Hospitality company The Doxford Group is creating a new hotel after securing a £5.7m finance package to help put growth plans into action.
The Doxford Group currently owns and operates weddings, events and overnight stays from its two venues near Alnwick, Northumberland, the Charlton Hall Estate and Doxford Barns. Now the Charlton Hall Estate is set to expand with a new 15-bedroom hotel, restaurant and bar, which is planned to open early next year as part of plans to boost existing services and create a destination estate within the area, thanks to the funding deal from Natwest.
Doxford Barns, which was opened in 2017, will also be expanded with the addition of seven new bedrooms, a bridal boutique with access to the ceremony room and an event reception area. The development will start later this year.
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The group was formed by Richard Shell, who quit a promising and lucrative career in banking with Natwest Group in Edinburgh when he was 24, to return to his Northumberland roots in Doxford to launch his own business. Keen to launch a wedding venue with a difference, he persuaded his parents to let him take on two empty barns and convert them, leading to the launch of Doxford Barns, emulating barn wedding venues down south that had yet to be developed in the North East. Soon after, he launched Charlton Hall, a grade II-listed 18th century former home at Chathill.
Mr Shell, a former winner of the award for rural diversification at the North East Rural Awards, said: “This is a monumental moment for The Doxford Group as it allows us to deliver on the short-term projects we’ve been working on for several months including the launch of our new hotel at Charlton Hall Estate making it a leisure destination in Northumberland like no other as well as our plans to develop Doxford Barns to enhance what we have built over the past seven years. Our plans will generate 40 new jobs within The Doxford Group which is great for the county.
Left to right: Michael Cross and Mark Gubbins. Pic by Rosie Davison Photography (Image: Rosie Davison Photography) Doxford Barns. Photo by Stephen Beecroft (Image: Stephen Beecroft)“To have the support from NatWest is significant and something I am grateful for as they share our ambition for further expansion in the way of acquisitions of more venues and our hotel. I started my career with the group in Edinburgh which drove me to act on my entrepreneurial skills, open my first wedding and events venue, Doxford Barns and now take The Doxford Group to new and exciting heights.”
Group finance director at The Doxford Group, Mark Gubbins, added: “This deal is the culmination of several months work and to have secured such funding as the hospitality sector recovers from the pandemic, and faces new challenges, is testimony to the offering that we possess at Doxford. Having worked closely with Mike Cross and his team at NatWest previously I know the sector expertise that they possess and we welcome them on board as we take The Doxford Group to the next level in the coming years, with several exciting and innovative projects in the pipeline.”
Michael Cross, relationship director at NatWest, said: “Richard, Mark and the team at The Doxford Group are at an exciting period in terms of the organisation’s growth and development. Throughout our time working together, I have been impressed by the management team’s vision for the business and how they have grown the business. It’s a pleasure to support them with funding for their expansion plans.”
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