THE PROJECT: Ramside Hall, County Durham

Ramside Hall is a third-generation family business which has grown from a 12-bedroom property to a 128-bedroom mini-resort over the last 50 years. The latest custodian, John Adamson, sat down with MICHAEL NORTHCOTT to talk about the latest, and biggest ever, phase of development.

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PROJECT BRIEF: Build new bedroom block, golf course, health club and spa

BUDGET: £16m

HOTEL OWNER: John Adamson

LOCATION: County Durham

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Give us some background on the scope of the project

It was about seven years ago, I realised we had to move the hotel forward, mainly because there were national and international hotels moving into County Durham, so I decided that we had to develop it in order to remain competitive. As a family business, we did not really have the capital necessary to compete with the national and international brands.

So I bought a farm adjacent to the hotel about 12 years ago, we went out to get planning to turn our golf course from a 27-hole into 36 holes, and at the same time get housing in there in the green belt as a neighbouring development, to go for my dream of expanding the hotel. The council were supportive, though I had to jump through a lot of hoops.

We got planning permission for 34 executive houses in the green belt. That was the catalyst that raised the money to expand the hotel, though I also went to HSBC to get some funding too. The whole project has cost £16m, and it included building a new golf course, putting the roads and utilities into the housing development, and linking the two golf courses with a tunnel under the road, building 47 new hotel bedrooms, and then building the new spa. The figure also includes professional fees too, of about £700,000.

When you say the housing development helped raise the money, what exactly was the process?

I got the planning permission, put all the roads and services in, and then sold all the plots to individuals. I could have sold them to a developer but I would have got £1.5m less than what I got by selling to individuals. It took an extra year or so, but it was certainly worth it. From my side being a family business looking to invest in the future, it was worth the extra aggravation and wait.

What sort of hotel was Ramside Hall before you did this work?

I’m third generation of the family business. We’ve always added bits to the hotel over the last 50 years, but this development has been by far the biggest. We’ve managed to create a mini-resort, with four restaurants, 128 bedrooms, two big banqueting rooms which seat 500 and 300, two golf courses, and the fabulous health club and spa. I’ve been around most of them in the British Isles, and from what I’ve seen it really has to be one of the top five.

Did you have any external investment?

No we do everything privately, with the help of HSBC bank.

So it went from how many rooms to how many?

When my grandfather opened it was 12 bedrooms, my father took it to 82, and I’ve taken it to 128.

Did you phase the work?

I started the golf course in 2012, and that opened in September last year. And then the bedroom block and the health club and spa, we started in March 2014; the bedrooms opened April 2015, and we opened the health club and spa at the beginning of August this year. The outdoor pool is the last piece of the work, finished very soon, and that will be all the work for now!

In terms of your involvement, is it more stressful?

It is a bit as we have just opened. Things like we’ve put an Asian restaurant in the health club called Fusion, and last night we did 71 covers in there. We didn’t realise how quickly that would move on. The local community are using it quite a lot.

Is this ahead of what you were forecasting?

Yes, definitely.

During the actual build of the rooms and the spa, how did this affect the day running of the hotel?

It didn’t. Because it was a new wing, it didn’t really affect the existing hotel. The only problem I had was car-parking – we lost quite a bit of parking with the builders’ yard, but we have now put another 200 spaces on.

What about guests and the noise of the builders?

We had a few complaints, but in reality it wasn’t too bad. I thought it was going to be a lot worse than it was.

How did you choose the contractors?

I chose Walter Thompson, who did an extension on one of my other hotels 12 years ago. They were not the cheapest in the tendering process, but I just felt more comfortable with their management team, and had confidence that they could deliver.

What about architects?

We used Padgett White, a local Durham firm who do a lot of work for me. I like to have my own little team around me who I know, and I’m loyal to people who do a good job for me. These guys have done a lot for me over the 10 years, so it was obvious that I would go back to them. They did a fantastic design for me.

Tell us about style and design

The style is not modernist, but it is quite contemporary. The hydro-pools are quite different with colour tiling and so on, and with the 14 treatment rooms I pinched a few ideas from various spas I’ve been to.

With the actual build process, were there any hair-raising moments?

The spa design is a steel-frame building, but the steel contractor was about 10 weeks late with the steel, which slowed us down. It was disappointing and frustrating – we wanted to be open in May or June, but couldn’t open till August.

It’s a lot of money to sink into the business instead of just going on holiday!

It’s about protecting the business, evolving it, and I want to pass it on to the next generation. I am the custodian of the building really. I’d like the investment to pay off within 8-10 years. This development will put about £6m on our turnover, we’re aiming for £13m total turnover next year.

In any case, I couldn’t have upped and left, because the agreement with the council when I got planning permission for the houses included a thing called a Section 106, which was a strait-jacket. They were concerned that I was going to get £7-8m from the sale of the housing plots, and then not go through with developing the hotel. The funds went into a council-controlled bank account, and the cash was released as I completed certain phases of the development.

So they really had control of the situation then?

Oh yes without a doubt. I’ve delivered everything I’ve promised, they are delighted with it, and I think it will be a blueprint for them and other councils in the UK for how to develop in a way that benefits local economies. We’ve created another 100 jobs. The government and local councils should encourage this, if we’re going to see progress.