Ayrshire entrepreneur secures £1.14m funding to open new boutique hotel
A Prestwick-based restaurant owner has secured a £1.14m funding deal to complete the transformation of a new four-star boutique hotel and unlock business growth opportunities within the area’s lucrative golf tourism industry.
The funding solution, provided by original alternative finance lender Reward Funding, has enabled Taj Bar and Kitchen to develop 3,875 sq. ft. of space above its restaurant, creating a 10-bedroom luxury hotel.
The newly opened DeiRa Hotel & Apartments are designed to meet the increased demand for high-quality accommodation from golf tourism – a market that is worth £40m each year to the Ayrshire economy. The Ayrshire coast is world-renowned for golf, boasting over 40 courses, including many of championship standard such as Trump Turnberry, Royal Troon and Dundonald Links.
The family-run restaurant and hotel business is part of R&J Uppal Holdings Ltd, which boasts an extensive property portfolio, comprising of other commercial and residential properties in Prestwick.
Like many other SMEs and property investors operating in the current climate, the developer turned to Reward to make sure they could seize this unique opportunity with the right funding solution. Perry Uppal needed a flexible and rapid finance provider that could unlock the funding deal quickly to complete the building work in time to capitalise on the remainder of this year’s golfing season.
The facility provided highlights Reward’s ongoing expansion in the commercial property sector. The Dunfermline-based lender provides property investors and businesses with decisive and dependable asset-secured funding solutions and has this year reached the milestone of lending over £25m to companies across Scotland.
Perry Uppal, director of R&J Uppal Holdings, said: “We recognised that expanding our existing restaurant business – by creating a new luxury boutique hotel – would enable us to drive further business growth and capitalise on the lucrative golf tourism industry across the Ayrshire coast.
“We’d struggled to secure funding through banks, which meant seizing this market opportunity would only be made possible if we could move quickly and find an alternative lender that understand our vision for the business and could deliver a tailored solution. The team at Reward have gone above and beyond to provide working capital at a pace needed to meet construction deadlines, minimise disruption to our restaurant business and open before the end of the golf tourism season.”
Lucie Martin, business development director for Reward Funding in Scotland, added: “We are seeing a significant increase in Scottish property investors and businesses approaching us because they have been unsuccessful in securing finance from traditional funders. Our purpose is to fill the void left by banks and offer an alternative solution which unlocks business growth opportunities for companies across a range of sectors. This also plays a wider role in ensuring the Scottish economy doesn’t stand still or even retract due to a shortage of finance.
“It’s been a pleasure working with Perry to provide the funding as a catalyst for future business growth and we look forward to supporting them every step of the way.”
The deal between R&J Uppal Holdings Ltd and Reward Funding was introduced by Robert Perrie from TWO Business Finance.
