SC businesses received $5.8 billion in COVID pandemic loans. See who got what

In Horry County, which has been steadily gaining people and new buildings for years now, the construction industry caught a break this year. While the industry was hit hard by the pandemic, most companies were able to bounce back.

Chad O’Brien said that was true for his company, Waccamaw Landscaping And Construction, Inc., which does everything from architectural design work to installing irrigation systems.

But COVID-19 did hurt his business in a key way: more than a dozen of his employees tested positive for COVID-19 and couldn’t work for several weeks. That led to the company delaying work, meaning revenue was delayed, too.

Thanks to the Paycheck Protection Program, though, funded as part of the federal CARES Act relief package, O’Brien was able to pay his employees to take time off while they recovered. The $277,500 his company received in the form of a forgivable loan helped cover costs until everyone was better and back on the job, he said.

“We had our whole construction crew out, we couldn’t bring in any revenue, but we were paying people,” O’Brien said. “It was very helpful to have. It took a lot of stress off.”

Across South Carolina, businesses big and small received a total of $5.8 billion from the Paycheck Protection Program, a number that can be reported for the first time after the U.S. Small Business Administration released more granular data on the program earlier this month. That data release was the result of a successful lawsuit by dozens of news outlets that sued the agency, charging that it wasn’t releasing enough information about the $717 billion program.

Previously, the SBA had released the names of companies that received large PPP loans and a range amount for how much each received. Specific dollar amounts, as well as addresses and other information, were withheld. The SBA also withheld the names of businesses that received smaller PPP loans, under $150,000. Those businesses are now named in the new data.

A total of 66,256 businesses in South Carolina received $5,764,352,975 through the PPP program, between April 3 and the program’s end on Aug. 8. Three businesses, HKA Enterprises LLC, based in Duncan, Human Technologies Inc., based in Greenville, and Thompson Industrial Services, LLC, based in Sumter, received the program’s largest possible loans of $10 million each. The Columbia-based company Star Tile & Flooring received the state’s smallest PPP loan: $14.

In Horry and Georgetown counties, 6,957 companies received PPP loans, totaling nearly half a billion dollars: $499,244,665. The international hotel chain Capital Vacations, LLC recieved the largest loan, at $9,399,530. Two self-employed people received the smallest loans, $100 and $245, respectively.

The PPP program works like this: Businesses, nonprofits and other groups can apply with their bank for a loan under the program and can then use that money for payroll, rent or other expenses directly related to the business. The loans have a 1% interest rate, but recipients can apply to have the loan forgiven once they use all the money. If the recipient used all of the money for eligible expenses, the federal government will forgive the loan and pay the bank back.

Taken as a whole, the data sheds light on how businesses along the Grand Strand, as well as across South Carolina, have survived during the coronavirus pandemic. In total, the data shows that the PPP loans helped save 669,000 jobs across the state, and 66,717 in Horry and Georgetown counties. Those figures could be inflated, though, as the businesses applying for the PPP loans self-reported the numbers on their applications, and will again self-report if they apply to have the loan forgiven. The news outlet ProPublica, for example, found that some temp agencies inflated their numbers of employees on PPP loan applications. And in the course of its reporting, The Sun News identified one self-employed woman who mistakenly listed that she was able to support 500 jobs with her PPP loan, when in reality only she was able to benefit.

Still, the data reveals how the federal government has kept certain sectors of South Carolina’s economy afloat. The state’s restaurant industry, for example, received the largest share of the $5.8 billion total, accepting $328,251,015 across 2,864 establishments. A related industry, fast food restaurants, received an additional $121,058,915. The state’s doctors were also buoyed by the PPP program, receiving $202,130,333. And South Carolina’s lawyers benefited handsomely, too, receiving a total of $158,236,022.

The auto sales industry, as well as plumbers and churches, also collectively received hundreds of millions of dollars from the PPP program. And hotels, an anchor of the Grand Strand’s economy, received $112,531,846 across 838 businesses.

“We think transparency is good, ultimately we think Congress should do another round of PPP,” said Ted Pitts, the President and CEO of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. “I think Congress acted quickly, which they needed to do. A lot of businesses were forced to shut down. Congress’ efforts to help small businesses and employees, they deserve credit for that.”

Now that this data is publicly available, The Sun News wants to make it available to you, too. Here, you can view and download spreadsheets with all of South Carolina’s PPP loan data, as well as the loans received by businesses in the Grand Strand region. If you find something interesting, please email reporter J. Dale Shoemaker at dshoemaker@thesunnews.com. As we continue digging into this data, more stories may follow.

Below is a breakdown of some of the highlights from the data.

