Buying a Business in Alabama
The Numbers
FY2025 Acquisition Loans
74
$89.9M approved
Median Loan
$816k
FY2020 through FY2025
Loans Since FY2020
383
$478M in total approvals
Share of U.S. Activity
1.1%
Of change-of-ownership loans
What the Data Says
Alabama ranks 27th of 53 states and territories for change-of-ownership SBA 7(a) lending: 383 loans since FY2020, 1% of the national total.
The typical deal runs large: its $816k median loan sits above the $650k midpoint across states, so expect bigger checks and the larger injection and cash flow they need.
Activity is accelerating: FY2025's 74 loans ran ahead of the state's own ~64 a year pace since FY2020.
The most-financed target is hotels (except casino hotels) and motels (30 loans), and the 5 most active lenders wrote about 32% of the state's acquisitions, a broad lender field.
Most Active Acquisition Lenders in Alabama
- 1. Live Oak Banking Company54 loans
- 2. The Huntington National Bank20 loans
- 3. United Midwest Savings Bank National Association17 loans
- 4. Pinnacle Bank (TN)17 loans
- 5. ServisFirst Bank15 loans
A lender being active in Alabama does not require a local branch; several top SBA lenders work nationally. Build a shortlist with Lenders.
What Gets Bought in Alabama
- Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels30 loans
- Broilers and Other Meat Type Chicken Production22 loans
- Insurance Agencies and Brokerages20 loans
- Limited-Service Restaurants19 loans
- Full-Service Restaurants16 loans
Industry-specific pricing and diligence live in the Guides. How many buyable businesses Alabama holds in each trade is in Where the Businesses Are.
Method & Source
Computed from the SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (FY2020 through FY2025), filtered to approvals flagged change of ownership with a Alabama project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.