Grade II-listed wedding venue in Richmond Park gets £815k funding

The minds behind the Richmond Park wedding venue Pembroke Lodge have signed a six-figure refinancing deal to preserve and enhance the Grade II-listed Georgian mansion.

The £815k package, provided by NatWest, enabled recent improvements to the Georgian property and will also help with preparations for a new park visitor centre.

The deal likewise supported the cost of developing The Hearsum Collection – 8,500 antique paintings, prints, photographs, documents, books and other pieces that tell the stories of Richmond Park and London’s other Royal Parks.

The latest deal is not the venue’s first with NatWest; the bank funded much of the original restoration of Pembroke Lodge between 1997 and 2007, transforming the property into a busy events space with new tearooms, a catering kiosk, information point and public toilets.

Today, Pembroke Lodge hosts around 250 weddings and generates more than £300k annually, supporting the upkeep of Richmond Park.

Pembroke Lodge chairman Daniel Hearsum said: “The Royal Parks are the very best in the world and it is a pleasure to help to preserve these priceless parks that give so much pleasure to 77 million visitors a year.

“After exploring various avenues of funding, it was the team at NatWest who truly came through for us with a bespoke funding package which enables us to continue our work to preserve the heritage of these much-loved parks.”

NatWest relationship manager David Beard commented: “Daniel’s original refinance package was testing in its complexity as it involved lots of moving parts inclusive of finance from a third party, which at the 11th hour did not come through as planned.

“We developed a deal to refinance existing loans for improvements and enabled him to continue his philanthropic commitment to Richmond Park. We look forward to working with Daniel in the future, as he delivers this exciting project.”