SBA 7(a) loan outcomes · FY2010–FY2019 cohort · Statuses as of June 30, 2026 · Last updated August 17, 2026
El Pollo Loco Franchise Failure Rate on SBA Loans: 0 of 17 Charged Off (Federal Data)
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
None of the 17 El Pollo Loco SBA borrowers in the sample failed to repay — but 17 loans is too few to call a rate.
0 of 17 SBA 7(a) loans to El Pollo Loco franchisees (2010–2019) ended in charge-off. The sample is small; treat this as a diligence flag, not a verdict. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
What is the El Pollo Loco franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
El Pollo Loco is a Limited-Service Restaurants franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to El Pollo Loco franchisees: 17 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 0 were charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY201917
- Charged off0
- Charge-off rate (small sample)0.0%
- Limited-Service Restaurants franchise benchmark10.3%
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$432,506
- New SBA loans since 20207
- Early charge-offs since 20200
How does El Pollo Loco compare with other Limited-Service Restaurants franchises?
The table sets El Pollo Loco's charge-off rate beside its Limited-Service Restaurants peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | El Pollo Loco | Limited-Service Restaurants | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 0.0% (small sample) | 10.3% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 17 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 0 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $432,506 | — | — | — |
What has El Pollo Loco SBA lending looked like since 2020?
Since 2020, El Pollo Loco franchisees have taken 7 new SBA 7(a) loans. None have charged off to date, though most remain outstanding and unresolved.
Loans approved since 2020, by fiscal year — counts only: 0 have charged off to date and most are still outstanding, so no rate is drawn.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2010 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2012 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2016 | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2017 | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2018 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2020 | 1 | — | outstanding |
| FY2024 | 1 | — | outstanding |
| FY2025 | 1 | — | outstanding |
| FY2026 | 4 | — | outstanding |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
El Pollo Loco's figure rests on 17 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019 — a matured cohort, so the count is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 17 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 5.9 percentage points. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every El Pollo Loco figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Small sample (17 loans). A single default moves this figure substantially.
Frequently asked
- What is El Pollo Loco's franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
- 0 of 17 SBA 7(a) loans to El Pollo Loco franchisees (2010–2019) ended in charge-off. The sample is small; treat this as a diligence flag, not a verdict. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration FOIA dataset, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
- Is El Pollo Loco a safe franchise investment?
- Between 2010–2019, 0 of 17 SBA loans to El Pollo Loco franchisees were charged off. The sample is small. This data is one input for due diligence; it is not investment advice.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). El Pollo Loco franchise SBA 7(a) loan outcomes, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 0 of 17 loans charged off. Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/el-pollo-loco/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)