Buying a FASTSIGNS franchise: SBA acquisition loan data

What this tells a buyer

• Price range to expect. Loan size tracks purchase price. Half of FASTSIGNS resale loans landed between $240,000 and $1,159,000.
• Lender experience exists. United Community Bank alone has financed 7 FASTSIGNS resales.
• Guaranty. The SBA guaranteed 76% of the dollars lent here.
• What the file leaves out. The SBA file does not record franchisor transfer terms or fees.

How FASTSIGNS compares

The median for FASTSIGNS resale loans is $540,000, slightly below the $573,200 median for sign manufacturing and below the $645,250 median for all SBA-financed acquisitions nationally.

The middle half runs $240,000 to $1,159,000, against $283,000 to $1,465,000 nationally; the median term is 10 years, the same as the national median; the average initial rate is 7.36%, below the 7.76% national average.

None of the seasoned loans were charged off, against 6.5% for sign manufacturing and 3.5% for all acquisition loans.

Loan size distribution

Most FASTSIGNS resale loans (71%) were under $1M, and the largest single band is $350K to under $1M at 39%, against 33% of all acquisition loans.

Bands are fixed dollar ranges chosen for comparison. They are not SBA program limits.

Lender concentration

United Community Bank made 14% of FASTSIGNS resale loans, and the top three lenders together made 31%. 4 of the 30 lenders involved made three or more. Repeat experience is spread across many banks. That is a rough guide to how many banks have seen this kind of deal before.

Recent activity

In FY2025 and FY2026 combined, 12 FASTSIGNS resale loans were approved. Fewer than 10 loans were approved in FY2023 and FY2024, so no change is computed. The median was $751,500, above the $540,000 median across all years.

Financing a FASTSIGNS resale: what lenders financed

The median SBA 7(a) loan for a FASTSIGNS resale was $540,000 across 51 loans (FY2018 to FY2026). United Community Bank, Live Oak Banking Company and Fulton Bank, National Association have financed the most FASTSIGNS resales. Of 28 seasoned loans (FY2018 to FY2021), none were charged off, against the 3.5% average for all SBA acquisition loans.

FASTSIGNS acquisition loans by year

How often do these acquisition loans fail?

Of the 28 FASTSIGNS acquisition loans approved from FY2018 to FY2021 (the seasoned cohort, every loan at least about five years old), none have been charged off by the SBA. 13 have already been paid in full.

For comparison, FASTSIGNS has none charged off, against the 3.5% average across all SBA 7(a) acquisition loans in the same cohort. Non-acquisition 7(a) loans (every other stated purpose) approved FY2018 to FY2021 charged off at 6.2%.

"Charged off" is the SBA's final loss action on a defaulted loan after collection efforts. It lags default by a year or more, which is why only older cohorts are measured. It is not the same as a delinquency rate, and loans still outstanding can still fail. See charge-off in the glossary.

How lenders classify FASTSIGNS

Lenders code each loan to a NAICS industry. For FASTSIGNS the codes used were:

Related

• All Sign Manufacturing acquisitions
• Texas acquisitions
• Florida acquisitions
• Indiana acquisitions
• United Community Bank
• Live Oak Banking Company
• Fulton Bank, National Association
• All franchise brands

Brand name as recorded by lenders in the SBA file: "FASTSIGNS" (franchise code S0602). Figures are aggregates of public SBA data and are not provided or endorsed by the franchisor.