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Buying a Business in New Hampshire

The Numbers

FY2025 Acquisition Loans

52

$54.1M approved

Median Loan

$372k

FY2020 through FY2025

Loans Since FY2020

241

$178M in total approvals

Share of U.S. Activity

0.7%

Of change-of-ownership loans

What the Data Says

New Hampshire ranks 38th of 53 states and territories for change-of-ownership SBA 7(a) lending: 241 loans since FY2020, 0.7% of the national total.

The typical deal runs small: its $372k median loan sits below the $650k midpoint across states, within reach on less equity.

Activity is accelerating: FY2025's 52 loans ran ahead of the state's own ~40 a year pace since FY2020.

The most-financed target is full-service restaurants (17 loans), and the 5 most active lenders wrote about 36% of the state's acquisitions, a broad lender field.

Most Active Acquisition Lenders in New Hampshire

  1. 1. Live Oak Banking Company29 loans
  2. 2. Meredith Village Savings Bank19 loans
  3. 3. Rockland Trust Company16 loans
  4. 4. Merrimack County Savings Bank14 loans
  5. 5. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company9 loans

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

What Gets Bought in New Hampshire

  • Full-Service Restaurants17 loans
  • Limited-Service Restaurants15 loans
  • General Automotive Repair10 loans
  • Child Care Services6 loans
  • Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars6 loans

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

By Metro Area in New Hampshire

  • Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

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

  • Manchester-Nashua, NH

    63 purchase loans, median $300k. Bought most: Full-Service Restaurants. Most active lender: Live Oak Banking Company (12).

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