Bulldog Hotel Group secures £4.5m to fund growth

30 March 2015 by Janet Harmer

The Bulldog Hotel Group has secured a £4.5m investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF) to double its portfolio of seven properties across England.

Based in Boston, Lincolnshire, the company intends to acquire more hotels in market towns over the next three to four years to add to its existing properties in Yorkshire, Leicester, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Northampton and County Durham.

The new investment is part of a wider £20m expansion of Bulldog, which was recently named as one of the London Stock Exchange Group's 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain 2015.

Enjoying annual sales of more than £10m, the group focuses on buying coaching inns and revitalising their food, drink and bedroom offer.

Kevin Charity, managing director of the Bulldog Hotel Group, said: "We have ambitious plans for the next few years, which are centred on finding and acquiring the right estates in the right locations, and sensitively restoring them in line with the character of local surroundings.

Mark Freer of BGF said that Bulldog has a strong track record of substantially improving profitability at every site. "We are backing a strong management team, with plenty of energy and extensive experience in the hotel and hospitality market."

With capital of £2.5b, BGF is backed by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS, and Standard Chartered. It invests between £2 and £10m in small businesses which show the potential for growth, in return for a minority equity stake and a seat on the board.