Recreational goods rental companies, the outfitters that rent boats, personal watercraft, bikes, kayaks, skis and camping gear, took 114 SBA 7(a) loans between October 2023 and June 2026, $31,105,300 from 55 lenders. The median loan was $109,000, well under the national $150,300, and the median rate was 10.75%, above the national 10.25%. These are small loans against short-lived equipment and a seasonal year, so lenders weigh the whole twelve months of cash flow, the life of the fleet and the right to operate at the location.
| Measure | Recreational Goods Rental | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 114 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $109,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 – $250,000 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 6.1% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.75% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.75% – 12.5% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 13 (11.4%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $420,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 55 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 16 | 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
- 114 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026), from 55 lenders
- Median loan
- $109,000 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.75% (national 10.25%)
- SBA Express share
- 30.7% of loans
- Acquisitions
- 13 loans (11.4%), median $420,000 at 10%
- SBA 504
- 16 projects, median $762,000
Small loans, priced at the top of the range
NAICS 532284 covers companies that rent recreational equipment to the public: boat and pontoon rental, jet ski and paddleboard rental, bike and e-bike shops that run a rental fleet, ski and snowboard rental, and outfitters renting canoes, tents and camping gear. From FY2024 through June 2026 the industry took 114 SBA 7(a) loans worth $31,105,300. The median loan was $109,000, and the middle half of loans ran from $50,000 to $250,000.
The rate is the figure that stands out: a median of 10.75% against the national 10.25%, with the middle half running from 9.75% to 12.5%. That is mostly a function of size. SBA caps variable 7(a) rates at the base rate plus 6.5% for loans of $50,000 or less and plus 6% from $50,001 to $250,000, against plus 3% above $350,000. About three quarters of this industry's loans were $250,000 or less, inside the two tiers with the widest caps, so lenders have more room to price up. Larger loans came in lower: the 13 acquisition loans, with a median of $420,000, had a median rate of 10%.
| Figure | Recreational goods rental | National |
|---|---|---|
| Median loan | $109,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 to $250,000 | – |
| 90th percentile loan | $707,100 | – |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 7 (6.1%) | – |
| Median rate at approval | 10.75% (middle half 9.75% to 12.5%) | 10.25% |
| Fixed-rate share | 14% | – |
| Acquisition share | 11.4% | 10.4% |
| Start-ups | 13.2% of loans | – |
| SBA Express | 30.7% of loans | – |
Nearly a third of loans went through SBA Express, which goes up to $500,000 with a 50% guaranty. For an outfitter adding a few boats or a season of e-bikes, Express is often the lender's preferred channel, but the smaller guaranty leaves less room to stretch on a thin file.
The fleet: collateral that wears out on the water
A lender sees two kinds of asset in a rental fleet. Titled or registered equipment, such as boats, pontoons, personal watercraft and trailers, has a resale market and can be valued. Soft goods and small equipment, such as paddleboards, rental skis, helmets, wetsuits and tents, is worth little once it has been rented for a few seasons. The loan term follows the life of what it buys. SBA allows up to 10 years for equipment, or 15 if its useful life supports it, but a lender will not write a 10-year loan against e-bikes that the business replaces every few seasons.
| Rental equipment | How it ages | How a lender treats it |
|---|---|---|
| Boats, pontoons, personal watercraft | Hours and hull condition; engines need rebuilding | Real collateral; an appraisal of orderly liquidation value helps |
| E-bikes and bikes | Heavy wear; batteries and drivetrains replaced often | Short term; financed close to its life, little collateral credit |
| Ski and snowboard fleet | Rotated out on a regular cycle | Treated as a recurring expense, not long-term collateral |
| Kayaks, canoes, paddleboards | Durable but low value per unit | Counted in bulk; modest liquidation value |
| Vans, trailers, launch vehicles | Ordinary vehicle market | Straightforward collateral, sometimes financed separately |
| Shop, dock or storefront property | Real estate | The strongest collateral; a candidate for 504 |
The underwriting question behind the table is maintenance capital spending. A rental company can show strong earnings in a year when it replaced nothing, and weak earnings in the year it rebuilt the fleet. A lender will spread several years together and ask what the business spends, on average, just to keep the same fleet on the water. Earnings after that replacement cost are what service the loan.
The season, and the right to be at the water
Most recreational rental businesses make the bulk of the year's revenue in a short window: summer on a lake or beach, winter at a ski hill. The lender's first worry is whether the business can make twelve monthly payments out of a few months of cash. Expect questions about how much cash is held back at the end of the season, what fixed costs continue in the dead months, and whether storage, repairs, tours or retail bring in anything off-season.
