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Franchise financing

Financing a General Nutrition Centers franchise

SBA lenders have approved 36 loans against the General Nutrition Centers brand since FY2010, totalling $9.8M. The median approval was $209,000. These are loans that actually closed - not projections from a disclosure document.

Rank by loan count

#627

of 1,651 brands

Loans approved

36

FY2010 onward

Median loan

$209,000

Typical range

$50K-$526K

Middle 80% of loans

Median term

7.3 yr

Charge-off rate

0.0%

27 resolved FY10-19 loans

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA data, as of 2026-06-30. Approvals from FY2010 onward. How we calculate this.

Lenders

Who financed General Nutrition Centers

Geography

Where General Nutrition Centers units were financed

Approvals by fiscal year

13
14
15
16
17
18

Loan count by fiscal year - a rough proxy for how fast the brand was opening units. Final bar is a partial year.

Loan sizes

  • Under $50K
    11%
  • $50K - $150K
    28%
  • $150K - $350K
    36%
  • $350K - $1M
    22%
  • $1M - $2M
    3%

Financing a General Nutrition Centers: common questions

How much do lenders finance for a General Nutrition Centers franchise?
The median SBA loan approved for a General Nutrition Centers franchise is $209,000, with the middle 80% of loans between $50,000 and $525,700. That is the financed portion only - it excludes the buyer's equity injection, which SBA lenders typically require at 10% or more of total project cost for a business acquisition or new franchise unit.
Which lenders finance General Nutrition Centers franchises?
By dollars approved, the most active SBA lenders for General Nutrition Centers have been Community State Bank, East West Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Wells Fargo Bank. Many franchise brands also maintain their own lists of preferred lenders, which may differ from who has historically approved the most volume.
How long are General Nutrition Centers SBA loans?
The median term is 7.3 yr. SBA 7(a) terms run up to 10 years for working capital and equipment, and up to 25 years when the loan is secured by real estate - so a longer median usually means the loans included property.
Do General Nutrition Centers SBA loans get charged off often?
0.0% of General Nutrition Centers loans approved between FY2010 and FY2019 that have reached a terminal status were charged off, against 7.6% across all SBA lending. Franchise-level charge-off rates reflect the era a brand expanded in as much as the concept itself - brands that grew hardest into the 2010s carry more seasoned, and more resolved, loans.

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