5 Minutes with…. The Granary Estates Owner, Guy Taylor

14 Jun

We asked The Granary Estates Owner, Guy Taylor some questions about how he turned the barns into what it is today, the history and we delved in a little deeper on his job here at The Granary Estates.

Tell us a little bit more about yourself and your journey at The Granary Estates?

I came home in 2007 having spent 2 years working in Australia to take over the reins of the family farm. The Farm consisted of 1000 acres of in hand cropping, an office let, some commercial storage and 4 residential lets. What became clear very quickly was that with two families to feed this alone was not going to be enough to maintain a sustainable business for the future.

From hosting my sister’s wedding in the barn back in 2008 in its unimproved state its was such a success, and so many positive comments I wanted to restore the barns back to its former glory and offer what we have today.

How did the Granary Estates become what it is today?

We started in earnest in early 2012 and my vision was that I wanted to keep the essence of the 18th century flint barn, but with finer touches such as underfloor heating, a nice bar and loos. (A lot of people judge a venue by its loos). I also wanted to create the feeling of comfort and grandeur within a barn setting which was more than just your average barn conversion.

What does a normal day look like for you?

No two days or hours are the same, running the family farm alongside the Granary Estates, it might start with a meeting in the office, then off to move an irrigator which always involves getting wet and muddy and results in a change of clothes. To date my record for getting changed in one day is 3 times due to different jobs and conditions.

What's your favourite thing about your role at The Granary Estates?

Working alongside the great team that we have here at the Granary Estates and on the Farm and the variability or never knowing what the next phone call or job might be.

How have you seen The Granary Estates grow?

With the build underway, 15 weddings booked in for our first year and interest growing for 2014, I suddenly realised the importance of implementing a growth strategy. Interest had grown much faster than anticipated and I felt we needed specialist advice. Currently I had myself and two family members working on the project- none of whom had any background in the events or had any experience in what it meant to develop such a business.

In December 2012 we set about finding an event manager and were fortunate to find a suitable candidate, who joined our team in February 2013. This decision was invaluable for managing and continually growing the business into what you see today.

We obtained a wedding licence to allow us to hold Civil Ceremonies on site and a premises licence so we could serve alcohol from our own bar. The business growth in our first year was 73%. This allowed and warranted us to take on 2 new members of staff full time.