This is a very gratifying deal to report upon, as the purchasers Tim & Pauline King had initially been put off the idea of buying the New Inn at Burnt Yates, following a conversation with another brokerage.

The deal was not straightforward, but that is why they needed a trade expert. Whilst the business was being offered as a trading going concern, they were dealing with two entities, the vendor who owned the freehold and a couple who traded the business on a day to day basis.

Until January 2006 the vendor company had been involved in the trading of the business, but post January opted to receive a rent, exit the business and place the Inn on the market. This meant we only had reliable trading accounts up to the beginning of the year. We first spoke to Tim & Pauline in late June, so already 6 months trade was not going to be certified.

The first broker had stated that the case was very tight and had quoted a package of an interest rate of Base Rate plus 2.5%, a bank arrangement fee of 1.5%, a brokerage fee of 2%, and a 70% loan to value. They must have thought they were talking to Noah.

When we talked to the Kings it was obvious that with those terms the deal would be pretty marginal and they would be entering the business with very little working capital. We were impressed with their experience in the sector, and the confidence they exuded about the huge potential they felt was waiting to be unlocked at the New Inn .

Despite the accounts difficulty, we felt the positives outweighed the negatives, and designed a package more in line with their needs. A 75% loan, to ensure strong working capital, and a rate of 1.75% above the Base Rate. Our fees, which would only be payable should they accept an offer, we priced at 0.75%. Most importantly we felt that they needed the option of a two year interest only facility to assist with the cash flow whilst they developed the trade.

After a weekend of mulling it over, Tim phoned us to say they had the confidence to trust in our ability to come up with a package that worked for them rather than against them and they were willing to proceed to valuation.

Our lender backed our judgement, and we are delighted to report that they completed the purchase this month enjoying all the terms that we had originally quoted to them.