S3 Ep2: Enthusiasm as Strategy | Joel Cadbury on combining business, philanthropy and sustainability

S3 Ep2: Enthusiasm as Strategy | Joel Cadbury on combining business, philanthropy and sustainability

Turning underutilised land into thriving leisure and hospitality destinations is what entrepreneur Joel Cadbury does best.

In the latest episode of Estate Matters, the founder and chief executive of Longshot tells podcast host Anna Byles how he has spent 30 years spotting opportunities where others see challenges.

Joel describes how, as chair of The Royal Parks Foundation, he transformed empty buildings into lettable properties generating millions of pounds a year and championed the creation of Winter Wonderland – an idea initially dismissed because "British people don't skate."

Now he has turned his attention to Mad Swans, a new leisure and hospitality concept, developed on the sites of failing golf courses – including on the Mendips in Somerset.

Working with leading architect Tom Mackenzie, the team has established what Sir Nick Faldo has called the first proper 12-hole course built in over a century, alongside padel and pickle courts, high-end accommodation and dining.

Reducing the number of holes, means land has been made available at the 200-acre site to reflect Joel’s passion for sustainability and self-sufficiency, including a planned solar farm, growing horseradish and keeping bees.

There were critics, Joel admits, but his philosophy remains simple: leave things better than you found them.