Buying a Business in South Carolina
What SBA acquisition lending actually looks like in South Carolina, from loan-level government data.
FY2025 Acquisition Loans
110
$129.9M approved
Median Loan
$750,000
FY2020 through FY2025
Loans Since FY2020
507
$617.4M in total approvals
Share of U.S. Activity
1.4%
Of change-of-ownership loans
Most Active Acquisition Lenders in South Carolina
- 1. Live Oak Banking Company90 loans
- 2. GBank37 loans
- 3. Countybank31 loans
- 4. United Community Bank20 loans
- 5. Pinnacle Bank19 loans
A lender being active in South Carolina does not require a local branch; several top SBA lenders work nationally. Build a shortlist with Lender Match.
What Gets Bought in South Carolina
- Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels63 loans
- General Automotive Repair19 loans
- Full-Service Restaurants18 loans
- Insurance Agencies and Brokerages18 loans
- Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors14 loans
Industry-specific pricing and diligence live in the Industry Buy Guides.
Method & Source
Computed from the SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (FY2020 through FY2025), filtered to approvals flagged change of ownership with a South Carolina project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing. Free to cite with attribution.
Everything here is educational information, not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Figures are estimates or cited third-party data; verify anything that matters against primary sources and your own advisors before acting on it.