Beaufort, Jasper Co. firms got over $135M in loans during pandemic. Where the money went
Note: Some businesses reported PPP loan amounts disclosed by the SBA were incorrect. Read more here.
Businesses and nonprofits in Beaufort and Jasper counties received at least $135 million in small-business loans through the federal government’s sprawling Paycheck Protection Program, newly released data show.
The data show that massive amounts of money went to some of Beaufort County’s largest employers, including resorts, restaurants and retail companies that furloughed employees during the coronavirus pandemic. Money also went to service providers that lost nearly all business when tourists stopped coming to the county.
The Small Business Administration and U.S. Treasury Department published a list of businesses Monday that have received a PPP loan of $150,000 or more, accounting for some 75% of the funds released through the program but just a small fraction of the total loans.
The SBA did not provide exact loan amounts in its data, which were released following weeks of pressure from national newspaper companies and lawmakers.
Some business owners contacted by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette disputed the loan ranges reported in the data, saying they received far less than the SBA data indicate. Others declined to answer questions.
The database is incomplete, particularly in the number of jobs affected. As The Washington Post reported, “Among the loan recipients, 48,922 reported zero as the number of jobs they would retain with the money, and 40,506 applicants appeared to leave that section blank.”
The $660 billion PPP was included in Congress’ $2 trillion CARES Act, a massive economic relief package that was passed in late March as lawmakers raced to mitigate the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Companies applying for the money had to certify the funds were “necessary to support ongoing operations,” according to the SBA’s application form.
Hundreds of local employers were able to access the forgivable loans, which were established to help small business owners cover mortgage or rent payments, payroll costs or employee retention.
In Beaufort County, 10 recipients each obtained loans of $2 million to $5 million, according to the data. Twenty-five others each received loans of $1 million to $2 million.
Car dealerships, hardware stores, churches, private schools, homeowners’ associations and dozens of other businesses across the two counties received loans, the SBA data show.
Here are some of the major takeaways on how the PPP funds were distributed locally:
Millions go to construction companies, car dealerships and restaurants
As seen across the country, bigger businesses and corporations in Beaufort County appeared to benefit from the largest loans from the program during the pandemic.
Construction and building companies known around the Lowcountry, such as H2 Builders, received between $350,000 and $1 million loans. Ellis Construction got between $2 million and $5 million, an amount reported by the SBA that the firm contests, and the Court Atkins Group received between $350,000 and $1 million in forgivable loans, according to the data.
Car dealerships also received loans. Stokes Motors Inc. in Beaufort and Modern Classic Motors in Bluffton received between $1 million and $2 million in loans as the market for new cars tanked in April.
Grainger Nissan of Beaufort and Vaden of Beaufort both received between $350,000 and $1 million each in PPP loans.
The SERG Restaurant Group got $1 million to $2 million, while some of its individual restaurants received additional loans, including Wise Guys, Skull Creek Boathouse and Marley’s Island Grille. SERG furloughed nearly 800 workers during the pandemic.
Several restaurants owned by the Coastal Restaurants and Bars group, including Fishcamp on Broad Creek, The Crazy Crab and Reilley’s Grill and Pub, also got individual loans. The restaurant group did not, the data show.
And private community property owners’ associations also benefited. POA boards at Wexford, Long Cove and Sea Pines on Hilton Head, and Moss Creek, Hampton Hall and Berkeley Hall in Bluffton, among others, received between $350,000 and $2 million in loans.
Two firms registered to residential addresses, an investment advisor in Bluffton and a real estate company on Hilton Head, were among the small group of firms in the $2 million to $5 million bracket.
The investment advisor said the amount attributed to his company was wildly inaccurate. The registered agent for the real estate company refused to speak with a reporter.
Did small businesses receive large loan amounts?
Some of the biggest loans went to relatively small companies, according to the data. But the small companies contest how much money they actually got.
On Hilton Head, the mid-island Hilton Head Comedy Magic Cabaret received at least $2 million, the SBA data show. Club owner Kelly Pollock said the club’s actual loan was under $35,000.
