SBA lenders approved 614 7(a) loans to poured concrete foundation and structure contractors between October 2023 and June 2026, about $189 million from 138 lenders. The median loan was $150,000, level with the national $150,300, at a median rate of 10.5% against 10.25% nationally; half went through SBA Express. Acquisitions were only 6.8% of loans, against 10.4% nationally. What decides a concrete contractor's loan is its equipment and what is owed on it, how cash flow holds through winter and a housing slowdown, and how quickly general contractors pay.
| Measure | Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure Contractors | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 614 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $150,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 – $265,100 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 6.4% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.5% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.5% – 11.25% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 42 (6.8%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $500,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 138 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 44 | 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
- 614 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026)
- Median loan
- $150,000 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.5% (national 10.25%)
- SBA Express share
- 50% of loans
- Acquisitions
- 42 loans (6.8%), median $500,000
- SBA 504
- 44 loans, median $856,000
The figures for concrete contractors
Poured concrete foundation and structure contractors (NAICS 238110) form and pour footings, foundations, slabs, walls and structural concrete for homes and commercial buildings. From FY2024 through June 2026, 138 lenders approved 614 SBA 7(a) loans to them, worth $188,966,700, with a median of 4 jobs supported per loan.
| Figure | Poured concrete contractors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Median loan | $150,000 | Level with the national $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 to $265,100 | A truck, a pump, forms, or working capital for the season |
| 90th percentile | $600,000 | Just above the median acquisition loan of $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 39 (6.4%) | Few very large 7(a) loans |
| Median rate | 10.5% (middle half 9.5% to 11.25%) | A little above the national 10.25% |
| Fixed-rate share | 13.4% | Most floating |
| Median term | 120 months | Ten years: the usual term for equipment and working capital |
| Start-ups / franchises | 14.7% / 11.2% | A start-up is read on the owner's history running crews |
| Acquisitions | 42 loans (6.8%), median $500,000 at 10% | Below the national 10.4% share |
| SBA 504 | 44 loans, median $856,000 | Yards, shops and long-life equipment |
Two numbers stand out. SBA 504 finances only owner-occupied real estate and long-life equipment, and the 504 median of $856,000 is more than five times the 7(a) median: when concrete contractors borrow big, it is often for a yard, a shop or heavy equipment rather than for working capital. And the acquisition share is low, so these businesses change hands through SBA financing less often than most.
An equipment business first
A concrete contractor's capacity is its equipment: concrete pumps, mixer or boom trucks, loaders, skid steers, trailers, and a large inventory of forms. Most of the money a growing contractor borrows goes into it, and there are three ways to finance it that a lender will weigh against each other.
| Route | Term | Fits when |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment loan or lease from an equipment lender | Matched to the machine | One machine, a clean credit, and a purchase-money lien on only that asset |
| SBA 7(a) | Up to 10 years for equipment, 15 if its useful life supports it | Equipment bundled with working capital or refinancing, or a thinner file that needs SBA's guaranty |
| SBA 504 | Long-term, through a bank and a CDC | Long-life equipment or a yard and shop the business occupies, with a borrower contribution of 10% or more |
Lenders value the equipment at what it would bring in an orderly sale, not what it cost, and older, high-hour machines count for little. What matters as much is what is already owed on it. Many contractors carry a string of equipment notes, each with its own lien, and a new lender needs a clear picture of them. An equipment list with year, hours, current value and the lender on each is one of the most useful documents in the file. See orderly liquidation value vs fair market value, equipment financing vs an SBA 7(a) and refinancing equipment loans.
Refinancing that stack into one SBA loan is possible where it helps: SBA requires the new payment to be at least 10% lower than the debt it replaces, and that debt to have been current for the last 12 months. See using a 7(a) to refinance existing debt.
Winter, and the housing cycle
Concrete work depends on the weather. In colder states the season shuts down or slows for months, while equipment payments, insurance and a core crew's wages continue. An underwriter wants monthly revenue, not just annual totals, and wants to see how the business carried itself through the last slow season: from cash, from a line, or from something more expensive. A monthly payment sized on annual cash flow can still fail in February.
The second exposure is the housing cycle. A residential foundation contractor pours for homebuilders, and its volume follows housing starts. When builders slow down, foundations are the first trade to feel it, because the foundation is the first thing built. Contractors doing structural concrete for commercial projects follow the commercial bid cycle instead, which moves on its own timetable. A lender will want to know which side the revenue comes from, and how concentrated it is in a few builders or general contractors. See customer concentration and borrowing.
