COMMENT

Two hospitality industry veterans who worked together to launch the five-star Blythswoodsquarehotelinglasgow have made an initial acquisition after forming a new business venture.

Hans Rissmann and Peter Taylor have invested a seven-figure sum in transforming an 18th century country house hotel in South Lanarkshire. It is the first establishment to form part of their new hospitality venture – The Rissco Collection.

The Strathaven Hotel, which is set in three acres of grounds, was acquired by its new owners in January and their refurbishment programme is now almost complete. The two businessmen plan to grow the Risso venture with more acquisitions over the coming years.

They are said to have spent more than two years looking for the “perfect opportunity” in the Strathaven Hotel, which has 22 rooms and employs 48 staff.

The new hotel’s restaurant and bar area has already been redesigned and the final phase of the refurbishment is

0 Hans Rissmann and his wife Lydia in the bar of the new-look hotel in an 18th century country house

HANS RISSMANN close to completion with the grand ballroom due to reopen imminently. The investment has been supported in part by Bank of Scotland.

Rissmann said: “My father was a hotelier, so I was born and bred into the industry and it has always been my ambition to have a hotel of my own. “When we found the Strathaven Hotel we immediately loved the Georgian front to the building and we liked the challenge of reinvigorating the interiors to bring them up to date.

“The hotel had lacked investment in recent years and the local competition had improved, so it had lost trade, but this is a great area and Strathaven has great potential.”

Hotel industry veteran Taylor founded the Town House Collection in 1989 and oversaw the refurbishment of the former Royal Scottish Automobile Club in Glasgow into the Blythswood Square hotel and spa.

He sold the Town House Collection to an American

“The hotel had lacked investment in recent years and the local competition had improved, so it had lost trade, but this is a great area.”