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Buying a Business in West Virginia

The Numbers

FY2025 Acquisition Loans

14

$23.7M approved

Median Loan

$832k

FY2020 through FY2025

Loans Since FY2020

87

$122M in total approvals

Share of U.S. Activity

0.2%

Of change-of-ownership loans

What the Data Says

West Virginia ranks 45th of 53 states and territories for change-of-ownership SBA 7(a) lending: 87 loans since FY2020, 0.2% of the national total.

The typical deal runs large: its $832k median loan sits above the $650k midpoint across states, so expect bigger checks and the larger injection and cash flow they need.

Activity is steady, near the state's ~15 a year pace since FY2020.

The most-financed target is hotels (except casino hotels) and motels (20 loans), and the 5 most active lenders wrote about 59% of the state's acquisitions, a concentrated lender field.

This is a thin market by national standards, so expect fewer local comparables and mostly out-of-state lenders; build the shortlist deliberately rather than relying on a nearby branch.

Most Active Acquisition Lenders in West Virginia

  1. 1. The Huntington National Bank22 loans
  2. 2. Live Oak Banking Company9 loans
  3. 3. GBank8 loans
  4. 4. First Western SBLC, LLC7 loans
  5. 5. Community Trust Bank, Inc.5 loans

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

What Gets Bought in West Virginia

  • Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels20 loans
  • Full-Service Restaurants5 loans
  • Funeral Homes and Funeral Services4 loans
  • Septic Tank and Related Services3 loans
  • Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly3 loans

Industry-specific pricing and diligence live in the Guides. How many buyable businesses West Virginia 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 West Virginia project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.