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Buying a Business in Massachusetts

The Numbers

FY2025 Acquisition Loans

151

$146M approved

Median Loan

$431k

FY2020 through FY2025

Loans Since FY2020

708

$588M in total approvals

Share of U.S. Activity

2%

Of change-of-ownership loans

What the Data Says

Massachusetts ranks 19th of 53 states and territories for change-of-ownership SBA 7(a) lending: 708 loans since FY2020, 2% of the national total.

The typical deal runs small: its $431k median loan sits below the $650k midpoint across states, within reach on less equity.

Activity is accelerating: FY2025's 151 loans ran ahead of the state's own ~118 a year pace since FY2020.

The most-financed target is full-service restaurants (55 loans), and the 5 most active lenders wrote about 43% of the state's acquisitions, a broad lender field.

Most Active Acquisition Lenders in Massachusetts

  1. 1. Rockland Trust Company112 loans
  2. 2. Live Oak Banking Company87 loans
  3. 3. Eastern Bank51 loans
  4. 4. Salem Five Cents Savings Bank29 loans
  5. 5. Leader Bank, National Association27 loans

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

What Gets Bought in Massachusetts

  • Full-Service Restaurants55 loans
  • Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers37 loans
  • Limited-Service Restaurants33 loans
  • General Automotive Repair25 loans
  • Home Health Care Services18 loans

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

By Metro Area in Massachusetts

  • Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

    558 purchase loans, median $435k. Bought most: Full-Service Restaurants. Most active lender: Rockland Trust Company (79).

  • Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

    137 purchase loans, median $474k. Bought most: Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers. Most active lender: Beacon Bank and Trust (16).

  • Worcester, MA

    85 purchase loans, median $630k. Bought most: Full-Service Restaurants. Most active lender: Rockland Trust Company (14).

  • Barnstable Town, MA

    42 purchase loans, median $300k. Bought most: Limited-Service Restaurants. Most active lender: Cape and Coast Bank (13).

  • Springfield, MA

    33 purchase loans, median $750k. Bought most: Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers. Most active lender: Rockland Trust Company (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 Massachusetts project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.