When she was living in London and working in the arts Anabelle de Gersigny had resigned herself to never owning a home of her own.
A 140-mile move north west, to the market town of Ludlow, has enabled Anabelle and her partner Matt Wade to not only buy a family house but establish a burgeoning business empire bringing ethically sourced coffee and contemporary culture to Shropshire.
“It feels like you can do anything here,” said Anabelle.
When she was in London Anabelle had put her fine arts degree to good use, founding the Tram Depot Gallery in Clapton, curating exhibitions, working on art books and magazines, and spending a period in Abu Dhabi helping set up galleries and museums there.
In 2016 the couple were sharing a two bedroom flat near Golborne Road in Ladbroke Grove, paying around £1,000 a month in rent and mulling their options.
Matt was already a coffee expert, and was working as head roaster at Union Hand Roasted, one of the UK’s biggest speciality coffee companies.
“It feels like you can do anything here.”
Annabelle, now 45, and Matt, 47, had built up some savings and started looking around for a site they could rent to set up their own London roastery.
When they discovered they would need to pay annual rents of around £25,000 they knew they were going to need a Plan B.
“We started looking all over the place, thinking that if we could find something cheaper we could spend more on better machinery,” said Annabelle.
“We looked at Ludlow and realised that with our savings we could put down a deposit on a house, rent a commercial space, and buy equipment. Yes, we loved being in London, but it was kind of a no-brainer.”
In 2016 the couple spent £123,000 on a two bedroom stone cottage in a hamlet just outside Ludlow.
Annabelle had begun an MA in critical writing at the Royal College of Art so she spent her weekdays in London, staying with her sister and a cousin, while Matt decamped to Shrophsire full time.
“Yes, we loved being in London, but it was kind of a no-brainer.”
They then started looking for a base for their business — and to their joy and astonishment a local farmer offered to let them a freezing cold but serviceable barn he considered fit only for storage for £100pcm.
That allowed them to set up the business without the stress of massive rent bills and Hundred House Coffee was born.
In 2020 the couple’s son, Remi, now three, was born, and the following year the couple decided to relocate themselves, and their business, which was thriving, into the gorgeous, historic town of Ludlow, with its food festival, thriving gastronomic scene, and independent shops.
They rented a former Victorian workhouse building for the business, and bought themselves a larger home, a three bedroom Edwardian terrace.
“Now we have two properties, and a business, for the same price as a small flat in London.”
The property, which needed six months of renovation, cost £170,000, and they have been able to hang on to the cottage as an investment too.
“When I was living in London I thought there was no way I would own where I lived, as an arts graduate,” said Anabelle.
“Now we have two properties, and a business, for the same price as a small flat in London.”
One thing she does miss, hugely, about London is the culture.
An early Shropshire project was compiling a local directory of makers and producers, which helped the couple meet like minded locals.
Next up is Gather, a co-working space Annabelle is setting up in the roastery building to offer other creatives a place to, well, gather.
The space, which opens in March, will double as an arts centre, and Anabelle is working on a programme of exhibitions and workshops.
“I equate what we are doing here with what I did in my early twenties in Clapton,” she said.