Which cities got the most PPP money?

Despite being one South Carolina’s smaller big cities, Greenville tops South Carolina’s list for recipients of PPP loans, with more than 5,000 businesses accepting $619,544,953 in forgivable loans. Columbia and Charleston follow closely behind, each receiving more than $520 million, and Myrtle Beach with nearly 3,300 businesses accepting $258,911,331 in loans.

According to the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the PPP loans kept many businesses across the Grand Strand afloat. However, said Karen Riordan, the group’s president and CEO, more is needed.

“Congress must act swiftly to allow businesses that did not get PPP to take advantage of the program and allow businesses that did capitalize on the program to take out a second loan,” she said in an email. “The PPP was not a bailout, it was a lifeline for tens of thousands of jobs in the Myrtle Beach area.”

Jobs saved?

The intent of the PPP program, as designed, was this: The federal government would, essentially, pay small businesses to keep their employees on payroll and earning an income, even if revenues took a hit, or those employees couldn’t work. If the company spent the money on payroll, or other appropriate business expenses (like paying rent), the company could apply to have the full amount of the loan forgiven.

Towards that aim, the PPP loan application asked companies how many jobs they could retain if granted a loan, with 500 workers being the cap. That cap existed because, as the federal government defines it, a small businesses is one with 500 or fewer workers.

Some large companies — with more than 500 employees — violated that rule and have since returned PPP money they received. The SBA says that a company can have more than 500 employees and receive a PPP loan, but the company has to be of an average size for its industry. In April, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said companies receiving more than $2 million would face a federal audit.

In South Carolina, 38 companies that received a total of $148.6 million told the federal government they employ exactly 500 people. At least one of those has more: According to its LinkedIn profile, HKA Enterprises employs more than 1,000 people. That company received $10,000,000, the data shows. A phone call to HKA seeking more information about how it spent its PPP loan was not immediately returned.

Smaller businesses also claimed to have 500 employees. Two self-employed individuals, who received less than $2,000 in PPP loans each, wrote on their loan applications that they employed 500 people each. One of those people, Nicole Huggins of Conway, said that information was a mistake — she only works for herself selling jewelry and doing nails and eyelashes for customers and doesn’t employ anyone. The $1,800 she received helped her pay rent and keep the lights on, she said, and has helped her stay afloat. The other individual listed as employing 500 people, Michael Bauer of Richburg, didn’t return an email seeking more information about the $1,000 he received.

Because Congress had to “act quickly” with the first round of PPP loans, Pitts said that if Congress does indeed act and pass a second CARES Act, and with it another round of the PPP, lawmakers should “means test” the next loans so that only businesses and industries hurt the most have access to the money. Asking companies applying for the money for additional financial information, and information about how the pandemic has impacted their business could be one way to do that, Pitts said.

“(The PPP) saved jobs, and the reality is that if those jobs hadn’t been saved you would have had more people going to the unemployment line,” Pitts said. “I’ve talked to business owners who said, ‘I was able to keep my employees on payroll and paid because of the PPP.’”

Now, he added, South Carolina’s tourism and restaurant industries need another round of the PPP so they can continue to save jobs.

“We believe there’s a way for that to be done, to provide support to those businesses that have been hit really hard,” he said.

Demographics of loan recipients

Few recipients of PPP loans in South Carolina, and Horry and Georgetown counties, included demographic data in their applications. Still, the demographic information that was included is revealing.

Across South Carolina, white-owned businesses received far more PPP loans than Black-owned businesses or those owned by Latino, Asian or Native people.

And businesses owned by men received far more PPP loans than those owned by women.

As Americans begin receiving vaccines and Congress waffles, it’s unclear if there will be a second CARES Act, and, with it, a second round of PPP loans.

In Murrells Inlet, Brookgreen Garden is one local establishment that says it could use another round of PPP. President and CEO Page Kiniry said the nonprofit used the $1 million it received in April — a little more than 10% of its $9 million budget — to keep its 140 full and part-time staff on payroll, rather than furlough anyone. Being an outdoor facility has helped, Kiniry said, and admission fees have helped keep the botanical garden afloat. But another round of PPP would help solidify the organization’s future, she said.

“For this year we’re okay,” Kiniry said. “(But) we’re anticipating what will happen in the spring.” More restrictions, or mandatory closures, could hurt the garden, she said, and that could mean layoffs.

“We’re hoping that doesn’t happen.”

You can view and download all of the data used in this story’s analysis here. If you have questions about the data, or find something interested buried inside, email reporter J. Dale Shoemaker at dshoemaker@thesunnews.com. You can also submit a tip to the newsroom here.

This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 3:51 PM.