Financing Your Glamping Site

How can I finance my Glamping Business? 

Securing finance for your glamping business:

Very few are fortunate enough to have the required level of ready cash to launch a successful glamping business from the outset, so it is most likely that you will need to raise some sort of funds to cover some of the financial outlay, whether that be in in the initial set up phases or the ongoing running of the site or both.

What type of finance you choose depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to:

·   How much in total do you need to raise in relation to the total costs of the project?

·   Are you wanting to finance just the pods or the equipment or other set up costs too?

·   What existing relationships do you have with your own bank?

·   Pay back terms in relation to profitability- how much can you afford to pay back each month / year?

There are broadly 3 different types of finance open to those looking to set up a glamping business.

Finance Lease:

Finance Lease is effectively a type of equipment hire agreement. It is not a traditional interest bearing facility like hire purchase, but instead, equipment (or glamping cabins) is hired to the customer after being purchased by a lender at a fixed rate over a fixed period of time.

Hire Purchase:

Whilst similar to finance lease, the main difference is an agreement to purchase the equipment from the start. VAT is treated differently too since with a hire purchase agreement, VAT is payable in one go and at the start with the first deposit payment, rather than being spread out over monthly repayments as is the case with finance lease.

Bank Loans:

Many of our customers already have borrowing arrangements in place with their existing bank, so a conversation with your bank is often a good starting point. A bank loan is generally the cheapest form of finance as the loan is often fully secured.  

All of the finance options will have differing tax implications so it is wise to consult with your accountant or tax advisor at an early stage. All lenders will want to see a good robust business plan in place and will want to feel confident that their risk is minimal. Being part of a successful franchise like Wigwam® Holidays is very often favoured by lending institutions with our proven successful track record.

Grant Funding:

Finally, from time to time, there can be ‘free’ money available in the form of grant funding.  If your business is likely to provide a significant benefit to the local economy and the wider community, it can be possible to secure up to 40% of costs in the form of a grant. The application process is lengthy and you must be able to confidently prove that your venture will meet strict eligibility criteria.

Wigwam® Holidays have so far helped our franchisees to secure in excess of £1.5 million in project funding, so we have experts that can help.