New £2 million wedding and events venue to launch in the Cotswolds

A new £2 million state-of-the-art events and wedding venue is to launch in the Cotswolds. Midlands-based property development and investment company The Wigley Group has formed a joint venture with leading National Hunt racehorse trainer Ben Pauling to establish The Naunton Downs Estate at his base near Cheltenham.

The company has planning consent for the 5,000 sq ft barn which will cater for exclusive weddings, family celebrations, and corporate and racing events and is planning to start construction in 2023 with completion scheduled for the second half of 2024.

Pauling moved to a new state-of-the-art yard last April after buying the 200-acre site which also includes a golf course and a dining, entertainment and artisan retail venue. The joint venture will also invest around £300,000 in upgrading the existing venue – which is currently also home to the Fitzdares Club – and golfing facilities.

Pauling, who moved his operations to Naunton in Gloucestershire from Bourton Hill Farm last year, said: "We are really excited to move this forward and to have formed the new partnership with The Wigley Group. They are a company we have got to know very well and they are very much embedded in the racing world as well as having a track record of commercially successful developments.

"Purchasing Naunton Downs and creating the new yard was a real game changer for us as a racing business but the site has much more potential. We are in a great location in the heart of an area of outstanding natural beauty yet easily accessible from London and close to Cheltenham. The existing dining and entertainment venue and Fitzdares Club are well established as luxury destinations and we believe there is significant potential for a luxury venue in this location that can cater for a wide range of events – personal, business and racing-related."

There will be a very strong focus on quality and sustainability with, for example, extensive partnerships with local suppliers and businesses, www.nauntondowns.co.uk