South West boutique hotel and pub group Stay Original Company has acquired historic Somerset restaurant and guesthouse At The Chapel.
The Bruton venue, a former 18th century chapel, is the firm’s sixth, with the purchase completed after it secured a £3.5m loan from Cynergy Bank.
The grade-II listed building, which dates even further back to the 17th century, includes an artisan bakery, wine-store and eight bedrooms.
At The Chapel has been operating for more than decade after being founded by former London restaurateur Catherine Butler and partner Ahmed Sidki.
Pilton-based Stay Original bought its first property in 2011, renovating The Swan pub in Wedmore. It has gone on to add The White Hart in Somerton; Wiltshire hotel Timbrell’s Yard in Bradford on Avon; and Dorset inns The King’s Arms in Dorchester and The Grosvenor Arms in Shaftesbury.
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The deal marks the second time the company has worked with Cynergy Bank, which said it had provided Stay Original with a total of £8.7m in financing in 2021.
Director James Brooke-Webb said: “Stay Original Company Ltd is growing and At the Chapel is exactly the sort of opportunity we have been looking for. It’s been great to work with Cynergy Bank again and doing business with Steve Crosswell and his team for the second time has been no less of a pleasure than it was the first.”
Cynergy Bank director Steve Crosswell added: “At The Chapel is a wonderful asset and one that will fit perfectly within the existing portfolio of premium, boutique coaching inns. Geographically it fits very well, with Bruton being a very affluent part of Somerset. We very much look forward to seeing [Stay Original] successfully integrate the new purchase into the portfolio.”
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