Buying a Goddard School franchise: SBA acquisition loan data

What this tells a buyer

• Price range to expect. Loan size tracks purchase price. Half of The Goddard School resale loans landed between $907,500 and $3,520,325.
• Lender experience exists. Live Oak Banking Company alone has financed 13 The Goddard School resales.
• Guaranty. The SBA guaranteed 75% of the dollars lent here.
• What the file leaves out. The SBA file does not record franchisor transfer terms or fees.

How The Goddard School compares

The median for Goddard School resale loans is $1,777,250, well above the $763,300 median for child care services and well above the $645,250 median for all SBA-financed acquisitions nationally.

The middle half runs $907,500 to $3,520,325, 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 6.44%, below the 7.76% national average.

None of the seasoned loans were charged off, against 0.8% for child care services and 3.5% for all acquisition loans.

Loan size distribution

Most Goddard School resale loans (72%) were $1M or more, and the largest single band is $2M and over at 47%, against 17% of all acquisition loans.

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

Lender concentration

Live Oak Banking Company made 19% of Goddard School resale loans, and the top three lenders together made 40%. 8 of the 27 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, 21 Goddard School resale loans were approved. That is 75% more than the 12 approved in FY2023 and FY2024. The median was $1,622,500, slightly below the $1,777,250 median across all years.

Financing a Goddard School resale: what lenders financed

The median SBA 7(a) loan for a Goddard School resale was $1,777,250 across 68 loans (FY2018 to FY2026). Live Oak Banking Company, Bank of America, National Association and TD Bank, National Association have financed the most The Goddard School resales. Of 33 seasoned loans (FY2018 to FY2021), none were charged off, against the 3.5% average for all SBA acquisition loans.

The Goddard School acquisition loans by year

How often do these acquisition loans fail?

Of the 33 The Goddard School 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, The Goddard School 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 The Goddard School

Lenders code each loan to a NAICS industry. For The Goddard School the codes used were:

Related

• All Child Care Services acquisitions
• New Jersey acquisitions
• Texas acquisitions
• Colorado acquisitions
• Live Oak Banking Company
• Bank of America, National Association
• TD Bank, National Association
• All franchise brands

Brand name as recorded by lenders in the SBA file: "The Goddard School" (franchise code S1753). Figures are aggregates of public SBA data and are not provided or endorsed by the franchisor.