Full time through winter in search of new life

[Figaro]

I read they got pestered by Brits passing by, rolling up, pulling onto the drive and expecting a pally reception and tour of the chateau from Dick and Angel.
I suppose they come across on tv as friendly and approachable and people feel they know them when of course they don't.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

I read they got pestered by Brits passing by, rolling up, pulling onto the drive and expecting a pally reception and tour of the chateau from Dick and Angel.
I suppose they come across on tv as friendly and approachable and people feel they know them when of course they don't.

Makes me wonder how much of the work he actually got involved with as he was a big bloke and don’t look the fittest?

 

[dawsey]

Which interestingly has been dissolved,or will be on the 8th Aug. I think they have caught up on everything they had booked,and found it hard work! A new TV series is planned I think,Secret France outside the Chateau. They seem to be do well with their talking tours down under and are doing a book launch in the UK shortly.

View attachment 790456

Interesting.

More interesting is why their business was established in UK and not France, despite being based there 8 years, and the money made in France, if not all of it paid to them by French sources (UK production company). The French taxman would not look kindly on that. I can’t believe that after all this time they still aren’t French tax resident. Maybe that’s behind the UK dissolution, as there doesn’t seem to be plans to sell.

Might also have something to do with them spending an ‘extended period’ outside the country, who knows…..

 

[jumartoo]

Many Brits (and I expect people from other countries also) set up in other countries and register in their home country. We were caught out, many years ago, in Spain. Brits starting a campsite and needing ready cash to build it, offered shares in a British company. Once up and running, they changed the company into Spanish and all the shares were worthless.

We didn't lose much, but some other shareholders did.

 

[corconx]

Sorry as an aside. Just saw this. I saw it in French Connexion site but unless you subscribe you don’t see it. So found this

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjM0N_43cCAAxV8WkEAHbGNDP4QFnoECFAQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fuk.style.yahoo.com%2Ffire-campsite-south-france-forces-191719173.html&usg=AOvVaw0lfoHR_gzYR2jJ_lRuS0Gx&opi=89978449

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[dawsey]

The South certainly has more extremes. The misery continues further up North. The temperature today in Poitiers is 17.2C. This makes today officially colder than it was on January 1st when Poitiers recorded a record high of 17.4C.

 

[corconx]

I feel sad for the families that have come to Cornwall for the summer holidays, we’ve had rain every day virtually every day during July, and already this month! And my Poitiers in June, we have the hottest month I think since records began

carol

 

[Nanniemate]

I can only say that l am truly in awe of your repair/refit abilities..l am left feeling somewhat inadequate as l sit in my van staring at my newly purchased Sureflow water pump to have a go at fitting it myself, on paper ridiculously easy to do.

I'm looking at my grey waste tap.which is dripping AGAIN

 

[dawsey]

I'm looking at my grey waste tap.which is dripping AGAIN

Usually a hair or some fibrous organic that went down the drain. Open and close the tap quickly a few times, if that doesn’t wash out the critter you can try dissolving it by putting down sink unblocker, fill the tank to 20%, open the valve for three seconds then leave overnight.

If none of that doesn’t work, and it should, so try it twice, then the valve itself is damaged, though that should be considered unlikely, given the useage profile.

Best of luck.

 

[Shrimp]

Because most of France is dead outside of the school holidays, even most communal outdoor swimming pools are only open for two months in July and August so the main season where you could be fully booked if you are lucky is extremely short

We are always amazed at how short the season is and how on earth they make money out of it!

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[dawsey]

We are always amazed at how short the season is and how on earth they make money out of it!

Especially in Brittany, which has that name for good reason. The summers are about as long as south UK but even less reliable. It has basically the same weather as Devon and Cornwall.

The migration north as Europes weather changes means even the French themselves call Brittany the last Shangri La (or something to that effect). It’s become hugely popular, despite the weather. It’s odd as the French traditionally look down their gallic noses at anything North of the Loire valley for a holiday, it’s seen as the dividing line between sun and maybe not sun.

Bea herself actually hails from one of the loveliest bits, pink boulders and white sand, but there’s no way we could start up a business there.

 

[UptheGas]

The South certainly has more extremes. The misery continues further up North. The temperature today in Poitiers is 17.2C. This makes today officially colder than it was on January 1st when Poitiers recorded a record high of 17.4C.

Currently on a campsite near Limoges , it’s absolutely pissed it down for 3 days solid . This is definitely not living the dream !

