Historic Rochdale restaurant installs microbrewery with £300k Barclays loan

The historic Rake Restaurant and Hotel in Littleborough, Rochdale, has been offered support from Barclays Business, the small business arm of the international financial services provider.

Located in a 16th century building, The Rake, which is run by Mark and Dawn Wickham, has been provided with over £300k by Barclays to support the investment in the business, which features four boutique style letting rooms and the Hay Rake Micro Brewery.

The building, known as ‘The Rake’ for over 400 years, was a former old coaching inn and housed a microbrewery on site during Victorian times.

Due to the restaurant’s management team and the support from Barclays to help strengthen the business, The Rake wasn’t severely affected by the recession and is now well positioned to take advantage of the brighter economic conditions.

Mark Wickham, owner and chef at The Rake, said: “Barclays have shown great faith in our business - altering our business model and supporting the investment in the business we are very excited about the opportunities which lie ahead. It’s been a tough couple of years, not just for us but for the sector as a whole. But, far from withdrawing support, Barclays has given us the opportunity to re-focus the company and introduce new capital - the business is in a great position now to grow over the next few years thanks to continued support of Barclays, who are an integral part of our team.”

Martin Hirst, Barclays business manager, added: “The last few years haven’t been easy for many small businesses in the sector, however, by providing additional working capital and support together with specialist advice we’ve been able to partner with Mark and Dawn to assist them with their future growth plans. With the introduction of the four new boutique rooms and a micro brewery, we are confident they can capitalise on their business model to attract many customers to their unique and historic location.”

He continued, “We believe the end of the recession is paving the way for dynamic people who want to run businesses they are passionate about, and we want to help them achieve those ambitions, in the right way. I would encourage any small business owners like Mark and Dawn who are looking for advice and support to come along and speak to Barclays.”

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