Consumer goods rental companies outside the dedicated codes, such as party and event rental and furniture rental, took 216 SBA 7(a) loans between October 2023 and June 2026, $94,382,400 from 90 lenders. The median loan was $150,000 at 10.25%, level with the national median rate, but the top of the range is heavy: the 90th percentile was $1,048,950 and 10.6% of loans reached $1 million. Lenders size these loans on what the rental fleet earns after the cost of replacing it, and on how much of the year's revenue arrives in a few busy months.
| Measure | All Other Consumer Goods Rental | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 216 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $150,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 – $473,700 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 10.6% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.25% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9% – 11.31% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 24 (11.1%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $595,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 90 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 21 | 16,714 |
Approvals FY2024 – FY2026 to date (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026), cancelled loans excluded. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records, as of June 30, 2026.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved
- 216 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026)
- Median loan
- $150,000 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.25%, same as national
- Loans of $1 million or more
- 23 (10.6%)
- Acquisitions
- 24 loans (11.1%), median $595,000 at 9.38%
- SBA 504
- 21 projects, median $714,000
Two kinds of borrower under one code
NAICS 532289 collects the consumer rental businesses that have no code of their own: party and event rental, furniture rental and a range of household-goods rental. It took 216 SBA 7(a) loans from FY2024 through June 2026, worth $94,382,400, from 90 lenders. The median loan of $150,000 matches the national figure, but the median hides the shape. The middle half of loans ran from $50,000 to $473,700, and 23 loans, 10.6%, were $1 million or more.
That is two groups of borrower. One is the small operator buying a trailer of inventory or a van, often through SBA Express (36.6% of loans). The other is an established rental house financing a warehouse, a large fleet expansion or the purchase of a competitor, where the loans run well past the Express ceiling of $500,000.
| Figure | Consumer goods rental | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Median loan | $150,000 | Level with the national $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 to $473,700 | A wide band: small operators and established houses |
| 90th percentile | $1,048,950 | Fleet, warehouse and acquisition loans |
| Median rate at approval | 10.25% (middle half 9% to 11.31%) | Same as national 10.25% |
| Fixed-rate share | 17.1% | About one loan in six carried a fixed rate |
| Acquisitions | 24 loans (11.1%), median $595,000 at 9.38% | Slightly above the national 10.4% |
| Start-ups | 10.6% of loans | Most borrowers are already operating |
| Franchises | 4.6% of loans | Largely independent companies |
| SBA 504 | 21 projects, median $714,000 | Real estate or long-life equipment |
How a lender reads a rental fleet
Unlike most service businesses, a rental company has real collateral, and its value is also its revenue. The lender asks two questions of each class of inventory: what does it earn in a year, and how long before it has to be replaced? The answer drives both the loan size and the term. SBA allows up to 10 years for equipment, or 15 if its useful life supports it, but a lender will not lend longer than the inventory lasts.
| Inventory | Life and resale | How the lender treats it |
|---|---|---|
| Tents and structures | Long-lived if maintained; a recognizable resale market | The strongest fleet collateral; an appraisal of orderly liquidation value helps |
| Tables, chairs, staging, dance floors | Durable but low value per piece | Counted in bulk; little liquidation value individually |
| Linens, tableware, décor | Short life; loss and damage every event | Treated as a recurring cost, not collateral |
| Rental furniture | Wears with each placement | Valued on the rental contracts it sits under, not resale |
| Delivery trucks and trailers | Titled; ordinary vehicle market | Straightforward collateral, often financed separately |
| Warehouse or yard | Real estate | Often the largest asset; a candidate for 504 or a real estate term inside the 7(a) |
The trap in rental accounts is depreciation. A rental house can show healthy EBITDA while quietly spending much of it replacing linens, chairs and damaged tent sections. Lenders separate that replacement spending from growth purchases and deduct it before measuring debt service coverage, so a file that labels every inventory purchase as growth will be adjusted by the underwriter. See maintenance capex and net orderly liquidation value.
Show the lender what the fleet costs to keep, not only what it costs to grow. A clear replacement schedule is one of the most persuasive pages in a rental company's file.
