Leicestershire-based independent camping and caravan park secures £25,000 funding to expand operations

Co-Founders John and Katie Houghton were inspired to design and build their own facilities on The Grange site after staying in over 45 different campsites during their 630 mile walk along the Southwest Coastal Path in 2021. The life-changing experience helped to curate their vision of making a peaceful and tranquil camping spot overlooking the Wreake Valley.

The site currently has 26 fully serviced hard standing pitches and benefits from bespoke toilet and shower facilities, a shop stocking a wide range of goods such as locally produced food, beer and wine, as well as an onsite Award-winning Garden Centre & Mountain Restaurant.

Alongside a host of five-star reviews, The Grange was also recently awarded The Best Camping, Glamping & Holiday Park at the Leicestershire Tourism & Hospitality Award.

The funding from First Enterprise has facilitated the construction of six new hard standing pitches which are due to open in May 2025. Additionally, they have become the first site to offer a “Yurt” experience in Leicestershire, offering a brand new glamping experience for their visitors.

John and Katie Houghton, Co-Founders of The Grange, comment: “At times it was challenging but Inderpal from First Enterprise was always on hand to ease the way forward. He took us through the step-by-step process of achieving our loan, throughout, with patience and kind consideration – always available at the end of the phone without any protracted phone connections. The loan helped us to fund the construction of new attractions and pitches on site, which will increase our visitor capacity and their experiences.”

Inderpal Singh, Investment Manager at First Enterprise, comments: “It was a pleasure supporting John and Katie on their journey to expand The Grange. Their passion for creating a unique and welcoming camping experience is truly inspiring. Seeing their vision come to life with new hard-standing pitches and Leicestershire’s first yurt glamping experience is fantastic.

Richard Bearman, Co-Chief Banking Officer, British Business Bank commented: "Start Up Loans has a strong track record of supporting hospitality businesses and we’re delighted our finance and post loan support has helped John and Katie to expand their business, working alongside our partners at First Enterprise.”

The Grange caters for both short and long stays and delivers great attention to detail with a fully hands-on approach for their guests.