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 mostly out-of-state lenders; build the shortlist deliberately rather than relying on a nearby branch.
Most Active Acquisition Lenders in Hawaii
- 1. Live Oak Banking Company13 loans
- 2. Central Pacific Bank6 loans
- 3. Commonwealth Business Bank4 loans
- 4. 22nd State Bank, A Division of 22nd State Banking Company4 loans
- 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
- All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries3 loans
- Sporting Goods Retailers2 loans
- Engineering Services2 loans
Industry-specific pricing and diligence live in the Guides. How many buyable businesses Hawaii 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 Hawaii project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.