Luxury hospitality business Farncombe has signalled its intent for growth by announcing the appointment of an industry-leading Chief Executive alongside plans for a £10m investment programme.

Farncombe comprises a small number of high-end brands, including four-star hotel Dormy House, award-winning meeting venue Cotswold Conference Centre and Farncombe Courses, which offers residential leisure breaks.

In a major coup for the Cotswold business, Farncombe has secured industry expert Andrew Grahame as its new Chief Executive.

Andrew spent almost three years as General Manager of the lavish Niagara on the Lake Vintage Inns in Ontario, Canada, before moving to the Hotel L’Horizon in Jersey to oversee an £8m refurbishment programme.

He returned to the UK as General Manager of the luxury Mallory Court hotel in Leamington Spa and Lygon Arms in Broadway. Andrew was then appointed Managing Director of Venues at Goodwood Estates, where he had overall responsibility for the hotel, golf course, clubhouse and catering at the motor-racing circuit.

On leaving Goodwood to join Farncombe, Andrew said: “Dormy House Hotel and Cotswold Conference Centre both have enviable reputations for hospitality and service and I am very excited to be able to help drive their success in the future.

“The fact that Farncombe is a family-owned business was also a big attraction for me, especially as the Philip-Sørensen family is committed to sustainability and ecological responsibility, which I am also passionate about.

“The big challenge for the future will be to maximise the fantastic businesses and great location we have. It’s an exciting time for Farncombe.”

The new Chief Executive has already confirmed that around £10m will be invested to enhance Farncombe’s offer.

“We are redeveloping Dormy House Hotel and also looking to expand the Farncombe brand by utilising more of the beautiful manor houses and buildings on Farncombe Estate,” he said.

“I believe we can use these resources to create further stand-out businesses and provide even more jobs for the local community. I want more people to enjoy the Estate in the future and I’ll be working with the whole team to find some innovative ways to make that happen.”

Farncombe continued an amazing year of accolades after it was Highly Commended for Sustainability in the Midlands Family Business of the Year Awards.

It claimed second place in the inaugural Environmental Sustainability Award in the Midlands’ only initiative to recognise family businesses and their leaders.

The Alumet Group, based at Southam near Leamington Spa, won top prize in the category during the prestigious event at Leicester’s Curve last night. Stewardson Developments, of Cradley Heath in the West Midlands was also Highly Commended alongside Farncombe.

All three were praised by a panel of independent judges for their efforts to minimise environmental impact and improve their green credentials.

Richard Howdle, operations manager at Farncombe, said: “Sustainability has been at the heart of everything we have done at the estate for many years and we’re thrilled that this has been recognised.

“Industry awards are very important and this one, which highlights Farncombe as an environmentally friendly family business, is a real endorsement of all the hard work the staff has put in to boost sustainability.”

Farncombe is a family of businesses comprising Cotswold Conference Centre – a modern meeting, training and teambuilding venue – and Farncombe Courses, which offers a wide range of leisure and activity weekends. The four-star Dormy House Hotel completes the Farncombe brand.

The businesses are based on Farncombe Estate, a 320-acre between Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Yoga expert Daniella Dines has worked with the singing and dance star for 12 years but delivers most of her courses overseas. However, she has now announced a three-day yoga retreat at the stunning 320-acre Farncombe Estate, near Broadway, from Friday 5 October to Sunday 7 October.

The weekend is suitable for anyone, including groups, and is one of the first retreats Daniella has offered in the UK.

Daniella said: “It does not matter if you are new to the world of yoga or advanced, and you do not need to be flexible to come on the course. All are catered for and everyone is welcome.

“To suit the relaxing environment of Farncombe Estate, the retreat will be delivered at a soothing and mellow pace to create space for inner sanctuary and deep relaxation.”

The Yoga Retreat will be delivered in the impressive Foxhill Manor on the Estate.

Mandy Morrison, Farncombe Courses Programme Manager, said: “We’ve been hosting and running courses for more than 10 years and this is certainly one of the most glamorous.

“The chance to try out the yoga that helps Alesha Dixon keep in such fantastic shape is obviously great, but it will also be a really relaxing experience for people of any age or ability.”

Farncombe is based in the heart of the Cotswolds between Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon, just five minutes from Broadway.

For more information or to book your place on the Yoga Retreat visit www.lifeforcespace.co.uk/holistic-yoga-retreats.html

Maudslay Court, a new £3.5m Cotswold-stone building constructed at Farncombe Estate, was officially opened by Victoria Trevelyan, niece of the Dam Busters’ hero Henry Maudslay. The Maudslay family lived on the Estate during WW2 when Henry was tragically killed in raids on six German hydroelectric dams.

To commemorate the connection with 617 Squadron, the Dam Busters’ unit of which Henry Maudslay was B Flight Commander, a plaque was also unveiled by Wing Commander Keith Taylor, currently Officer Commanding 617 Squadron.

