Simon and Gabbi targeting growth thanks to small capital grant

A campsite set deep in the Warwickshire countryside is ready to grow to the benefit of itself and the wider local economy thanks to a small capital grant from the county council.

Mousley House Farm Camp Site, near Rowington, has become highly popular with visitors both locally and from all over the world since opening five years ago.

In 2013, Simon and Gabbi Hughes, after careers in the police force and education respectively, took the bold step to create the campsite on a field previously used for grazing.

The business blossomed with the site quickly gaining a Trip Advisor certificate of excellence - but that popularity led to a dilemma. The business having been started from scratch, on a field previously occupied only by horses, for it to be able to grow, its infrastructure had to be upgraded.

That's where the £9,500 small capital grant came in. Along with Access to Finance advice from county council business support advisor Jagdish Soor, the funding enabled growth which enhances not only the business itself but also those nearby.

"The grant has made a major difference to our business," said Simon. "Without it, we could not have expanded.

"We have all the ingredients: a beautiful location, plenty of space and loads of great attractions nearby that people will always want to visit. Feedback from our visitors ever since we started has been excellent with many coming back regularly, but to grow the businesses we needed to improve our amenities.

"We started with literally a farmer's field so had to install a sewerage plant to increase capacity. The grant enabled us to do that so we are now fully connected to the water mains. That is much more economical for us and, more importantly, means that we offer better service to visitors because the water-pressure on site never drops.

"It is a massive step forward for the business and will have a positive knock-on effect on other businesses in the area. A lot of our campers here visit the local pubs and restaurants, one of which has been kept so busy by our visitors it has asked us to ask our campers to book ahead!

"We can now really plan ahead for growth. We are looking to take on another member of staff, with another one to follow hopefully quite soon."

Jagdish Soor was delighted to assist Simon and Gabbi.

“Sometimes there is a preconception that funding support is only available to companies within the manufacturing, technology and innovation sectors," he said. "However this project demonstrates that Warwickshire County Council are progressive and actively supporting business right across the spectrum from micro to SMEs and those engaged in the rural economy, tourism and infrastructure.”    

 * The advice for the company was delivered as part of the Coventry and Warwickshire Business Support Programme, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Warwickshire County Council. 

• To find out more about the range of support available to grow your business, please contact the Growth Hub on 0300 060 3747.