 

[UptheGas]

The South certainly has more extremes. The misery continues further up North. The temperature today in Poitiers is 17.2C. This makes today officially colder than it was on January 1st when Poitiers recorded a record high of 17.4C.

 

[chaser]

Currently on a campsite near Limoges , it’s absolutely pissed it down for 3 days solid . This is definitely not living the dream !

We have been though Limoges maybe a dozen times, rained every time, useually on the way back up and always say , that's it. End of holiday.

 

[Onemanandhisdog]

For balance, stayed in a hotel there for a couple of weeks as a kid, in the pool all day every day in glorious sunshine, it's a bit like saying it always rains in Manchester!

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[chaser]

For balance, stayed in a hotel there for a couple of weeks as a kid, in the pool all day every day in glorious sunshine, it's a bit like saying it always rains in Manchester!

Quite accept that. Just our own experience.

 

[dawsey]

Well, it’s Friday and we brought forward the conversation after deciding on a less aggressive approach. We have informed of the situation re the offer and our views on required investment (and it’s cost) and the lower turnover, declared the current deal is not viable in our view, and of course reminded that we are no longer obligated.

He offered split sale of walls and fonds which I flat rejected as it’s an absolute non starter and then offered to lend us the money himself at a lower rate than the bank which I also rejected as it doesn’t address the issues of turnover or the massive required investment.

Without being explicit, it was made clear that he has only one option if the wants the deal to go through. We have left him to think about it over the weekend and discuss with his wife. We informed him that one loan offer we have (and with what we think may turn out to be the best rate) expires in just 7 days.

 

[monzer]

He's not totally scoffed at the idea then?

 

[corconx]

dawsey it’s going to be a long weekend. Better than prolonging it. ’

Just need to work out where you might be travelling if he says NON.

Amazed he would offer to lend you the money - just a shame he didn’t spend it keeping the site up together

Carol

 

[dawsey]

He's not totally scoffed at the idea then?

No because he needs to think things through and the idea has to come to him naturally.

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[SM0129]

You obviously need a price reduction, but if you do agree one, is it worth considering the offer to borrow the money from him? I believe you said the bank had early repayment fees/ you could not repay early? The opportunity to borrow from him could enable you to refinance again in 2 years when the market get back to somewhere near normal.

 

[Riverbankannie]

I’m glad you made the decision to bring “the talk” forward giving them the weekend to think about it and you maybe a chance to get away for a few hours whilst things are out of your hands. Do you have a car or only the MH?

 

[Yamas]

I'm looking at my grey waste tap.which is dripping AGAIN

We had that problem and it turned out the bar attached to the release handle had come loose so it wasn't closing properly, might be worth a look if you haven't already done so. Good luck

 

[dawsey]

I’m glad you made the decision to bring “the talk” forward giving them the weekend to think about it and you maybe a chance to get away for a few hours whilst things are out of your hands. Do you have a car or only the MH?

We have a motorbike but it’s raining much of the time… We will go on a long dog walk. Theres some nice dog walks once out of sight of the industrial estates.

 

[dawsey]

You obviously need a price reduction, but if you do agree one, is it worth considering the offer to borrow the money from him? I believe you said the bank had early repayment fees/ you could not repay early? The opportunity to borrow from him could enable you to refinance again in 2 years when the market get back to somewhere near normal.

He’s only offered to make up the difference in borrowing costs between obligation and offer - and then only by a repayable loan... He’s as tight as a ducks proverbials.

We insisted that a no early repayment clause had to be in every offer. It is in the written offer we have and is likely a reason why the rest of the banks seem to be dragging their heels a bit. Forced to offer rates all but matching the ECB base and permitting penalty free refinance all but guarantees they can’t make any money out of us short of additional ‘business’ or borrowing. The ‘partnership’. If they are getting spooked because it’s by now clear the post covid bounce was exactly that, then we maybe won’t even get any more offers without resubmission of business case with verified accounts for this year.

Expecting that, we plan to ask him next week to let us independently verify his continued and verifiably false claims that he is on track to make 90% of last years turnover.

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[gus-lopez]

. No borrowing and fewer staff means

In spain only large companies will buy with staff. Some years back on another forum one bloke bought a business with a few staff then had to come up with 100k to get rid of them.

Take a note, and put me in your diary. I have worked abroad during my travels many times. I even built a hole homestead from empty field with lots of mod cons to live on.

I'd vouch for Raul . Great work & if you are serious about renewables you couldn't get a better bloke.

then, “don’t worry, ask them for a letter stating they will refuse you NHS cover - we can use that”

Used to be a 'Letter of Legislation' before the B word,

We’ve been through this and the only risk is the cook.

& make sure he is sacked by the current owner & cleared from the shanty town he's built

And, after those lovely photos, some of my own. Welcome to the 2nd worst of the toilets…

View attachment 785155
View attachment 785156View attachment 785157

a spot of ‘mr muscle’ and this will come up a treat. Lovely Jubbley !

You can't believe someone running any business would put up with that

I'm amazed if you can get a new build commercial campsite standard pool with all the required extras needed for the kids for 175k ?

I'd be amazed if it even cost 75k here?

175k is the price for a modest small-medium sized (15m) new commercial- grade rectangular pool of high quality construction (concrete) and quality surround.

A 25m one wouln't even get above 50k here in gunnite.

 

[dawsey]

Well, thanks for reading the thread Gus. Yes we have already made sure of no obligations on any staff. Sad to say we have concluded that none will be returning should we complete. It’s clear that the fundamental problem is with the management, but once staff have been allowed to develop bad habits then it’s a lot of work to turn them round. We would not have the luxury of time so they have to all go. We don’t want to have to teach cleaners to clean, cooks to cook, gardeners to garden, and all staff to understand that their continued employment depends on some sort of display of willingness to actually do some work. A shame for them, but, ultimately a reflection on the manager/owner who doesn’t appear to understand the first thing about recruiting, training, supervising, motivating and managing people.

On the swim pool, it’s a bit of a ‘how long is piece of string’ question. Yes even in France you can build a small pool for €50-60k, but a domestic pool is different to a commercial one. A commercial pool will have much more robust construction, much better surround and finish, a very large paved surrounding area, and treatment systems, pumps, skimmer systems etc all will be bigger to cope with the much higher utilisation. There has to be decent security and somewhere to wash before entry. It has to pass stringent monthly bacteria testing. It’s why a commercial-rated concrete pool with a large ‘beach’ area will easily be 3x the price of a similarly sized domestic pool using a liner.

Perspective is an interesting thing. If you rarely use it, then as others have said, yes a pool is a liability, a money pit. But if you plan to develop a high end glamp/campsite, and a luxury camping zone for families arriving and staying in tents and caravans (and yes also offer a far nicer and much more ‘fun’ alternative to those cheap and often free, but often nasty, zero security and soulless little aires that so many of the motor-homes huddle into), then even for just a stopover (to many) site, a decent pool to relax and cool off in is absolutely essential, just like a decent eatery is.

While it’s looking more likely that we will ultimately be forced to walk away from this deal unless the fog of cognitive dissonance exhibited by the owner lifts in the next 7 days we will, by next week be quite ready for it, and the owner, his agent and the notaire have all been warmed up to the fact. His agent and the notaire have been made aware that a price reduction is necessary. We received some very curt emails last night with lots of excel graphs and charts and plots where the owner is again trying to claim that this years turnover will be within 10% of last year which just appears to be completely impossible. I note wryly that if he spent less time messing around on excel fiddling with data and creating all sorts of plots and pretty coloured graphs and charts and forecasts and more time out on the campsite gardening, doing maintenance, managing staff, seeings what’s going on, dealing with customers etc, then both he and the campsite would not be in this situation. It’s like he’s bought a campsite but just wants to only continue doing the job he used to do, retreating into the comfort zone of sitting in a little office analysing data. A campsite is for those who are happy and willing to everyday deal with people.

After weeks of analysis we calculate turnover is at best 25-30% down. Next weeks conversations will be tough.

 

[chrispenrallt]

I hope the discussions go your way. This has been such an interesting thread to read . Your description of all your travels and torments have fascinated me . BTW your advert for your m h is the best I have ever read ! If I was looking for one like yours I would certainly buy it . I have a LHD Carthago which I’m very nervous with . Would love you to write a description of it !!
Again hope you get the result you want .

 

[Mikey RV]

If you have a shop on site you will have to sell Budgie smugglers for the pool.

 

[dawsey]

If you have a shop on site you will have to sell Budgie smugglers for the pool.

Ha - I had to google it.
https://budgysmuggleruk.com

There’s an old sign (all signs are very old…) on the pool saying ‘no shorts’.

We thought we’d have to clarify with a new sign saying ‘All men must wear speedos’…

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