- The group closed all seven of its hotels during the coronavirus lockdown
- The CBILS funding helped the business to survive through a period of uncertainty and supported its preparations to reopen
Crieff Hydro, a family-run Scottish hotel group, has secured a £5m CBILS overdraft from Santander UK to help the business through the challenges facing the hospitality and leisure sector during the pandemic.
The company, which was founded in 1868, owns and operates seven hotels across Scotland. The hotels are in rural locations and offer a range of accommodation and outdoor activities, including self-catering options - making them well placed to provide a safe and socially distanced environment for visitors as the hospitality and leisure sector reopens in Scotland.
The £5m CBILS support package helped to support Crieff Hydro through the challenges of lockdown and a sharp drop in income when the hotels closed their doors over three months ago. With help from Santander UK the business has focussed on preparing to reopen and will welcome guests from 15 July.
Stephen Leckie, CEO Of Crieff Hydro, commented: “Our relationship with Santander has always gone beyond banking. Our Relationship Director, Kirsty Johnston, combined her knowledge of our business with the workings of the bank and the new CBILS scheme to support us when we needed it most. Now we can focus on reopening and we can’t wait to welcome our guests back.”
Kirsty Johnston, Relationship Director at Santander UK, said: “Crieff Hydro is a fantastic business that puts its guests at the very heart of everything it does. By working with them to provide support through CBILS we are delighted that they’ll be ready to reopen and offer the warm welcome and range of facilities its guests have come to expect.”
Santander UK is hosting a series of free ‘Survive and Revive’ webinars for SMEs on how to bolster their business proposition. Covering a range of topics - from innovating effectively to aligning purpose and culture - our experts delve into the ways that businesses have adjusted, and thrived, since the outbreak of coronavirus. You can find these webinars and a list of other helpful resources at www.santanderbreakthrough.co.uk/coronavirus.
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Notes to Editors
For information about Crieff Hydro please visit www.crieffhydrofamily.com
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