Rural Mortgage Case Studies
Case Study #1
As Featured in Farming Life
Magazine - Specialist adivce to buy Surrey Farm |
Case Study #2
Holiday Cottage enterprise becomes
reality |
Case Study #3
Successful first year for Kent
Riding School |
Case Study #3 :
Successful first year for Kent Riding School
A
year ago leading Kent riding instructor, Linda Thompson, began
to consider expanding the business that she had established
through working with a large local stables and running her
own small rented yard, but finding the right mortgage deal
proved more difficult than she thought.
“The riding school where I taught
was being sold, and I’d decided that I would like to
expand beyond the livery yard I was running as it was expensive
to rent,” explains Miss Thompson. “So I began
to look for suitable stables to purchase in the east Kent
area, which is where I’ve always been based.”
In this part of the south-east such properties
come up very rarely, but unexpectedly two came onto the market
at about the same time.
“The first property that I looked
at was subject to an auction of sealed bids, and mine wasn’t
the highest offer. But at that point, a second nearby yard
I knew came onto the market.”
 The
yard, at Little Chart, near Ashford, was an established riding
centre, Rooting Street Farm. With a good set of stables, a
manège, three barns and some 16ha of grazing, it suited
her requirements, though it was clear that work would be required
to bring the yard up to her standards. Coupled with the good
hacking available courtesy of 22 miles of toll rides, it represented
just what Miss Thompson was looking for.
Arranging a suitable mortgage deal was now
the priority, but ensuring that the mortgage providers she
consulted understood rural businesses proved a tougher challenge.
In order to find a mortgage package that met the needs of
her business plan, she consulted with Rob Lister, at the nearby
Meopham office of countryside mortgage brokers Rural and Business
Specialists.
Mr Lister and the R&BS team were able
to guide Miss Thompson to the best mortgage deal for the type
and size of property, forecast its potential income and help
with her financial resources and plans.
 “The
agent selling the property originally suggested that R&BS
could help source the right mortgage provider and package,”
recalls Miss Thompson. “I wanted to find a mortgage
lender who understood the business of a riding school and
how it operates, as few of the usual high street providers
appeared aware of how rural enterprises and their finances
work. I also wanted a lender who understood that the property
I was purchasing required a lot of repair and maintenance.
“Rob was able to help me find a a
lender that recognised these issues and was sympathetic to
them.”
The owners of Rooting Street Farm subsequently received eight
firm offers around the guide for the property. However following
the good advice she had received, and with her deposit secured
and a mortgage deal with a lender who understood her plans,
Miss Thompson’s offer was accepted as the highest.
“The sound financial advice I was
given made buying the property a lot simpler than it could
have been,” she says. “But for me the real work
was only just beginning as there was now a lot to do to get
the riding centre into shape.”
Miss Thompson was able to move into Rooting
Street Farm in July 2005. Included in the sales was some of
the stables’ equipment but much more was required. There
was also a great deal of rubbish to be cleared, building issues
to be sorted and staff to recruit.
The current team of six part-time and four
permanent staff now at Rooting Street is made up of staff
who previously worked with Linda, including Madeleine Weston-Cole,
who helps run the riding centre and lives in one of the two
riding school flats, the other being occupied by Miss Thompson.
During the past year new boxes were also
built into an existing barn on the farm adding to the existing
set, with a total of 28 horses now accommodated at Rooting
Street, of which 20 are on full livery. An additional eight
boxes are planned.
 “Being
on the doorstep of a rapidly expanding town like Ashford means
there is a big demand for livery and lessons,” says
Miss Thompson. “We are planning to meet this demand
by roofing the existing floodlit sand arena adjacent to our
rubber chipping school to create an indoor school, and extend
the hours we can teach. This means we will be able to offer
dressage and show-jumping after dark. Also planned are a coffee
shop and a show programme, plus better car parking facilities,
which we have already started on.”
A measure of the school’s success
is that Rooting Street Farm is now open seven days, and also
has a contract with Canterbury College to teach trainee riding
instructors.
“On weekends there can be as many
as 38 lessons booked, so we are very pleased with the way
things have gone so far,” says Miss Thompson.
“I had a two year forward plan to
get the centre up and running, and establish the business
required to sustain it. But in the first six months we achieved
what I originally set out to do in 18 months - mostly by word
of mouth, and very little advertising.
“Buying Rooting Street Farm
and turning it into a top-class stables and school has meant
a lot of physical work and a great deal of financial planning,
but it’s definitely paying off.”
If you would like to know how R&BS Ltd
could help you fulfil your Rural Property dreams, please contact
us
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