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. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company51 loans
- 2. Community Trust Bank, Inc.40 loans
- 3. Live Oak Banking Company27 loans
- 4. The Huntington National Bank27 loans
- 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. How many buyable businesses Kentucky 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 Kentucky project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.