Rapids Holdings, LLC of Wisconsin Rapids, WI received SBA approval on June 29, 2026 to acquire an existing Ford dealership - operating under a Ford Motor Company Dealer Sales and Service Agreement

The Structure:

Put together, that’s just over $5 million in outside financing on a deal with an implied total project cost near $5.6 million — meaning the buyer brought roughly half a million dollars of their own equity to the table. (More on how that math works in the concept section below.)

Why this one’s worth watching: franchised auto dealerships are a ratre bird in SBA-backed acquisitions. They’re capital-heavy, tightly controlled by the manufacturer (Ford has to approve the buyer, not just the bank), and they carry floor-plan financing complications most small business buyers never encounter. Forty-five jobs riding on a single-location dealership transfer is also a reminder of how much local employment moves quietly through deals that never make the news.

One caveat: as of the latest SBA filing, this loan is approved but not yet funded. Approval is not closing. We'll track it.

Source: SBA 504 FOIA loan-level data, as of 6/30/2026

We pulled every SBA 504 loan flagged “Change of Ownership” going back to 2019.

Deal count flatlines in 2022 and has hovered around 220-240 a year every since. But average loan size has climbed 114% since 2019: from $686K to $1.68M so far this year.

Buyers aren’t doing more deals. They are doing bigger ones.

What is driving it: some mix of rising purchase prices, sellers holding firm on multiples, and buyers financing a larger share of each deal through SBA rather than cash or seller notes. One thing worth watching is whether2026’s $1.86M average loan size holds through Q4 or reverts.

Where the deals are: Florida led 2024-25 with 56 acquisition loans, then California (41), with Wisconsin and Minnesota tied at 24.

Hottest sector: hotels and motels took 87 of 315 change-of-ownership deals in 2025-26 (nearly 1 in 3). Childcare (23) and assisted living (21) came next.

Source: SBA 504 FOIA loan-level data, FY2019–FY2026 YTD

Commercial Architecture Firm: Florida ($1,700,000)
The firm did $1,857,000 in revenue and $566,000 in EBITDA last year, which puts the ask at about 3.0x earnings. That's below the 4x to 6x range architecture firms usually sell for. But the trend is worth a look. Revenue through April 2026 climbed to $1,938,000 while EBITDA dropped to $541,000, so margins are getting thinner even as sales grow. The other thing to check early is how much of the business holds together once a licensed principal leaves. In architecture, the value tends to walk out with the stamp.

20 FedEx P&D Routes: Greater Knoxville, Tennessee ($1,299,000)
Twenty delivery routes bringing in $2,388,057 in 2025 revenue and $359,518 in EBITDA, a 15% margin. Twenty-two trucks and two managers are included. At roughly 3.6x EBITDA, the price is about where these deals normally land. The bigger issue isn't the multiple. All the revenue comes from one FedEx contract, so keeping those routes is the entire investment thesis.

Three-Location Car Wash Portfolio: Sherrill & Oneida, New York ($2,595,000)
Three 24/7 car washes across four tax parcels, producing $659,852 in gross income and $358,757 in NOI. The listed cap rate is 13.82%, much higher than the roughly 6% institutional car washes trade at. That gap tells you this is a hands-on business, not a passive real estate deal. Also worth noting: a good chunk of that income comes from extras, including 24 storage units, a salon rental, and a dog wash. Underwrite the car wash separately from the rent. Seller financing is available.

If you looked at the Rapids deal above and wondered why there were two lenders, this is why.

An SBA 504 loan isn't one loan. It's three pieces grouped in one:

Run the Rapids numbers: $2.785M (bank) is ~49% of the implied $5.6M project, and $2.29M (SBA) is ~41%. Textbook.

Two exceptions that catch buyers off guard:

That's the difference between needing $560K and needing $1.1M on the same deal, and it's why "what's the property classified as?" is a question to ask on day one, not week six.

Why buyers use 504 anyway: the SBA portion carries a long fixed rate over 20 to 25 years, which is materially cheaper than what a bank alone would offer on a deal this size. The tradeoff is process: two lenders, more paperwork, longer close.

That's issue #1. Please, please, please reply and tell us what you want more of. Is it deal breakdowns? Data? or listings? We read everything.

— Sold & Signed