Handel's Ice Cream
The total investment to open a Handel's Ice Cream franchise ranges from $32,500 to $314,000. The initial franchise fee is $31,750.
What is the Handel's Ice Cream franchise?
Handel's Ice Cream sells ice cream to customers. Estimated total initial investment is $32,500 to $314,000, and the initial franchise fee is $31,750.
The company is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
Loan Activity Score
37/100
SBA Default Rate
6.3%
Active Lenders
7
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Handel's Ice Cream has 14 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 7 lenders made 16 loans to franchisees of Handel's Ice Cream. PeerSense calculates Handel's Ice Cream's score as 37 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
14 locations
$32,500 to $314,000
$31,750
14
14 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
FairDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Handel's Ice Cream
16
Total SBA loans
$174K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Handel's Ice Cream
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Growing (10 to 24 loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
6.3%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
16
Total Volume
$2.8M
Active Lenders
7
1 selective
States
3
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for Handel's Ice Cream based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
6.3%
4.0% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
16 loans
Across 7 lenders
Lender Diversity
7 lenders
Avg 2.3 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Mid range investment
$32,500 to $314,000 total
Handel's Ice Cream: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
2003
4 approvals. The best year on record for Handel's Ice Cream.
Top SBA State
Ohio
11 SBA financed Handel's Ice Cream locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$174K
Median $151K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Handel's Ice Cream unit.
Lender Concentration
75%
Concentrated
Share of Handel's Ice Cream approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Handel's Ice Cream's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2003 (4 approvals). Operator density is highest in Ohio with 11 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $174K, with the median at $151K. Lender mix is concentrated: the top three SBA lenders account for 75% of approvals. Credit decisions concentrate with a small group of incumbents.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$336
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
Handel's Ice Cream, unit breakdown
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Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman