Nearly 20 years ago, Samantha Gilchrist’s uncle had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He had his own business, held a passion for fishing and a vision to travel the world when he retired.
He told Gilchrist, who was in her 20s, and her cousin that “time is precious, take advantage of it and do something you love”.
It wasn’t until the next morning when walking to work — she was three years into a human resources role — that Gilchrist felt her uncle John’s words come to the fore and quit her job to become a photographer.
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Her journey, which included photographing weddings, has led her to own a rapidly growing venue business in the same industry. From taking over the first venue in West Sussex in 2017, The Gilchrist Collection now has a portfolio in 12 locations across the UK and US. This year, the £26m business will have catered for over 2,000 events, the largest wedding venue collection in the UK.
“I look back and think ‘on what planet did you think you could take over a wedding venue that had nothing booked in and never ran a hotel before?’ recalls Gilchrist.
“At the time it seemed a sensible thing to do. I’ve done it several times in my life. I got the rights to photograph a boxing show once and had never done it before. I figured it out and it was fine. I don’t seem to have that opposing filter on the list of reasons why it’s a bad idea.”
Seven years ago The Ravenswood, a manor house near East Grinstead, was within property developers’ hands before Gilchrist’s friend and now business partner, Stuart Guy, put down a £150,000 deposit “with no legals, it was all over a handshake”.
The owner leased them the venue for £10,000 per month and after booking her first 50 weddings, they convinced the bank to give them a mortgage to purchase The Ravenswood, where Gilchrist later married her partner.
Of the 12 venues in Gilchrist’s eponymous collection, she has looked at over 120, while the majority that have been purchased have had low bookings of around 15 before being turned into exclusive-use venues for couples.
“When we take over venues, 90% of the time it’s because the owner doesn’t want to run it anymore or has anyone to hand it down to,” says Gilchrist.
“First and foremost it’s about whether I would get married there, photographically how it looks and the flow of the venue.
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“When you are doing events back-to-back and one day after the other, that day a wedding arrives the other is leaving without crossing each other. The years of experience in photographing weddings I saw what worked well, what was a party killer or wedding nightmare in terms of layouts. If it ticks the boxes then it’s marketable.”
