Glasgow group buys Scotsman hotel
The hospitality firm run by entrepreneur Stefan King has announced it is buying the Scotsman hotel – former home of this newspaper – on Edinburgh’s North Bridge.
Senior figures at Mr King’s firm G1 said more than 90 employees currently working at the five-star hotel would be transferred to the Glasgowbased company.
News of the move comes after it emerged in November that the Scotsman hotel building had been put up for sale. Mr King said the purchase confirmed G1’s commitment to Edinburgh. The group already owns venues including The Three Sisters, Espionage and Cabaret Voltaire in the city.
He said :“we have enjoyed huge support from Edinburgh City Council, the patrons and the teams employed in our Edinburgh venues over the years. The acquisition of The Scotsman Hotel is a significant reflection of a continued commitment to the city … We aspire to build on the iconic presence and reputation of the Scotsman Hotel to be at the forefront of hotel venues in the city.”
The Scotsman hotel was put on the market after it fell into liquidation in June last year.
Elsewhere in the Capital, developers behind controversial plans to turn the city’s former Royal High School into a luxury hotel slammed critics of the project – as they unveiled a scaled-back vision for the site.
Developers behind controversial plans to turn Edinburgh’s former Royal High School into a luxury hotel have slammed critics of the project – as they unveiled a scaled-back vision for the site.
Plans lodged with the city council for the project costing nearly £70 million reveal that it will now have 127 rooms, 20 fewer than originally envisaged. But its backers have accused city planning officials of presenting the case in a “misleading” and “factually incorrect” manner at a crucial hearing which saw them rejected by councillors.
The new submission to Edinburgh Council by Duddingston House Properties and the Urbanist Group (DHP/UH) aims to pursue their original vision “to restore the unique building to prominence” and “create a world class hotel of international standing”.
However, in addition to the adapted plans, DHP/UH publicly attacked a rival scheme to create a new home for St Mary’s Music School, which the hotel developers say has not been demonstrated to be “viable or deliverable”.
Specific criticism is made of Adam Wilkinson, director of Edinburgh World Heritage, Marion Williams, director of the Cockburn Association, the New Town/broughton Community Council, planning officers and councillors.
Its detailed dissection of rival plans, submitted by the Royal High School Preservation Trust (RHSPT), claim motivation for the alternative bid was based only to “replace” the hotel scheme.
In response, RHSPT’S William Gray Muir said: “The plans that have been shown today do nothing to address the issues which caused the previous application to be rejected on 11 separate planning grounds.
“It appears that the developer has no respect for the bodies who are put in place to look after our heritage.
“This is one of Scotland’s most important buildings and its future should be decided on the basis of consensus and having fully and open-mindedly consulted those with most expertise.
“Their own consultants concede that developing a luxury hotel is highly risky both in terms of costs and revenues.if consent is granted for this highly risky project its fate could be tied up for years with a scheme which cannot be delivered. By contrast, the RHSPT’S unanimously consented scheme is popular, deliverable and funded.”