“Charity Bank has been a breath of fresh air”

The Hive London Group approached numerous lenders about a loan but, as Non-Executive Director Mike Saul explains, “They weren’t able to be as adaptive, accommodating and pragmatic as Charity Bank.”

We agreed to a club loan package to Hive London Group of £12 million as a significant contribution to the development plans for the Group. Here, Mike shares more about his experiences with Charity Bank and why our “relationship driven” approach has been so beneficial.

Can you start by telling us about Hive London Group ?

It’s a hub for around 68 companies. Together, these provide a wealth of activities across 45 acres in northwest London. At the heart of the site is the football ground, which is home to Barnet FC and the London Bees. There’s also a conference and banqueting centre, with additional areas that can be booked for community or private use, outdoor pitches, padel courts, a medical centre providing diagnostics (CT/MRI/ X-Ray) facility, a gym, a motorcycle training school and so on.

The current owner bought the site in 2010. Before that, the land was a council-run playing fields with a football club, but it was poorly maintained and there were no proper buildings or infrastructure.

It sounds like the regenerated site has become pretty important for the local community?

It’s in our DNA to provide facilities for the local community, and to help develop people through the positive activities be that local schools, residents, or young and older people in the community. The football school and the academy offer many opportunities in the community. A  child might start at a school holiday camp, for example, then come to Saturday morning football through one of the multiple Grass Roots teams that use the facilities. Some will progress into the academy if they have a desire to pursue sport as a career. As well as professional men’s and women’s football teams, we have one of the UK’s largest walking football teams for the older generation.

The Amber Suite-banqueting facility offers an exceptional setting for celebrations for every faith. Catering for a wide range of events including, pre and post-wedding parties like Mehndi Nights, as well as Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, Conferences, Birthday Celebrations, Engagements, and Anniversaries.  From a Community perspective this facility plays a huge and growing role.

What are your plans for your  Charity Bank loan?

It will help us to continue developing the site. For example, we have plans for a range of projects, which includes 2 additional ATP pitches for community use, an indoor sports hall,   another stand which will encompass additional spectator and family space, alongside new office space and food and beverage  provision

The new ATP pitches are full-size and will be to FIFA standard, so they give people that experience of playing on a professional pitch.

The cost of the development is being funded by the loan package and the owner,  and will be created in phases, enhancing and complimenting the site as a whole.

What made you decide on Charity Bank as your main lender?

They were introduced to us through our  broker, PIA, who are exceptionally well connected in the market. It was apparent from the very beginning that Charity Bank’s pragmatic approach was exactly what we were looking for.

This is a hybrid business with lots of different facets. We’re not a charity (though we do have a charity within the Group), but the reciprocity between our community side and our commercial, trading side is important. We didn’t need an off-the-shelf loan; we needed to structure something that would have been very difficult for some of the bigger banks to structure.

Did you consider other lenders?

Yes, I went to many places. They were just too anchored in established practices. The Hive London Group are going to continue to develop this site and so we need the flexibility to switch things around if appropriate. Everything is ploughed back into the business – to refuel and regenerate extra opportunities. A lot of banks just couldn’t see their way clear to making life a bit easier when it came to the development criteria. They weren’t able to be as adaptive, accommodating and pragmatic as Charity Bank.

With Charity Bank, we came up with a very bespoke, user-friendly and controlled way by which we can be allowed to get on with the works, with the bank having full oversight and signing off on it, without them trying to be the tail wagging the dog. Their pragmatic, bespoke approach was a breath of fresh air.

It sounds like you value Charity Bank’s more personal, flexible approach?

The whole process has been relationship driven; we’ve dealt with a handful of people and there have been a lot of conversations. The broker has been a great middleman, which has saved us from getting too heavily involved and means there’s a neutral third party. However, I’ve spoken to Charity Bank directly many times. There’s definitely something to be said in being able to speak to somebody, as opposed to speaking to a telephone answering machine or sending an email that never gets answered.

It’s about relationships and being able to look somebody in the eye and shake hands. There’s a lot of trust and respect. You can buy neither of those, but you can earn them, and hopefully we’ve earned them, and they’ve earned them from us.

Where there any challenges that you hadn’t anticipated?

It took a long while to negotiate and get all the paperwork done and the ducks in a row, because it’s quite a big project and we have a lot of companies within our security net. Even the valuation was difficult. How do you value a facility like this? Is it the value of the site or the value of the very diverse businesses within the group? There’s also a football ground for a League Two professional football team. A lot of banks have an aversion to a football club because of the reputational risk. So, when you’re coming up with a value for a business like this, it’s nowhere near as straightforward as when you’re building a nursing home or social housing  for example.

While it took time, it was worth it in the end, and we like to think that we’re at the start of a meaningful relationship that can evolve from here.