Chilean laird’s first mission: build a chapel

WHEN a foreign billionaire buys a Highland estate, it is normally because of its exceptional shooting or fishing.

But the first act of Nicolás Ibáñez Scott, the devout Chilean laird, was not to investigate the salmon fishing rights that came with 748-acre Kilchoan estate, but to build a chapel.

St Comghan’s chapel, named after a medieval Celtic saint, sits on the edge of Loch Melfort in the west Highlands and will provide a place of worship for the businessman and his family.

Mr Ibáñez Scott made his millions selling his family’s supermarket chain to Walmart, the US retail giant, and is well known for his Catholic faith, having already built several chapels in South America.

He aims to “rewild” the £3.1million hill farming estate south of Oban, which he bought in 2015, by protecting native woodland on the property.

John Strickland, chairman of the Kilchoan Initiative, which was set up to manage the estate, said of the granite chapel: “It’s a lovely place, it’s very reflective and all those involved in the Kilchoan Initiative are very excited about the project and very proud of their involvement.”