The loan is the largest ever written by the challenger bank and brings its loan book to around £300m.

The finance will be used to acquire Whittlebury Hall, a four-star hotel, conference centre and spa situated within Whittlebury Park. 

The hotel benefits from being located adjacent to Silverstone race track, which is home to the British Formula One Grand Prix.

Jeff and Carol Sargeant acquired Whittlebury Park in 1984 and have staged developments of the estate over the past 32 years. 

Jeff said that uniting Whittlebury Hall with Whittlebury Park will bring the entire estate under family control and provide them with the chance to increase their corporate proposition. 

“It has taken over three decades to develop Whittlebury Park into the estate it is today and as we look ahead to the future, we are keen to continue building on its success and expand further.

•   OakNorth to launch easy access accounts after doubling loan book
•   Challenger bank posts profit within first year
•   OakNorth funds almost £50m worth of deals post-Brexit

“The team at OakNorth were extremely supportive throughout this process, ensuring we were kept in the loop on how everything was progressing. 

“Their transparent and flexible approach meant the deal was completed in just six weeks from our initial meeting, rather than the months it’s taken us to get a loan from banks in the past.”

Ben Barbanel, head of debt finance at OakNorth, said that since the Brexit vote, it had seen a significant boost in business.

“Given that the economic uncertainty looks set to continue into 2017, we expect to continue seeing this surge in demand over the course of next year.

“What’s more is that we’ve always found that in times of dislocation, the best entrepreneurs find opportunities to grow stronger businesses. 

“Whittlebury’s ambitious plans for expansion is a great example of this – it is a strong family business that is taking strategic steps to ensure the business will thrive for generations to come.”

OakNorth is hoping to carrying on its momentum into 2017. 

To find out more about the bank’s plans, take a look at the Bridging & Commercial videos section.