Bank funding boost for hotel owners

A 200-year-old hotel in Llanelli is set to get a new lease of life after its owners secured funding from NatWest.Nickesha Graham-Burrell and Balfour Burrell obtained a £420,000 funding package from the bank to purchase The Ashburnham Hotel in Pembrey following the retirement of its previous owners.The Burrells plan investment in landscaping and internal refurbishments at the seven-acre site, and a future vision to add guest lodges to the grounds.The couple also plans to improve sustainability by installing electric vehicle charging points on-site.Balfour, a former construction project manager, will take over as general manager. All current staff will be retained as part of the changing of hands, while the new owners hope to create more jobs in the local area as the business expands.Built as an independent inn in the early 1800s to provide accommodation for businesspeople in the area, the hotel inherits its name from the Earl of Ashburnham, who lived at Pembrey house until the 1920s. Most notably, the property accommodated aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart for an overnight stay following her transatlantic flight in 1928, where she became the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.The deal secured the freehold of the hotel alongside all existing furniture and fittings. Jo McCarthy, commercial finance broker at B2B Finance, Andrew Styles, business development manager and Paul Dunne, relationship manager, both at NatWest, supported the transaction.