Small Business & Franchise — 2026-09-26

The dominant story this week is SBA policy churn on two fronts: new lending rules aimed at protecting creditors in acquisition deals — with direct consequences for franchise transfers — and continued blowback over the proposal to redefine who counts as a "small business." The most material funding shift is the October 1 rule change window, now under five days away. The standout operator development is a longtime franchisee signing a 15-unit TCBY/Mrs. Fields area development deal across North Carolina.

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SBA's New Acquisition Rules Ripple Through Franchise Dealmaking

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Key Highlights

• SBA acquisition-lending rules land on franchise deals. Franchise Times reports the SBA is rolling out new rules designed to protect lenders when financing business-change-of-hands transactions — a trend hitting franchise acquisitions hard, since more businesses are changing owners than ever.
• Small business definition fight continues. American Banker reports the SBA has extended the comment period on its proposal to expand the definition of a small business, facing significant blowback from the banking community.
• Size standards comment deadline now Nov. 20 context narrows. Fitsmallbusiness reports the SBA's proposed size standards could make roughly 114,000 more firms eligible as "small" — reshaping access to loans and federal contracts for mid-sized operators. Note: size-standards proposal coverage appeared in prior issues; this update focuses on the redefinition fight as reported this week.
• New federal register filing on size standards published Sept. 24. Justia's regulation tracker shows an SBA Small Business Size Standards filing (90 FR 60524-60525, doc. 2026-19546) dated September 24, 2026 — the latest movement in the eligibility overhaul.
• 15-unit TCBY/Mrs. Fields development deal signed. A longtime franchisee in the Greater Charlotte market signed a 15-unit area development agreement, planning expansion across North Carolina including the Research Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill); his TCBY stores are posting year-to-date sales up double digits.
• Multiple real-estate franchise brands active on M&A front. Franchising.com's merger news feed shows RE/MAX converting two brokerages (including a major Royal LePage franchise), Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate's The Good Life Group acquiring Don Peterson and Associates, and Sprout Realty ERA Powered acquiring Dallas-based 24Fifteen Realty (two offices, ~100 agents in DFW and Waco).

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Policy & Funding Watch

• New SBA acquisition-financing rules. The SBA is implementing rules to protect lenders in business-change-of-hands transactions; franchise buyers and sellers of existing units are the most affected group, per Franchise Times' report this week. Timing is imminent relative to the October 1 regulatory window.
• Small business size standards redefinition — extended comment period. The SBA extended the comment window on the proposal after industry backlash; lenders warn it could distort programs meant for genuinely small firms. Affects loan-eligible firms and federal contracting set-asides; check the Nov. 20 comment deadline.
• Latest size standards Federal Register filing — Sept. 24, 2026. SBA published Small Business Size Standards, 90 FR 60524-60525, in the Federal Register; operators in affected NAICS sectors should review the filing for threshold changes.

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Franchise Spotlight

• TCBY / Mrs. Fields (multi-brand frozen treats). An established Greater Charlotte franchisee signed a 15-unit area development deal to expand across North Carolina, including Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill. Fresh-fruit smoothie positioning and double-digit YTD sales growth make the multi-brand co-development model attractive in Southeastern growth corridors.
• RE/MAX. The brand announced an expanded footprint via conversion of two brokerages, including one of the Royal LePage brand's largest independent franchises — a signal that brand-to-brand conversions remain a fast path to growth in residential real estate franchising.

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Owner Success Stories

• Charlotte-area TCBY/Mrs. Fields franchisee. Reports his strongest year in the history of his TCBY ownership, with year-to-date sales up double digits versus last year, and is leveraging established infrastructure to fuel the 15-unit North Carolina development deal.
• Ownership-mapping for buyers. A new SmallBizTrends guide (published Sept. 24) lays out the 10-step path from choosing a brand to securing financing — useful benchmarking for aspiring owner-operators weighing franchise vs. independent launch.

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Market & Capital Pulse

Franchise acquisition lending is in a holding pattern ahead of October 1: franchisors and brokers are scrambling to confirm their brands remain SBA-financable under the new rules, while lenders await final clarity. The definitional expansion fight (114,000+ potentially newly eligible firms) is injecting uncertainty into both lending and federal contracting markets. M&A dealmaking in real-estate franchising remains active despite the caution on the lending side.

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What to Watch Next

• October 1, 2026: Effective date of new SBA loan rules — the immediate deadline affecting acquisition and franchise financing applications.
• November 20, 2026: Extended comment deadline on the SBA size standards redefinition proposal — stakeholders who missed earlier windows can still weigh in.
• Ongoing: Monitor follow-up Federal Register filings as the Sept. 24 SBA size standards notice moves through the rulemaking process.

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Reader Action Items

• If you are buying or selling a franchise business, confirm with your SBA-approved lender how the new acquisition rules apply to your deal before the October 1 window.
• Review the Sept. 24 Federal Register notice on size standards and determine whether revised thresholds change your firm's "small" status for lending and contracting.
• Calendar the Nov. 20 comment deadline and submit industry feedback if your bank or franchise system opposes or supports the redefinition.
• Benchmark your unit-level performance against the Charlotte TCBY franchisee's double-digit YTD sales growth when preparing 2027 budgets or lender packages.