Historic Watermill Gites And B And B Near Cognac For Sale

Business description

Already featured in both "A Place In The Sun" and "BBC Good Homes", this beautiful French watermill has been described in such glowing terms as "a slice of paradise on Earth" by numerous delighted visitors. Le Moulin de Chazotte has historical connections dating back to the 15th century and although located in blissful tranquility in 11 acres of grounds, it is only 10 minutes from the bustling, world-famous town of Cognac

Property information

Real Estate:

Real Property Included

Living accommodation:

1. Main house comprising: Hall, downstairs wc, kichen/dining room, study, laundry/workshop, lounge, landing, master bedroom with ensuite, 2 double bedrooms, separate bathroom. South-facing terrace. 2. Gite 1 comprising: Open-plan lounge/diner, kitchen, shower-room, double bedroom with bunks in attached annexe. Privately-fenced terrace. 3. Gite 2 comprising: Open plan lounge/diner/kitchen, lobby, landing, double bedroom with ensuite shower, twin room, separate shower-room/wc. South-facing terrace 4. Gite 3 comprising: Kitchen/dining area, lounge, downstairs wc, landing, double beroom with ensuite shower, twin bedroom, bunk bedroom. Two terraces facing West and South respectively. 5. Mill apartment comprising: Open-plan lounge/dining/kitchen area, double bedroom with ensuite shower room/wc. Area under construction and destined to be 2 more bedrooms and a separate shower-room/wc. West-facing elevated balcony terrace overlooking the millraces. 6. Mill comprising: Reception area with ancient mill mechanism, mill-race and bread oven. Boiler-room, laundry room, main mill-race room, storage room with separate entrance. 7. Former stables - renovation project 8. Large barn with three huge arched entrances. 9. Pool compound fully-fenced with pool house comprising: pump-room, changing room and toilet. The pool is 6m by 12 m with roman steps and runs from 1m to 1.8m in depth. 10. The grounds extend to 11 acres with a long driveway, a poplar wood and an open field. The river chazotte runs through the grounds passing underneath the mill building.

Location:

Le Moulin de Chazotte is to be found 10k North of Cognac in the Charente (dept. 16) department of France. It is situated on its own little river, the Chazotte, in the lush river Antenne valley which flows down to the river Charente. The property is surrounded by woods and vineyards and has no immediate neighbours as well as glorious views to the South. It has a 150m long drive leading from the single-track road which runs between Mesnac (1km) and Cherves Richemont (3km). So, apart from the occasional local farmer driving by on his tractor, the peaceful tranquilty is rarely interrupted by distant, passing traffic. The village of Cherves Richemont has a few shops, a library and a bar/restaurant plus a medical centre (doctors, dentist and physios). In Cognac there are banks, several large supermarkets and a full range of shops. The mill is well-placed in the centre of a ring of regional airports (Poitiers, La Rochelle, Limoges, Bordeaux and Angouleme). The nearest ferry port for the UK is St Malo which can be reached in just over 4 hours. The main TGV train station is at Angouleme which is 45 minutes by car or by SNCF train from Cognac station. The nearest beaches are an hour away at Royan.

Premises details:

Here is a list of the premises:
1. Main house with three bedrooms sleeping 6 or 7 using a fold-up bed.
2. Ground floor gite with 1 family bedroom sleeping up to 4
3. Gite on two floors with 2 bedrooms sleeping 4 with an additional bed-settee in the lounge.
4. Gite on two floors with 3 bedrooms sleeping 6
5. Ancient mill with partially intact mill mechanism, bread oven and mill-races
6. First floor appartment with 1 bedroom and currently being extended to provide 2 more bedrooms
7. Ruined stables - ear-marked as a function room on two floors
8. Barn - large barn with three enormous arched entrances
9. Swimming pool 56m x 12m with roman steps. Pool house with pump-room, toilet and changing room.
10. 11 acres of level grounds set to woodland and parkland.

Size in square feet:

Current habitable floorspace about 450 square metres

Planning consent:

Planning consent was obtained for the pool. The renovation of the existing buildings has not required planning permission. The septic tank system was installed following a specialist report and consists of a collecting tank from which the sewerage is macerated and pumped up to a septic tank with filter bed. The water and electricity systems were installed from scratch eight years ago because there was no supply before that time. The sewerage, water and electricity services were all designed to cope with a user-demand of a least 40 persons resident on site.

Business Operation

Expansion potential:

There are a number of sectors into which the activities at Le Moulin de Chazotte could be directed and/or expanded:
- The stables could be rebuilt as function rooms or an additional gite on two floors.
- The barn could be developed into a substantial function room or perhaps converted to provide two or three additional gites. Water and electricity is already in place.
- Continued development and expansion into the UK holiday accommodation market (Sterling currency)
- Continued expansion into the French and European market (Euro currency). This is currently the most rapidly expanding part of the business.
- Development of the business from the remainder of the world. We have already had visitors from Australia, Thailand, Brazil, South Africa, USA and Canada.
- Development of the B&B business. We have seen this part of the business grow rapidly via the Tourist Offices but with minimal advertising. This is particularly useful for out of season accommodation.
- Development of corporate functions, wedding parties, club outings ( Artists, musicians, vintage car enthusiasts etc etc). We have already hosted a number of club outings as well as several weddings and even a touring group of Russian dancers!
- Development of the site as an equestrian centre or farm park.
- Development of the wooded area as a mobile-home, yurt or chalet park.
- Development of an exclusive "Water-mill" restaurant.

Competition / Market:

This area of France is very popular as a holiday destination because of its climate (reputed to be the second warmest in France) and a wealth of historical sites as well as the production of Cognac itself. Visitors arrive from all over Europe, particularly from Britain, and indeed from the whole world. To support this annual influx there are many local properties offering temporary accommodation and it is therefore important to be able to stand out from the crowd with an unusually attractive property. Le Moulin de Chazotte, with its beautiful buildings and idylic location together with its unique history provides a very interesting prospect for potential visitors. Our marketing headline says it all...."An historic French Watermill dating back to the 15th century located in tranquil seclusion in 11 acres of parkland yet only 10 minutes from bustling Cognac"

Reasons for selling:

Relocating to the Pyrenees to assist our daughter's expanding hotel business and to be closer to our grandchildren in the process.

Trading hours:

As required

Employees:

The proprietors and local cleaning staff

Years established:

Seven

Other information

Support & training:

Depending on their requirements, the incoming owners will be offered the following: 1. The 'cognacvacances' website together with instructions how to edit, maintain and develop the site. 2. An administrative package for running several gites on a day to day basis. 3. A marketing package covering both the UK and increasingly important European markets 4. Advice on day-to-day running of the site (fuel supplies, local contacts etc) 5. Advice on the potential pitfalls and problems associated with French beaurocracy.

Website:

Please click here to view the link

Home based:

This business can be run from home.