The second worry is specific to this industry: the location. Many rental operators work under a concession agreement, a municipal or park permit, a marina slip lease or a resort contract. That permit may be the most valuable thing the business has, and it may be renewable at someone else's discretion. A lender will read it for its term, renewal rights, termination clauses and whether it can be assigned. A permit that expires two years into a 10-year loan is a problem that no amount of cash flow fully solves.
The file that answers both worries shows monthly revenue for at least two full seasons, explains how payments were covered in a short or wet season, includes the permit or dock lease with its renewal terms, and shows liability insurance in force for powered equipment.
For a seasonal business, a seasonal line of credit alongside the term loan is often what makes the monthly payment schedule work.
Real estate and the larger loans
The industry's loan sizes thin out quickly above the middle: the 90th percentile was $707,100, and only 7 loans, 6.1%, reached $1 million. Those larger loans are usually about property: a waterfront shop, a storage building for the winter fleet, or a lodge-side rental base. The industry also took 16 SBA 504 loans with a median of $762,000, which says owners who can buy the ground they operate from often do.
SBA 504 typically finances owner-occupied real estate 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 waterfront parcel with a café leased to a third party may fail that test, and special-purpose property raises the borrower's share to 15%. Work through SBA 7(a) against 504 before making an offer on the property.
Buying a rental outfitter
Thirteen loans, 11.4% of the total, financed a change of ownership, slightly above the national share of 10.4%. The median acquisition loan was $420,000 at 10%, close to four times the size of the typical loan in the industry. The buyer is usually purchasing three things: a fleet, a customer base built on repeat visitors and online reviews, and the right to operate at a particular place.
The third item decides the deal. If the concession or permit cannot be transferred to the buyer, or the landlord will not assign the lease, the lender has no business to lend against. Get the permit holder's or landlord's written position early; the pages on change-of-control consents and lease assignment cover how lenders handle both.
The SBA rules for a purchase apply in full. SBA requires an equity injection of at least 10% of total project costs, and seller financing counts for up to half of it only on full standby for the life of the SBA loan. The seller may consult for up to 12 months after closing (up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026), useful in a business where the seller knows every repeat group. From 1 October 2026 a change of ownership must show debt service coverage of 1.25x on historical results, so a buyer paying for an unusually good summer should expect the lender to look at the seasons around it.
Preparing a rental company's file
Transparent works from its standard SBA checklist, with additions that answer the questions a lender will ask about this industry:
- Business tax returns for two to three years, a P&L and balance sheet, and a year-to-date P&L through last month-end.
- Monthly revenue by month for the last two or three seasons, from the booking system if there is one.
- A fleet list: each unit, year, hours or condition, what it rents for and when it will be replaced.
- The concession, permit, dock or storefront lease, with term and renewal rights.
- A debt schedule with copies of any equipment notes or dealer financing being refinanced.
- Personal tax returns for two to three years and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more, all of whom guarantee the loan.
- For a purchase, the letter of intent and the target's latest full year of figures.
Once the documents are in, Transparent builds the full lender package in a day and takes it to the SBA lenders in its book that finance seasonal and equipment-heavy businesses. For comparison with neighboring codes, see party and consumer rental companies, RV parks and campgrounds and sporting goods retailers.
Common questions
- Can a boat or bike rental company get an SBA loan?
- Yes. Between October 2023 and June 2026, 55 lenders approved 114 SBA 7(a) loans to recreational goods rental companies, with a median of $109,000. Lenders want a couple of seasons of results, a fleet that outlasts the loan term and a secure right to operate at the location.
- Why are rates higher for rental companies than the national median?
- Mostly because the loans are small. Most fell between $50,000 and $250,000, where SBA's rate caps are highest, so the median reached 10.75% against 10.25% nationally. Acquisition loans, which were larger, had a median rate of 10%.
- Will a lender finance e-bikes or rental skis on a long SBA term?
- Usually not. The term follows the useful life of what the loan buys, so equipment that turns over every few seasons gets a short term or is treated as an operating expense. Boats, vehicles and real estate support longer terms.
- Does my concession or park permit matter to the lender?
- A great deal. The lender will read its term, renewal rights and termination clauses. A permit that can end before the loan does can shrink or stop a rental-company loan, however strong the cash flow.
- How do lenders handle a business that earns most of its money in summer?
- They underwrite the full year, not the peak months: monthly revenue for at least two seasons, cash held for the off-season, and how payments were covered in a poor-weather year. A seasonal line of credit can sit alongside the term loan.