A Wiltshire racing stables with gallops regarded as among the finest in the country has been sold to successful trainer Emma Lavelle with backing from HSBC.
Ms Lavelle secured the seven-figure finance package from the bank to acquire Bonita Racing Stables in Ogbourne Maizey, near Marlborough. 
The stables were previously owned by trainer Peter Makin and were put on the market this summer with a price tag in the region of £3m following his decision to retire in November. In his 48-year career he trained 780 winners.
Ms Lavelle, who has been running Emma Lavelle Racing from rented stables near Andover for the past 17 years and trains more than 60 horses, used the bank funding to buy and renovate the 270 acre site, which includes a 70-box stable yard, 150 acres of gallops, 45 acres of paddocks, two houses, two flats, a cottage and a staff hostel.
The funding included a commercial mortgage and development loan, with Ms Lavelle financing the remainder of the acquisition using profits from the business. The move is expected to create four jobs.
Ms Lavelle said: “With the help and support of HSBC, I’ve finally been able to realise my lifelong ambition of owning my own racing stables and invest more heavily in my business. “The team at HSBC has shown a genuine interest and understanding of the company and they’ve been on hand to sort any issues as they arise, giving me the confidence and financial backing to buy the stables as soon as they came on the market. 
“Bonita Racing Stables is the perfect place to help me develop and grow my business and it has a great legacy which I hope to continue.”
HSBC area director for Hampshire and Dorset, James Elwes, added: “Emma is already a very successful business owner, but she has big plans to attract and train more flat runners as soon as she’s settled in.
“We wanted to help her reach the next stage in her career, so we provided a finance package that would support these plans and give her the opportunity to put her own stamp on the stables through the development loan.”
Bonita was established by theatrical impresario George Edwardes in the 1890s and has only been owned by two families since. Former trainers include Sir Gordon Richards, regarded as England’s greatest jockey, and it has been responsible for winners of the Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.