“This beautiful building has given us a fantastic opportunity to honour an earlier resident of the Estate,” said Cotswold Conference Centre’s MD Mark Philip-Sørensen. “We would like to thank the Maudslay family and Wing Commander Taylor for making our opening ceremony so special.”

The large new wing of 32 en-suite bedrooms, constructed by skilled local tradesmen, boasts a number of ecological features, including a ground-source heat pump and solar panels. The Cotswold stone building even has its own tower.

One deluxe room – Number 617 – is themed with prints that tell the Dam Busters story, including a picture of the Lancaster Bombers in action in May 1943.

Emotional tribute

The Grand Ceremony began with the Celebration Reed and Brass Band of Hampton playing stirring renditions of the Dam Busters theme and the RAF March Past, while 80 guests and staff assembled in Maudslay Court.

The historic afternoon was completed with traditional afternoon tea – in the Estate’s dining room decorated with gingham and bunting, to the strains of Vera Lynn.

Keith Taylor spoke about 617 Squadron’s heroic history, including recent tours of Afghanistan and Libya, while Victoria Trevelyan gave an emotional tribute to Henry Maudslay, the uncle she never knew. She presented Farncombe Estate with a rarely-seen portrait of her uncle – Henry had been just 21 when he died on his return from the Dam Busters’ raid.

In the 1954 film The Dam Busters, Henry Maudslay’s role was played by actor Richard Thorp, later known as Alan Turner in “Emmerdale”. A remake of the film, with a script by Stephen Fry, is expected to premiere soon.

William, 63, is one of the founders of the Farncombe Estate programme, which features an astonishing range of leisure and special interest courses every weekend.

“I have a belief that ongoing learning throughout your life is a good thing,” he says. “My father was a university historian. As a child, I remember my mother leaving me with a babysitter so she could drive him to his ‘extra-mural’ lectures. It’s something I grew up with.”

Skeletons in the cupboard
Like his father, William began as a historian at London University. Here he met his future wife Christine on the very first day. During a stint in Indonesia, William proposed to Christine by letter. The couple moved to the southern Sudan and were then posted to India.
William worked for 13 years with UNICEF on many government programmes to help women and children. He promoted education and nutrition, helped organise flood relief and also, for some reason, shipped a few human skeletons…

“I may be the only person for miles who has shipped skeletons around the world,” he reminisces. “In those days, most ‘skeleton stringers’ were based in Calcutta. As I was responsible for procurement and export, I found myself shipping out 100 skeletons to the UNICEF warehouse in Copenhagen.”

New role
The decision to return to the UK was prompted by the birth of daughter Chloë in 1982 in New Delhi. “We didn’t want to live forever outside the UK and we didn’t want our baby to grow up without the involvement of her family,” says William.

The family returned to England to take an M.Sc in Social Planning at the London School of Economics. William’s second career began in October 1983, with a role in commercial training for the international security company Group 4, who owned Farncombe Estate.

He remembers the 370-acre estate on Fish Hill, overlooking the Vale of Evesham, long before it had been developed as the Cotswold Conference Centre: “Many of the buildings we know today did not exist. Where we now have our modern reception and dining room was then a tin shed.”

Heart and soul
Group 4’s training business grew rapidly through the 1980s and 90s. After a range of roles in training, consultancy and a PFI (private financing) schools project, William was asked to research the potential for a Lifelong Learning Centre at the Farncombe Estate.

“Jørgen Philip-Sørensen, The Boss [Group 4’s founder, who died in 2010], loved the idea of lifelong learning,” says William. “He particularly wanted people to come and enjoy the beauty of Farncombe Estate.”

In 2003, the new centre launched with a mission to educate. Thousands of people have since travelled to Farncombe for one of the widest education and leisure programmes around. While other adult learning centres are closing their doors, Farncombe still offers specialist weekend courses on singing and French, perfume making and art history, conveyancing, painting and crafts.

Nick Akerman, Head of Sales at Cotswold Conference Centre and Farncombe Estate, says William will be truly missed. “William has been the heart and soul of the Farncombe Estate Centre since its inception,” he says. “The programme is very much the result of his vision and his relationship with our excellent tutors.”

Raising funds
William retires at the end of June, but he’s not planning to relax. His ambitious scheme is to ride a horse, solo, to the four corners of England. Starting in May 2013, he will visit Bowness-on-Solway, Berwick-upon-Tweed, North Foreland in Kent and Land’s End.

Along the way, he will call in to 30 English Cathedrals, including St Paul’s, gathering publicity to raise a massive £250,000 for two charities: Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre – riding for the disabled – and the Family Holiday Association.

“Cathedrals are almost the only buildings in a city that haven’t moved for centuries,” says William. “Castles fall down and town halls get moved – but cathedrals stay put. And I love that connection with history.”

