Buying a Business in Tennessee
The Numbers
FY2025 Acquisition Loans
106
$138M approved
Median Loan
$798k
FY2020 through FY2025
Loans Since FY2020
430
$539M in total approvals
Share of U.S. Activity
1.2%
Of change-of-ownership loans
What the Data Says
Tennessee ranks 25th of 53 states and territories for change-of-ownership SBA 7(a) lending: 430 loans since FY2020, 1% of the national total.
The typical deal runs large: its $798k median loan sits above the $650k midpoint across states, so expect bigger checks and the larger injection and cash flow they need.
Activity is accelerating: FY2025's 106 loans ran ahead of the state's own ~72 a year pace since FY2020.
The most-financed target is hotels (except casino hotels) and motels (32 loans), and the 5 most active lenders wrote about 33% of the state's acquisitions, a broad lender field.
Most Active Acquisition Lenders in Tennessee
- 1. The Huntington National Bank42 loans
- 2. Live Oak Banking Company40 loans
- 3. Pinnacle Bank (TN)29 loans
- 4. First Horizon Bank18 loans
- 5. Old National Bank15 loans
A lender being active in Tennessee does not require a local branch; several top SBA lenders work nationally. Build a shortlist with Lenders.
What Gets Bought in Tennessee
- Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels32 loans
- Limited-Service Restaurants19 loans
- Full-Service Restaurants15 loans
- Broilers and Other Meat Type Chicken Production11 loans
- Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors11 loans
Industry-specific pricing and diligence live in the Guides. How many buyable businesses Tennessee 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 Tennessee project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.