Bedford Manor House Hotel revitalised thanks to funding from HSBC UK

Raj and Neera Regmi, owners of Meadow Brown Restaurants, also manage Lakeside Kitchen and Bar and Ferry Meadows Café in Peterborough.

The duo wanted to grow their business, based in Peterborough, and set their sights on Woodland Manor.

By using part of HSBC UK’s funding to take over the lease of the building, the couple aim to give the eighteenth-century manor a new lease of life and increase its turnover by 25 per cent in the next 12 months.

On top of securing the lease of the building, the funding has allowed Raj and Neera to update the manor’s interior décor and modernise its facilities, to help meet customer expectations for a modern hotel, conference, wedding and events venue.

Raj Regmi, Co-owner of Meadow Brown Restaurants, said: “Woodland Manor is a beautiful old building set in four acres of stunning woodland gardens.

"When we took over the reins in 2018, we had every confidence in building the venue’s reputation as a beautiful wedding and events venue.

"The funding from HSBC UK has allowed us to make subtle changes to the internal look and feel of the manor, improve the menu and build better links with the local community.

"We’ve got 30 weddings booked so far in 2019 and I anticipate that these changes will enable us to more than triple that number in the next twelve months.

"A huge thanks to Andy Geagen, our Relationship Manager at HSBC UK, who made the whole process as simple as possible for us.”

Paul Armstrong, Business Banking Director for HSBC UK East Midlands, commented: “Raj and Neera have great plans in place for Woodland Manor.

"With the UK wedding industry worth a staggering £10 billion (hitched.co.uk), the support will help the team maximise return on this area of the business, realise their growth ambitions, build their customer base and add another successful business to the Meadow Brown Portfolio.”

Woodland Manor Hotel was used as a guest house and hospital for the Ministry of Supply after World War II before being used as research establishment and eventually becoming a hotel in 1973.

The hotel now offers 34 rooms, a bar, restaurant and events facilities and is building its reputation as a conference and wedding venue.