The club closed on March 16 and has not yet reopened, according to its Facebook page. Pollock said the loan money, which took five weeks to arrive, helped pay the club’s nine employees.
A Hilton Head Island photography studio called Memory Lane Portraits obtained the same amount, although the company’s owner disputes the loan amount listed by the SBA. Stephen Dey, who said his studio has two full-time employees, said his actual loan amount was between $10,000 and $30,000.
He declined to provide documentation of the specific loan amount, but the Charlotte resident said the loan helped keep his small business alive.
“The loan was extremely helpful. We’re all floundering,” he said of small businesses. “To receive the funds and to put somebody back to work was extremely gratifying.”
He said his employees were furloughed from mid-March until mid-May, when he received the loan.
The loan application process for the PPP was marred by delays for some small business owners, who watched as large national chains and publicly traded companies received millions. (Some large businesses have said they are returning the funds after facing public backlash.)
Large sums also went to foreign firms. Korean Air received a loan of between $5 and $10 million, according to the PPP data
Lowcountry business owners applied for loans through their local banks, which were overwhelmed early in the pandemic, the newspapers previously reported.
“I don’t know what happens behind the scenes,” one Beaufort coffee shop owner told the newspapers in April. “I have no idea what the process is.”
How many businesses got loans over $150,000?
In total, 450 PPP loan recipients were listed for the two counties. Those recipients ranged from the Baptist Church of Beaufort to the Bluffton Veterinary Hospital.
Some of the businesses and nonprofits are well known: The Boys & Girls Club of the Lowcountry received at least $350,000. Palmetto Electric obtained a loan of $2 million to $5 million, according to the data.
Other recipients, like Lowcountry Concrete of Ridgeland Inc., a concrete contractor that received a loan of $150,000 to $350,000, per the data, may not be a household name.
Employers that received loans were able to self-report the number of jobs retained using the PPP money. Sixty-two recipients did not have those figures listed in the SBA data. There was no information on whether Citadel Electric LLC in Bluffton retained jobs thanks to its PPP loan, for example.
But reached by phone Tuesday, Nathan Thomas, owner of Citadel Electric, said the PPP funds were used to cover payroll for the company’s two employees. He added that the SBA data was wrong: Citadel Electric hadn’t obtained a loan of $2 million to $5 million, as was listed in the records released Monday. His company received a loan of $12,500 in May, he said.
“I wish I got $2 to $5 million,” he said.
Many businesses self-reported that PPP loans supported jobs, the data show.
The Greenery Inc., a commercial and residential landscaping company with offices around Beaufort County, reported that 466 jobs were retained with a PPP loan of $2 million to $5 million, per the data.
Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, of Hilton Head Island, obtained a loan of at least $150,000. Dr. Ray Cox, executive director of the clinic, said the funds were used to make sure his staff was able to stay home when the clinic was closed during the first few months of the pandemic.
“It is very important to the integrity of this organization to maintain our seasoned and dedicated staff,” Cox said in an interview.
What’s missing from the data?
Most demographic data is lacking, making it difficult to determine any trends in the applicant or recipient pools.
Only 30 out of 450 loan recipients in the two counties listed their race on their applications, with one identifying as Asian and one identifying as Black or African American.
The other 28 are identified as white. Eighty have their gender listed, and 12 of those recipients are identified as female. Six recipients are identified as veterans and 44 as non-veterans.
Larry Holman, president of the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce, said he was concerned about the number of Black-owned businesses going out of business and was working to get funding to lend to local businesses in South Carolina and Georgia.
In May, the SBA set aside $10 billion in PPP funds for community development financial institutions, including the Black Chamber of Commerce, to distribute to low-income and underserved businesses.
Holman said he has not seen the Lowcountry’s portion of that funding come through. Looking at the companies that have received millions of dollars in loans, he said he feels like the chamber is not being supported like other organizations.
“Our average of the folk that have needed the loans is $14,000 to $15,000,” he said. “Small mom and pop businesses are most of them … Our small businesses are suffering.”
We need your help reporting on the Paycheck Protection Program, one of the largest economic stimulus programs ever created. Have information about one of these loans? Here’s how to reach us, including anonymously.
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 8:37 AM.
