East Yorkshire business family acquire historic hotel with York advisers’ support

Professionals in York have funded a deal that saw an East Yorkshire family acquire an historic hotel in Shropshire.

Sue Moss, a former business banker with Barclays in Beverley, and her two sons, James and Matthew, have jointly acquired the 18th century, Grade II listed Salwey Arms, Wooferton, near Ludlow.

The family were advised by a corporate finance team at accountants and business advisers, JWP Creers, led by partner, Tony Farmer, with legal advice from Lupton Fawcett Denison Till.

The acquisition was funded by a team lead by relationship manager, Lorraine Hardiment, at Lloyds Bank, York.

A former Georgian coaching house, the Salwey Arms was purchased after being placed on the market for £1.25m by Birmingham-based auctioneers, Christie & Co, last autumn. The property has been substantially renovated by previous owners, Hugo and Cilla Lywood, who bought the premises in 2012 and are still working there during a transition period.

James Jenneson previously ran the Cardona Hotel, Queenstown, New Zealand, which his business partner still manages. Furthermore, Matthew and his wife, Jennifer, previously owned and ran four-star hotel, Invergarry Lodge, in the Great Glen, Scotland, from 2008.

They sold it to acquire their third share of the Salwey Arms business.

The Salwey Arms has a restaurant and bar that can seat 110 people, five bedrooms rooms and a function room which can accommodate 80 people, or 200 with a marquee, which would be ideal as a wedding venue.

Corporate finance services provided by Tony Farmer’s team, including his assistant, corporate finance manager, Steve Garbett, involved arranging finance, financial due diligence, business modelling and liaising with the corporate lawyer acting for the family, Martin Frost, a director in the corporate finance department of Lupton Fawcett Denison Till.

James Jenneson said: “After ten years in New Zealand, it was time to move home and for my wife Fleur and I to go to go into business with Matt and Jennifer in part of the country with wonderful countryside similar to where we grew up in East Yorkshire.

“Acquiring the Salwey Arms was a significant business step for us as a family but we were excellently advised by JWP Creers and Lupton Fawcett Denison Till at every stage. The Salwey Arms has been wonderfully renovated by Hugo and Cilla Lywood but we look forward to injecting our own style into the establishment and making it even better.”

Tony Farmer added: “With the economic recovery of the last 18 months gathering pace and disposable income returning to pre-recession crisis levels, this is a very good time to invest in a popular hotel. With the family’s combined business and hospitality experience, we believe they will do very well.”

Martin Frost, who led a cross-departmental team from Lupton Fawcett Denison Till’s York office, also commented: “The Salwey has huge potential and I am sure that, with the combined experiences the family have gained from running their previous businesses, they will do very well at this wonderful historic inn.”

Lorraine Hardiment, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Sue, Matthew and James had a clear business plan which demonstrated how they intended to achieve growth and run the business in order to offer the highest quality service to their guests.

“At Lloyds Bank we’re dedicated to supporting businesses like The Salwey Arms, and that’s why we’ve pledged to continue to grow our lending to SMEs by an additional £1bn net this year, as part of our 2015 SME Charter.”

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