Downing Crowd Helps Oakman Inns Raise £1.82 Million for Acquisition of Property

Downing Crowd, the crowdfunding platform affiliated with Downing LLP,  is helping Oakman Bedfordshire Holdings raise £1.82 million in relation to the acquisition of the freehold of The White Hart, a pub restaurant property based in Bedfordshire which is leased to Oakman Inns and Restaurants. The offer appears to be nearly completed standing at £1.76 million as of last read.

“Crowdfunding investors have provided invaluable debt funding support for a number of our freehold pubs. We’re delighted to be working with Downing Crowd again on this latest project,” commented Peter Borg-Neal, founder and CEO of Oakman Inns and Director of Oakman Bedfordshire Holdings Limited. “The White Hart is a superb property that boasts a variety of warm, friendly spaces for like-minded individuals to meet over quality food and drink as well as a function room and eight bedrooms. It has considerable potential for further development and we are very pleased to have acquired such a high-quality freehold in what is clearly a good location.”

Oakman currently operates 21 trading pubs located across the Home Counties and Midlands. It has won six publican awards and in 2016 was rated the maximum three stars by the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

The White Hart, based in Ampthill Bedfordshire, has been operated by Oakman since April 2015 on a leasehold basis. The £1.82 million Crowd Bond will repay part of a finance package which was used to acquire the freehold for The White Hart. The property and land for the site, subject to the current lease to Oakman Inns and Restaurants, has been valued at £2.6 million.

The asset-backed Crowd Bond offers investors the chance to earn 7% annual interest over a period of up to 23 months. The Bond will take a first charge over the site, which means that Downing will be given priority over other lenders should the borrower default.

Downing is an FCA authorised and regulated investment manager with over 25 years of experience, 35,000 investors and in excess of £950 million of funds under management. The platform says it has a strong relationship with Oakman Inns and Restaurants, having raised almost £10 million worth of funds for its pub restaurants.