A Devon hotel group with one of the worl'd largest golfing resorts kept running through lockdown thanks to a seven-figure finance facility from HSBC UK.
The Manor House and Ashbury Hotels in Okehampton offer sport, craft, leisure and spa facilities and has the ninth largest golf resort in the world.
The two hotels, with a total of 426 rooms, used the working capital facility to continue operating when they were forced to close due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Joan and Simon Essex, Owners of Manor House Hotel and Ashbury Hotel, said: “As soon as lockdown was announced, we, like many other businesses in the hospitality sector, realised we were short of working capital to cover significant business maintenance costs and customer deposits refunds.
"HSBC UK were extremely supportive from the outset, giving us more confidence to address our customers with a more positive attitude and more confidence in general that our business will continue to be successful after overcoming these times.”
The hotel group used the cash to cover maintenance costs for the hotels and golf courses, purchasing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), installing more than 500 new wall mounted sanitisers and preparing for the new social distancing measures.
The HSBC UK funding was secured as part of the government-backed Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
Hotelier Robin Hutson, of the Pig Hotel group was among the high profile figures from the hospitality trade to lobby government on support during lockdown.
In April this year, he said the Pig Group took out a multi-million loan 'just to keep the doors closed' during lockdown.
And Covid-19 delayed the opening of the£13million Pig at Harlyn Bay, which eventually opened in July.
