Warwickshire’s Wigley Group agrees new venue partnership with racehorse trainer

Published by

Sam Pither

Mike Vining, James Ellerington, James Davies, Rob Wigley (all Wigley Group) Ben and Sophie Pauling, Claire Lynch (Wigley Group) and Mark Scholfield (Kershaw Partners) – with the Ben Pauling Racing-trained No Questions Asked.

The Wigley Group, a Warwickshire-based property development and investment company, will create a new Cotswolds events and wedding venue after agreeing a partnership with a National Hunt racehorse trainer.

In partnership with trainer Ben Pauling, the firm will construct and operate a new £2 million events and wedding venue near Cheltenham under the Naunton Downs Estate.

Planning consent has been granted on a 5,000 square feet barn which will host weddings, family celebrations, corporate and racing events, with construction set to start in 2023 ahead of a scheduled completion in the second half of 2024.

It follows Pauling’s purchase of the 200-acre site, which includes a golf course and a dining, entertainment and artisan retail venue, in April of last year. The joint venture will also invest £300,000 in upgrading the existing venue and golfing facilities.

Ben said: “We are really excited to move this forward and to have formed the new partnership with The Wigley Group. Purchasing Naunton Downs and creating the new yard was a real game changer for us as a racing business but the site has much more potential.

“The existing dining and entertainment venue and Fitzdares Club are well established as luxury destinations and we believe there is significant potential for a luxury venue in this location that can cater for a wide range of events – personal, business and racing-related.”

The new partnership builds on the Wigley Group previous involvement in racing, which has seen it carrying out improvement works at Warwick Racecourse along with an ongoing renovation to The Weighing Room Complex at Newmarket’s July Course.

Chief Executive Officer James Davies said: “We have got to know Ben and Sophie really well over the last few years and can see the attributes and potential that Naunton Downs presents and what they are looking to achieve.

“It is a wonderful setting in a superb location which already has an established golf club so the events barn is a natural progression which we believe will appeal to a very wide range of audiences and uses.

“There will be a very strong focus on quality and sustainability with, for an example, extensive partnerships with local suppliers and businesses. We believe we are very well placed to partner them over the long term hence our investment as partners in the project.”

Sam Pither

Sam is the Regional Editor of Biz News, responsible for both Hampshire and Dorset. A new recruit to journalism, Sam started writing for the Business Magazine as a freelancer in May of 2022 after completing his degree in English at University College London. His passion for local businesses and ability to tell a story soon caught the attention of the publication’s management team and have led to his meteoric rise. Sam, who lives in central Reading, takes a particular interest in technology, gaming and food and drink, having been a chef before starting his degree.