Castle (with secret garden) becomes event venue

The magnificent Wolvenbos estate dates back to the 1900s and covers a whopping 42 hectares. Apart from an impressive neoclassical castle, built in 1919, the domain still contains several courtyard buildings, such as a coach house, a guardhouse and even a secret garden with a fairytale rose garden. After the departure of the last residents – the noble Kronacker family – the domain and castle were for sale for a long time.

Grandeur

Valerie Christiaen, who has been renting the venue since 2017 and recently became co-owner, immediately wanted to restore the grandeur of yesteryear. She decided to open up the private castle for events. To do so, she turned the estate into an event venue. The castle was thoroughly renovated: electricity, water, central heating, glassware and sanitary facilities were renewed, the kitchen was freshened up… Today, the castle can accommodate around 150 people for dinners, 200 for walking dinners and 300 for receptions. If you include the gardens, the capacity becomes unlimited and events of 1,000 people have already been held. But there are also possibilities in the domain: picnics in the magnificent beech avenue, barbecues in the secret garden… For event guests, three luxury suites are available on the first floor of the castle. The owner wants to turn some dilapidated conservatories on the estate into a new hall: that orangery is to become a second party room for up to 312 guests. The licensing procedure for this is ongoing.

Bank says no

To finance the purchase of the property and the plans, the entrepreneur called on her own funds and a mortgage loan from PMV. “One of PMV’s objectives is to enable the repurposing of real estate heritage: we help preserve it for the future by making it economically viable,” said PMV investment manager Chiela Moens. But the PMV financing was also necessary because the banks did not see any bread in the project. Although the entrepreneur could rely on a bank loan for the renovation, this was not the case for the purchase of the property: the banks felt that the cash flow was insufficiently stable or refused to finance a catering activity tout court. Indeed, Wolvenbos was also hit hard by the past Covid crisis: turnover plummeted, making 2020 a loss-making year. Nevertheless, Valerie’s intention remains to build a profitable project, and she believed she could find money to do so at the bank. “That was not the case: the market failed in this case, upon which PMV temporarily took on the role of financier,” Moens said.

Assets of a heritage site

PMV believes in the project, especially after the renovation and realisation of the orangery. “For monuments and castles, it is not obvious to find an ‘economic carrier’ that can cover the conservation and maintenance costs. The entrepreneur’s multifunctional approach (event location and habitation) should guarantee the activation and conservation of the entire castle domain. It is true that initially there is insufficient cash flow to repay the loans. By providing a capital deferral, we give the entrepreneur room to realise her financial plan and create a buffer, after which refinancing can follow in the future,” Moens knows. Of course, for that scenario, the castle estate must be successfully leased. There are more than 400 castle domains and historical sites in Flanders that can be used as event venues. Wolvenbos certainly has assets in that group: it offers 42 hectares of tranquillity, space and privacy – the castle’s characterful appearance certainly suits those seeking grandeur and exclusivity.

PMV’s role

To finance the purchase of the property and the plans, the entrepreneur relied on her own funds and a mortgage loan from PMV.

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