In 1612, Robert Dover launched the first Olimpick Games in the Cotswold village of Chipping Campden, aiming to revive the spirit of Ancient Greece. This year’s London Games coincides with the 400th anniversary of Dover’s original Olimpicks.

Farncombe Estate leisure and learning centre, near Broadway, is bringing every aspect of Olympics history to life with two Games-inspired courses: Competition and Conflict in the Cotswolds and The Olympic Games through the Ages.

The first, hosted by Cotswold historian David Snowden and experts from the Cromwell Association, will put the Olimpicks into a 17th Century context and include a visit to both Dover’s Games and Scuttlebrook Wake – two extraordinary examples of English eccentricity. The course runs from 30 May to 3 June.

In Olympic Games Through the Ages, a team of historians will lead a virtual journey from Olympia 388 BC to the most notorious Olympic Games ever staged, in Berlin 1936. This course runs from 31 May to 3 June.

Mandy Morrison, Farncombe Estate Programme Manager, said: “We want to spread the word that the UK’s rich Olympic heritage actually goes back 400 years and these courses will help bring this intriguing past to life.

“From Greece to the Cotswolds and on to London 2012, the Olympic story is a fascinating one. Thanks to the 400th Cotswold Olimpicks on our doorstep, Farncombe Estate is the ideal place to get into the spirit of the Games.”

Farncombe is a 370-acre estate with breathtaking views over the Vale of Evesham. Since it opened its doors in 2003, the residential venue has attracted thousands of visitors from around the world.

With 11 dedicated training rooms, hundreds of weekend leisure courses take place every year.

As well as history courses, there are opportunities to learn about everything from painting with watercolours, singing Gospel or decorating cupcakes to creative writing, enhancing your digital camera skills or attempting Bollywood dancing.

Farncombe Estate, located just outside Broadway, has been running a programme of weekend courses since 2003. Courses now include Choral Evensong, Folk and World Music, Gospel Choir, and fun weekends celebrating the music of the Beach Boys, ABBA and Marvin Gaye.

William Reddaway, Head of Lifelong Learning explains “We are delighted to have joined AOTOS and look forward to meeting and sharing new ideas with fellow course providers, tutors and students. The choral element of our programme has been growing in recent years and we know that it is certainly one of the most popular! We are passionate about maintaining the highest possible standards in the learning experience at Farncombe and membership of AOTOS is another step towards upholding that commitment”.

For 2010, the Farncombe Estate course programme includes tuition by Musical Director Jeremy Jackman, ABCD member Amy Bebbington and recording artists/songwriters Sandra Kerr, Frankie Armstrong and Miranda Barber.

With its sweeping drive, magnificent entrance hall and oak-panelled rooms, Foxhill Manor is an inspirational place to meet and learn. When it was built in 1909, the manor house stood in 100 acres of its own grounds. For a long time it belonged to the Maudslays, the family associated with both the Maudslay and Standard motor companies in the first half of the 20th century. This was also the childhood home of Henry Maudslay DFC who died in the WW2 Dambusters Raid.

After generations as a private residence, Foxhill Manor and its land became part of the larger Sørensen family estate. Even today, the upstairs rooms are an elegant HQ for Sorven Holdings Ltd, the company which runs the Farncombe Estate set of businesses.

Apart from the occasional photo shoot, this lovely, historic old house has never been open to the public before. Now the Sørensen family have decided to allow limited use for executive meetings and Farncombe Estate students.

Two executive meeting rooms – the Lord Mancroft Suite and Old Dining Room – both have fireplaces and stunning views over the Vale of Evesham. The Ballroom, with its full-length French windows and orangery-style roof, is perfect for our ballroom and Bollywood dancing courses.

The launch will commence at 3pm with refreshments. Tours of the Centre will be offered at 3.15pm and 5pm with the official opening ceremony starting at 4.30pm.

The Farncombe Estate Adult Learning Centre has joined forces with the Adult Residential Colleges Association to launch this new facility for Adult Learning at the Cotswold Conference Centre near Broadway, Worcestershire.

The Centre is now taking bookings for weekend residential courses starting from September this year. An extensive list of interesting and stimulating two-day courses covering five main topics: music, music appreciation and singing, history and culture, art history and appreciation, healthy living and literature and writing are being offered.

As well as offering subjects to suit most interests, the Farncombe Estate Adult Learning Centre can also provide a choice of 56 en-suite bedrooms, private lounge areas, a private dining room, licensed bar, games room as well as indoor and outdoor leisure facilities. A weekend course costs from £125, inclusive of VAT.

“There are no other facilities offering residential adult learning courses in the county,” said William Reddaway, Head of Lifelong Learning at the Centre. “People interested in adult learning can now benefit from a greater choice in where they learn and which subjects they take. By launching this new residential service we are offering people a chance to try out something new, or learn a little more about an existing interest in the glorious surroundings of the Cotswolds.”