£1.25m boosts hotel's green growth plans

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant, which was crowned the overall winner at last year’s inaugural Northumberland Tourism Awards, plans to use the funds to buy two residential properties and add to its management team.

The eco-hotel’s development has been backed by funding from HSBC, which was secured with support from business services group, Baldwins Accountants, a CogitalGroup company.

Having begun working with HSBC last year, the hotel has used the bank’s business services and loan facility to help restructure its operation.

Baldwins, one of the UK’s fastest growing accountancy firms, has worked with the venue for 12 years providing accountancy, tax and business advisory services.

The thriving hotel and restaurant will invest in properties in its home village of Wark, which are to be used as staff quarters, highlighting its ongoing commitment to being one of the UK’s most sustainable hotels.

Owner Richard Slade expressed how excited he was about the funding as it will enable the business to complete its five-year plan, which began in early 2017.

“We are proud to be environmentally friendly and since 2012 the hotel’s carbon footprint has decreased from 23.24kg CO2 per room per night to 5.23kg CO2 per room per night, which is significantly below industry average,” he said.

“By investing in two properties near to the business, our staff can live close by and not have to drive to work, which will further help to lower our carbon footprint.

“From the start of the funding process, Baldwins and HSBC’s teams were incredibly helpful.”

Baldwins’ director of banking and finance, Phil Empson, said: “Our banking and finance team has worked closely alongside the management team at Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant and HSBC to see the deal come to a satisfactory conclusion.

“We were able to take a lot of the pressure off the shoulders of the client, allowing them to concentrate on running the business, while keeping the transaction moving along, which worked very well for all parties involved.”

HSBC area director for business banking in the North East and Cumbria, David Slane, added: “We were particularly interested in Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant’s commitment to environmental sustainability and were delighted to help the business expand its offering and develop its business model, whilst maintaining its eco-friendly ethos.”