HSBC pours £1.25m into award-winning Northumberland hotel's expansion

A Northumberland hotel and restaurant is expanding and creating jobs after securing £1.25m in funding from HSBC.

Battlesteads Hotel & Restaurant, which was named Hotel of the Year at the 2017 North East England Tourism Awards, is planning to use the funds to acquire 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.

Owner of Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant, 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.

He said: “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, significantly below industry average.

“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 was instrumental in accessing the right bank for us and from first contact, HSBC’s team was easy to talk to and quickly understood our objectives and requirements.”

Baldwins’ director of banking and finance, Phil Empson, added: “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.”