The opportunity arose in 2019 to purchase the former family seat of Kinmount House that was sold in the early 1980s. It was clear that to be a sustainable part of the Estate it simply couldn't be a house. The decision was made to turn it into one of the premier wedding venues in the South West of Scotland; offering multiple beautiful wedding locations, exclusive use guest accommodation on site and a brand new pavilion to entertain up to 250 guests of an evening. The order book is now full into 2024 despite the pandemic curtailing the launch of the business.
Getting the keys to the House with the clear vision of an events venue was severely impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic. Despite the significant challenges of generating income, this time was used to prepare the venue fully and use relaxed restrictions, when available, to sell the venue to customers even without the finished product to see!
The Estate now has a viable business that supports the local area beyond the Estate itself. The venue now has a long pipeline of bookings, excellent customer reviews and a further profitable diversification which has rejuvenated the heart of the Estate. It is a real credit to the hands-on efforts of the Owners and staff within the Kinmount House business. The Owners have not been afraid to bring innovative ideas to continually enhance guest experience and ensure the venue continues to offer something new as well as investing the profits in protecting the historic fabric that forms the foundation of the offering. From being a House that would have historically been hidden from the Public it is now reborn as a fantastic place to make lasting lifetime memories for many. www.kinmounthouse.co.uk
Given the market Kinmount House operates in customers can expect the sourcing of the food, drink and room dressing supplies from local and regional suppliers. The business is seeking to improve its environmental impact through decarbonising the business. The Pavilion is highly energy efficient and a 220 kW biomass boiler has been installed to heat the Pavilion and the House. Feedstock is straw and timber that is produced locally and purchased from the main Estate farming partnership. The business is further reducing reliance on oil based fuel with an electric cruiser to transport guests to the Bathing Hut and utilising electric lawn strimmers. Future projects to further decarbonise the business include reviewing electrical energy supply with identified potential from developing an on-site Solar Array with battery storage or installling a direct wire from the nearby Estate operated AD Plant. The business is reviewing moving from petrol mowers to electric robo-mowers.