Glenn and Samantha came to us originally to purchase a different B&B in the region of Lochinver but they were unable to come to an agreement with the vendor so they looked for another opportunity and widened their search area.
Fort Augustus is a lovely small town more or less half way between Fort William and Inverness and is where Loch Ness, the Caledonian Canal and the River Oich meet. It is a popular place for tourists to watch the many boats go through the canal locks as well as visiting local film locations. The Great Glen Way passes through the town which makes it a popular destination for walkers. A property that used to trade as a B&B but was now closed was on the market and was the ideal property for Glenn and Samantha with great views across the town and Loch. After viewing the property, they could see the potential and spoke to us about a projection led debt application.
It is always easier to secure debt on a trading concern but due to the location and condition of this property it was definitely worth pursuing. We spoke to some lenders to gauge their interest and found one who was fully supportive so it was full steam ahead with the application.
Glenn and Samantha were new to trade but were fully committed to their new change of lifestyle. As Stewart Hindley & Partners are specialists in new to trade operators we were able to present a comprehensive application to the lender which we are glad to say was successful.
The only hiccup in the process was the fact that the property did not appear to be registered with the local council as a commercial property (something to bear in mind when looking at commercial property!), this was raised in the commercial valuation report and needed to be addressed by Glenn and Samantha. Change of use was applied for and they completed on their purchase at the end of September.
Since completion Glenn and Samantha have worked hard refurbishing the rooms and now provide comfortable, modern accommodation for their guests. Beaufort House is now open for business and is ready to welcome you.
What Glenn & Samantha say..
Making the decision to give up the regular ‘9 to 5’ life in Leicestershire was the fun part – starting to wade through the extensive information and processes to make buying a B&B a reality; not so fun!
Thankfully we discovered Stewart Hindley & Partners and from there on the journey was, quite honestly, a very positive and confident one. There are few organisations who successfully combine high professional standards with sincere empathy and personality – we experienced both working with Chris and Carol; both of whom were always at the end of the phone any time to advise us, answer any questions and guide us through this process.
If you are planning to go down the route of purchasing a B&B we absolutely recommend Stewart Hindley & Partners all the way – you can’t go wrong with them!
Samantha & Glenn
Beaufort House Bed & Breakfast, Fort Augustus