For a seasonal trade, the lender's question is not whether the year covers the payment, but whether the worst quarter can.
Getting paid: retainage and the general contractor
Concrete subcontractors are usually paid by the general contractor on progress billings, often on pay-when-paid terms, with a portion held back as retainage until the project is finished. For a foundation contractor that is early on every job, retainage can sit unpaid for the length of the whole building, long after the concrete crew has left. Lenders read the receivables aging with retainage shown separately, and look for balances that have aged because of disputes rather than contract terms.
Commercial work adds bonding. Surety capacity limits the size of public and larger private jobs a contractor can take, and a lender reads the surety's view of the business as another credit opinion. Warranty exposure matters too: a cracked foundation or failed slab becomes a claim against the contractor, and an underwriter will ask about callbacks and open disputes.
Where the need is to fund payroll and material between billing and payment, a revolving line often fits better than a term loan. See lines of credit for excavation and site-work contractors, which share many of the same issues, and borrowing against a signed contract.
Buying a concrete contractor
Only 42 loans, 6.8%, financed a change of ownership, below the national 10.4%, at a median of $500,000 and a median rate of 10%. A buyer is paying for a fleet, a trained crew and a set of builder and general-contractor relationships; the fleet can be appraised, the other two cannot. Where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, SBA requires an independent business valuation and the purchase loan cannot exceed it, so an equipment appraisal does double work in this trade.
The usual rules apply: at least 10% equity for a complete change of ownership; a seller note counting toward up to half of it only on full standby for the life of the loan; no earnout. From 1 October 2026, under SOP 50 10 8.1, the purchase must show 1.25x debt service coverage on historical results, and financial due diligence is required on every change of ownership. The seller may consult for up to 12 months, up to 24 months under the new SOP, which is how a buyer inherits the relationships with builders who have called the seller for years. See how SBA 7(a) finances an acquisition and seller notes on standby.
Preparing a concrete contractor's SBA file
SBA's standard list applies: business tax returns for 2–3 years, a P&L and balance sheet with a year-to-date P&L, a debt schedule with copies of the notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more. For a concrete contractor, add:
- An equipment list: each unit's year, hours, estimated value and the lender holding a lien on it
- Monthly revenue for each year in the file, to show the seasonal pattern
- A schedule of jobs in progress with contract value, billed to date, retainage held and cost to complete
- Revenue by customer, split between residential builders and commercial general contractors
- A letter from the surety on bonding capacity, if the business bonds work
- Quotes for any equipment being purchased
Contractors who used merchant cash advances to get through a slow season should know that SBA will not refinance an active advance; from 1 October 2026 an advance becomes eligible only once converted to a term loan that has amortized for at least 24 months with no new advance since. See refinancing cash advances for contractors.
Transparent builds the full lender package — financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo — in a day once the documents are in. Its book holds 278 lenders that write SBA 7(a) and 504 and 244 that write equipment, so a concrete contractor's request can be put in front of both. On SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower.
Common questions
- What is a typical SBA loan for a concrete contractor?
- About the national median. The median 7(a) loan to poured concrete contractors from October 2023 to June 2026 was $150,000, the middle half ran from $50,000 to $265,100, and half the loans were SBA Express.
- Should I finance a concrete pump with an SBA loan or an equipment loan?
- An equipment loan is often simpler for a single machine on good credit. An SBA 7(a) fits when the equipment comes with working capital or refinancing, and can run up to 10 years, or 15 if the equipment's useful life supports it. SBA 504 suits long-life equipment and a yard or shop the business occupies.
- How do lenders handle the winter slowdown?
- They look at monthly revenue and at how the business covered its fixed costs in the last slow season. A loan that works on annual cash flow can still strain in the off months, so many contractors pair a term loan with a line of credit.
- Does retainage count as a receivable?
- It is owed, but lenders treat it separately because it is not collectible until the project closes out. Show it on its own line in the receivables aging and in the jobs-in-progress schedule.
- Why are so few concrete contractors bought with SBA loans?
- Only 6.8% of loans financed a change of ownership. The figures don't say why, but two things make these purchases harder: much of a concrete contractor's value sits in crews and builder relationships that are hard to transfer, and equipment debt on the fleet has to be dealt with at closing. Buyers who proceed benefit from an equipment appraisal, because appraised equipment is subtracted before SBA applies its $250,000 valuation test.