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Buying a Business in Kentucky

The Numbers

FY2025 Acquisition Loans

84

$104M approved

Median Loan

$500k

FY2020 through FY2025

Loans Since FY2020

342

$348M in total approvals

Share of U.S. Activity

1%

Of change-of-ownership loans

What the Data Says

Kentucky ranks 29th of 53 states and territories for change-of-ownership SBA 7(a) lending: 342 loans since FY2020, 1.0% of the national total.

The typical deal runs small: its $500k median loan sits below the $650k midpoint across states, within reach on less equity.

Activity is accelerating: FY2025's 84 loans ran ahead of the state's own ~57 a year pace since FY2020.

The most-financed target is hotels (except casino hotels) and motels (26 loans), and the 5 most active lenders wrote about 50% of the state's acquisitions, a concentrated lender field.

Most Active Acquisition Lenders in Kentucky

  1. 1. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company51 loans
  2. 2. Community Trust Bank, Inc.40 loans
  3. 3. Live Oak Banking Company27 loans
  4. 4. The Huntington National Bank27 loans
  5. 5. Republic Bank & Trust Company26 loans

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

What Gets Bought in Kentucky

  • Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels26 loans
  • Limited-Service Restaurants23 loans
  • Full-Service Restaurants17 loans
  • All Other Specialty Trade Contractors15 loans
  • General Freight Trucking, Local9 loans

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

By Metro Area in Kentucky

  • Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

    296 purchase loans, median $599k. Bought most: Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels. Most active lender: The Huntington National Bank (107).

  • Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

    178 purchase loans, median $496k. Bought most: Full-Service Restaurants. Most active lender: Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company (46).

  • Lexington-Fayette, KY

    40 purchase loans, median $492k. Bought most: Limited-Service Restaurants. Most active lender: Community Trust Bank, Inc. (6).

  • Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH

    25 purchase loans, median $365k. Bought most: Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels. Most active lender: Community Trust Bank, Inc. (7).

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 Kentucky project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.