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Franchise financing

Financing a Gong Cha franchise

SBA lenders have approved 17 loans against the Gong Cha brand since FY2010, totalling $4.5M. The median approval was $260,200, counted from loans lenders approved rather than projections in a disclosure document.

Rank by loan count

#1098

of 1,651 brands

Loans approved

17

FY2010 onward

Median loan

$260,200

Typical range

$112K-$384K

Middle 80% of loans

Median term

10 yr

Charge-off rate

-

Cohort too small

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 Gong Cha

Geography

Where Gong Cha units were financed

The industry codes most often recorded on Gong Cha loans: Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515), All Other Specialty Food Stores (445299), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513). Each industry page lists the lenders and other brands in the same line of business.

Approvals by fiscal year

’18
’21
’22
’23
’24
’25
’26

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
    12%
  • $50K - $150K
    12%
  • $150K - $350K
    47%
  • $350K - $1M
    29%

Financing a franchise unit

Guidant Financial

Funds business and franchise buyers through 401(k) rollovers (ROBS), SBA loans, and portfolio lending, often combining them in one structure. Rollover structures are common among franchise buyers because they can supply the equity injection an SBA loan requires without taking on a second loan to do it.

Check options with Guidant Financial

Approved referral partner. We may be paid when a reader we refer starts an application. It changes nothing about the figures on this page. Those come from the SBA’s federal file.

An SBA 7(a) lender

An SBA 7(a) lender and marketplace for loans up to $500,000, plus bank term loans and custom financing. You apply on their site - we do not take applications and never see your information.

Check options with SmartBiz

We may be paid if you apply through this link. It does not change what we publish, and no lender can buy a place in our rankings. Details.

Financing a Gong Cha: common questions

How much do lenders finance for a Gong Cha franchise?
The median SBA loan approved for a Gong Cha franchise is $260,200, with the middle 80% of loans between $112,000 and $383,500. That is the financed portion only - it excludes the buyer's equity injection. SBA lenders typically want that injection at 10% or more of total project cost for a business acquisition or new franchise unit.
Which lenders finance Gong Cha franchises?
By dollars approved, the most active SBA lenders for Gong Cha have been First Bank of the Lake, FWBank, The Huntington National Bank, The Bank of Princeton. Many franchise brands also maintain their own preferred-lender lists, and those may differ from who has historically approved the most volume.
How long are Gong Cha SBA loans?
The median term is 10 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.

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