National Trust considering sale of Bute House amidst £28 million crisis
Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, could be sold off by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) to help stem the body’s funding crisis.
NTS is set to lose around £28 million in income this year due to the coronavirus emergency, with more than 400 permanent staff now facing redundancy as a result. The charity is now looking to sell off “non-heritage” properties and land to raise critical funds – with Bute House in Edinburgh’s Charlotte Square among those properties that will now be immediately reviewed.
NTS raises around £70,000 plus VAT from the rental of Bute House to the Scottish Government every year.
The heritage body said no decisions had been taken on which properties would be sold off, but stressed that none of its heritage attractions would be affected by the move.
A review of its non-heritage property assets is set to get under way, a spokesman said. Bute House is one of a portfolio of 360 properties, residential and commercial, rented out by NTS, which also has
about 60 holiday homes on its books.
As well as Bute House, other NTS rental properties in Edinburgh include offices in Charlotte Square and holiday accommodation on the top floor of Gladstone’s Land on the Royal Mile.
Properties include the Gardener’s Cottage on the Drum Castle estate in Aberdeenshire, which is leased out for £1,000 a month.
Bute House was acquired by NTS in 1966 following the death of the 5th Marquess of Bute. The four-storey townhouse in one of the capital’s most prestigious addresses is used for a mixture of government business and entertaining, with the First Minister’s private residence accommodated on the top two floors.
The Scottish Government said it was “deeply sorry” about the impact of coronavirus on the NTS, with Fiona Hyslop, cabinet secretary for economy, fair work and culture, due to meet the charity.
A statement said: “We are deeply sorry to hear about the depth of the impact that Covid-19 is having on the National Trust for Scotland and its decision to put staff at risk of redundancy.
“The Scottish Government is keen to work with the trust to explore the support available to ensure that it can carry on its valuable work.”
Founded in 1931, NTS cares for 77,699 hectares of Scottish countryside, including 46 Munros, eight national nature reserves and more than 400 islands and islets.
These include St Kilda, the UK’S only dual Unesco World Heritage Site, home to nearly one million seabirds, which has been in the care of the NTS since 1957. Its other islands include Canna in the Inner Hebrides, Fair Isle between Orkney and Shetland,and Staffa – known for its distinctive hexagonal basalt columns.
The trust looks after 270 listed buildings, the birthplaces of important Scottish figures including Robert Burns, David Livingstone and JM Barrie and 70 gardens
The Royal Burgh of Culross in Fife, which features in the TV series Outlander and is described as “Scotland’s most complete example of a burgh of the 17th and 18th centuries”, is also in its care.
It looks after numerous castles such as Fyvie Castle, the pink “fairy tale” Craigievar Castle, Culzean Castle in Ayrshire and Brodick Castle in Arran, as well as The Pineapple, a folly built near Airth in the shape of the fruit.