Community trustees secure future of lively, wet-led pub following two-year funding challenge.

The Garibaldi is a much-loved community pub in Redhill, serving as a vibrant hub for residents, community groups and businesses alike. Operated by a Community Interest Company, the pub is run not for private profit but for the benefit of the local community, hosting a wide range of events, activities and initiatives designed to bring people together and support the local area. From live entertainment and pub quizzes to community-led volunteering work, The Garibaldi has become an integral part of Redhill town and the lives of its residents.

The acquisition was led by a dedicated group of trustees, led by Juliet, who were determined to safeguard the pub's future for the community despite having no prior experience in the licensed trade. Having already spent more than two years working towards completion, the trustees faced several significant challenges, including funding obstacles, valuation issues, and balancing affordability with fair compensation, while ensuring sufficient surpluses could be reinvested to support the local community. With substantial deposit funds already committed and at risk, securing a viable funding solution became critical to the success of the project.

Cat Cattermole, Senior Finance Broker at Christie Finance comments, “This was a particularly challenging and high-pressure transaction. The Trustees had exchanged contracts more than a year before seeking debt funding and were working towards a long stop date, putting them at risk of losing not only the pub but also the significant sums they had already invested into the purchase.

The deal presented a number of complexities but by working closely with the Trustees and understanding the wider importance of the project, I was able to secure funding with Unity Trust Bank, whose ethical lending approach made them an ideal partner for the business.

I am delighted to have played a part in helping the Trustees achieve their goal of ‘Saving the Gari’. It's particularly rewarding to have secured funding with a lender that shares their community-focused values, placing the business in safe hands as it continues to trade, develop and grow.”

Juliet Whitmore, Trustee of The Garibaldi Community Interest Company states, “We reached out to Christie Finance to assist us with finding a funder who would be willing to work with us to secure the freehold of the building we run our business from. We are a not-for-profit CIC, operating a community pub, which meant that a lot of the standard high street lenders were not interested, as we could offer no security against the loan, other than the business and building itself.

Our Christie Finance adviser, Cat Cattermole, liked our business model and fully understood and embraced what we were trying to achieve. She went above and beyond to search out lenders who were sympathetic to companies like ours, and presented a list of four potential lenders. We decided to proceed with one of them, who is a specialist in the not-for-profit sector, and they seem to be a perfect fit for us.

Before Cat became involved we had spent 18-months trying many, many different routes to secure funds to buy the freehold, but with little success and many dead ends. It's fair to say that without her support I believe we would have failed in our bid to buy the freehold, but, with her by our side every step of the way, giving valuable guidance and advice, we have finally realised our goal, and the sale completed last week!

I highly recommend Christie Finance and Cat Cattermole to anyone who is struggling to secure funding, especially if you are operating in the not-for-profit area.”