£1.57m development finance backs Stirling veterinary hospital conversion

Shawbrook has provided £1.57m of development finance to WS Dunsire & Sons, a Stirling developer, to convert a former family-run hotel and restaurant into a specialist veterinary hospital.

The 14-month development finance facility funded work on the former Hollybank restaurant in St Ninians. The completed scheme has a gross development value (GDV) of about £2.86m. Shawbrook set the loan at 55% loan-to-gross development value (LTGDV) and 64% loan-to-cost (LTC).

Converting the property for veterinary use required a refurbishment that included dedicated ventilation and lead-lined doors for the hospital’s X-ray facilities.

The development is complete and has been handed over to the veterinary practice. The hospital will create skilled jobs and accommodate around 15 clinicians and other staff.

WS Dunsire & Sons has traded since 1991. Two generations of the Dunsire family lead the business, which has worked across building and property development.

“Converting an existing building for such a specialist use required careful planning, particularly around the technical requirements of the veterinary hospital,” said Chris Dunsire, development director at WS Dunsire & Sons.

“It’s rewarding to see the project now complete and the building beginning its next chapter as a facility designed specifically around the needs of the veterinary practice.”

“This was a particularly interesting conversion because the finished building required much more than a standard commercial refurbishment,” explained Douglas Spowart, senior relationship director, development finance at Shawbrook.

“From specialist ventilation to the requirements of the X-ray facilities, the development had to be delivered with its end use firmly in mind.”

“WS Dunsire & Sons brought considerable development experience to the project, and the result gives a long-standing Stirling property an entirely new purpose while supporting skilled employment in the local area.”