Forest Hills Golf Holidays

09 February 2024 | Case Study

Brian started this relationship and I became involved providing opinion and pricing information on the assets and then with the asset inspection. I met up with Dilan from Halo at the golf club near Ross on Wye and met the owner of the course over coffee in the clubhouse.

We funded the first lodge in March 2023 as part of the first phase of a new hire fleet adjacent to the customer’s golf club and it is being marketed through Hoseasons. We have approved a further two facilities for two further lodges that are arriving imminently. There are around 30 further lodges to add over the next couple of years.

The owner is a person of means and owned a caravan park in Cumbria many years ago, that I know of. I believe it was beneficial to demonstrate an understanding of the overall sector and the product to the owner.

We came under pressure in the last couple of weeks when, chasing for a completion date, the broker advised that the customer had been offered a facility by DF Capital. I asked to see the outline which is typically very confusing and pricing difficult to compare. It gives the impression of being extremely flexible and demands incremental capital repayments. The customer, however, is seeking stability and knowing exactly what he will be paying through the life of the agreement.

With minimal ongoing care & maintenance, the asset should have a useable life of c. 50 years and significant RV, so the 25% balloon should never be an issue, certainly after the initial 60-month period has elapsed.

  • 2 further lodges on order
  • 20% deposit
  • 25% balloon agreed

In considering the existing acceptances and in conversation with Dilan, I emailed Tonika with an outline of what might be acceptable to both Arkle and the customer. This included a longer term (72 or 84 months) or the addition of a 25% balloon over a 60-month period. Tonika indicated that UW would be happy with the latter. The customer confirmed that they would be happy with this and UW (Tamsin & Tonika) approved it.

Key information:

Introducing Broker: Halo Corporate Finance Ltd