LLC 908 loans
Method, sources, and caveats. Franchise loans are SBA 7(a) and 504 loans the SBA tagged to a franchise brand, FY2010–2026 (as of 2026-03-31). Charge-off is 7(a)-only; the safest/riskiest league is limited to brands with 200+ 7(a) loans so the rate is reliable. Brands are grouped case-insensitively but spelling variants the SBA used separately (e.g. "SUBWAY" vs "SUBWAY SANDWICH SHOP") are not merged. See the methodology.
Cite this analysis

Mario Bailey. (2026). SBA Franchise Financing Report. SBA Loan Index. https://sbaloanindex.com/studies/franchise-financing-report/

Free to cite and quote with attribution and a link. Members of the press can reach us via our press page.

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