Season, deposits and the annual view
Party and event rental runs on wedding, graduation and holiday seasons, and in colder states the outdoor season is short. Customer deposits arrive months ahead of the event, which flatters cash in spring and can leave the balance sheet thin in the off-season when the deposits have been earned and spent. Lenders underwrite on the full year and commonly ask for two years of monthly revenue to see the pattern.
A term loan with level payments has to be carried through the slow months. Where the gap is large, lenders pair the term loan with a working capital line drawn in the off-season and repaid in the busy one. See seasonal lines of credit. SBA requires debt service coverage of at least 1.15x on the year, but a lender will look at whether the slowest quarter can be carried from reserves.
The warehouse and the larger loans
The 21 SBA 504 projects, with a median of $714,000, point to the other large borrowing need. SBA 504 finances owner-occupied real estate and long-life equipment, and for a rental house the real estate is usually the warehouse. A rental house needs floor space, loading docks and a yard, and owning them removes a lease risk the lender otherwise has to weigh. SBA 504 typically finances 50% from a bank, 40% from the CDC and 10% from the borrower, and the borrower must occupy at least 51% of an existing building. A 7(a) can also carry real estate, with up to 25 years on the real estate share. See SBA 7(a) vs 504 and blended maturity.
About one loan in six, 17.1%, carried a fixed rate. Borrowers taking long loans against real estate and a large fleet have more reason to lock a rate. See fixed vs variable rate business loans.
Buying a rental company
Twenty-four loans, 11.1% of the total, financed a change of ownership, at a median of $595,000 and a median rate of 9.38%. The rate is lower than the industry median, consistent with loan size: SBA caps variable rates on loans above $350,000 at the base rate plus 3%, against plus 6% from $50,001 to $250,000 and plus 6.5% at $50,000 or less. The price in these deals splits between the fleet, the warehouse if it comes with the business, and the customer relationships: venues, event planners and caterers who send repeat work.
- An appraisal of the fleet matters twice. It supports the collateral, and SBA's valuation rule measures the amount financed less appraised real estate and equipment: above $250,000, an independent business valuation is required and the purchase loan cannot exceed it.
- The buyer injects at least 10% of total project costs; a seller note counts for up to half only on full standby for the life of the SBA loan. See equity injection.
- Venue and planner relationships often sit with the seller personally. The seller may consult for up to 12 months, or 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026, and that time should go to introductions.
- From 1 October 2026, a change of ownership must show 1.25x debt service coverage on historical results, and change-of-ownership loans amortize over no more than 10 years except the real estate share.
Where a warehouse comes with the business, see acquisitions with real estate.
Preparing a rental company's file
The SBA checklist: 2–3 years of business tax returns, a P&L and balance sheet with a year-to-date P&L through last month-end, a debt schedule with copies of any notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for every owner of 20% or more. Add monthly revenue for two years, a fleet list by class with purchase year and cost, a replacement and damage log, the deposit liability at month-end, and the warehouse lease or deed.
Transparent builds the file into a full lender package — financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo — in a day once the documents are in, and matches it to lenders among the 278 in its book that write SBA 7(a) and 504, or the 244 that write equipment where a fleet loan fits better. On SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower. See the package and equipment financing vs SBA 7(a).
Common questions
- Can a party rental company get an SBA loan?
- Yes. Consumer goods rental companies, the code that includes party and event rental, took 216 SBA 7(a) loans from October 2023 to June 2026, at a median of $150,000 and a median rate of 10.25%.
- Will a lender count my rental inventory as collateral?
- Some of it. Tents, structures, trucks and real estate carry resale value; linens, tableware and décor wear out too quickly to count for much. Lenders often want an appraisal of orderly liquidation value on the larger items.
- How do lenders handle seasonal rental revenue?
- They underwrite on the full year, look at monthly revenue for two years, and check whether the slow months can be carried. A seasonal line of credit alongside the term loan is common.
- Should I use SBA 504 to buy my warehouse?
- It is a common route: 21 rental companies used 504, at a median of $714,000. The business must occupy at least 51% of an existing building, and the borrower typically puts in 10%.
- What does it cost to borrow to buy a rental company?
- The 24 change-of-ownership loans had a median rate of 9.38%, lower than the industry median of 10.25%; loans of that size fall under SBA's tightest rate cap, the base rate plus 3%.