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Buying a Business in Hawaii

The Numbers

FY2025 Acquisition Loans

10

$8.50M approved

Median Loan

$545k

FY2020 through FY2025

Loans Since FY2020

45

$41.1M in total approvals

Share of U.S. Activity

0.1%

Of change-of-ownership loans

What the Data Says

Hawaii ranks 51st of 53 states and territories for change-of-ownership SBA 7(a) lending: 45 loans since FY2020, 0.1% of the national total.

The typical deal runs small: its $545k median loan sits below the $650k midpoint across states, within reach on less equity.

Activity is accelerating: FY2025's 10 loans ran ahead of the state's own ~8 a year pace since FY2020.

The most-financed target is full-service restaurants (4 loans), and the 5 most active lenders wrote about 69% of the state's acquisitions, a concentrated lender field.

This is a thin market by national standards, so expect fewer local comparables, and build the lender shortlist deliberately.

Most Active Acquisition Lenders in Hawaii

  1. 1. Live Oak Banking Company13 loans
  2. 2. Central Pacific Bank6 loans
  3. 3. Commonwealth Business Bank4 loans
  4. 4. 22nd State Bank, A Division of 22nd State Banking Company4 loans
  5. 5. Celtic Bank Corporation4 loans

A lender being active in Hawaii does not require a local branch; several top SBA lenders work nationally. Build a shortlist with Lenders.

What Gets Bought in Hawaii

  • Full-Service Restaurants4 loans
  • Limited-Service Restaurants3 loans
  • Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers3 loans
  • All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries3 loans
  • Sporting Goods Retailers2 loans

Industry-specific pricing and diligence live in the Guides. Where the buyable targets sit in Hawaii, by county, is in the Hawaii buying guide.

By Metro Area in Hawaii

  • Urban Honolulu, HI

    24 purchase loans, median $523k. Bought most: Limited-Service Restaurants. Most active lender: Live Oak Banking Company (8).

Every metro area that drew 20 purchase loans, with three lenders each, is in the metro table.

Method & Source

Computed from the SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (FY2020 through FY2025), filtered to approvals flagged change of ownership with a Hawaii project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.