WORK has restarted on a barn conversion in Glazebury after coronavirus threatened its progress.

Olam Holidings has been given a £1.3m loan from Assetz Capital Lending Limited (ACLL) to allow work to resume on the large barn and garage conversion to create five family homes.

The money has been given through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

The government-backed initiative from British Business Bank helps businesses who have been adversely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic by covering interest and fees for the first 12 months of the loan.

In April, Olam Holding’s husband and wife team, Paul and Sarah Waterworth, could no longer access funding for the project when lockdown was announced, which brought subsequent building work on the site to a standstill. Specialist lender Assetz Capital Lending Limited was able to offer a practical development solution to provide the borrower with sufficient working capital to fund the construction work.

All the groundwork is now finished, and the buildings are raised up to 1st floor level. The properties will be windowed and weather-tight by Christmas and are set to fully complete by June 2021. 
Paul Waterworth, Owner of Olam Holdings Ltd said: “Had we not stuck with Assetz and the CBILS scheme, we would have struggled, there were no comparables. Relationship Director Rebecca Hall was always very reassuring; she gave us the confidence to continue with the project.

"It was very welcome when she said, ‘It’s all going ahead’. They’ve essentially rewritten the rules of lending and in a very short timescale.”

Rebecca Hall, relationship director at Assetz Capital added: "It’s great to be able to help developers like Paul and Sarah whose project was paused due to the lockdown. With the site now in the build stage, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and the scheme will offer high standard housing to a lovely area."