Crerar Hotel Group puts trio of Scottish hotels up for sale

Crerar Hotel Group has announced it is selling three of its properties in the north east of Scotland, totalling over 220 rooms. The 92-bedroom Ben Wyvis Hotel in Strathpeffer; 83-bedroom Craiglynne Hotel in Grantown-on-Spey; and the 52-bedroom Eight Acres Hotel in Elgin; are being offered as a portfolio, with Colliers, who are handling the sale, instructed to invite offers in the region of £6.85m for the freehold assets complete with goodwill and trade contents. The Crerar Hotels portfolio has been established over the last 10 years by targeted acquisitions, with the group displaying a nous for diversity while also creating a consistently high standard of three-star assets. While the group’s plans are still evolving, the decision of the CEO and controlling shareholder to reduce his personal involvement in the business has led to a new target scale and consequent need for disposals. Together, the three hotels offered for sale cover Scotland’s key attractions of whisky country, fishing and game, golf, coast and mountain scenery. They can cater for 440 covers and also include leisure, conferencing and banqueting facilities with a capacity 737 covers. While all are established hotels, Colliers says that each offers a “clear scope” for further revenue and profit growth. Forecast group net turnover for the hotels in the year ending March 2020 is in excess of £4.1m. The Ben Wyvis Hotel is a country house hotel set in “extensive grounds” The Craiglynne Hotel is a leisure hotel set in grounds with further outbuildings used for staff accommodation. The Eight Acres Hotel is a Highland property also with an extensive leisure complex and large restaurant. Julian Troup, head of UK hotels agency at Colliers International, said: “These three magnificent hotels form a rare opportunity to acquire an outstanding small but diversified portfolio, and would make a fantastic Scottish base to establish a strong group of hotels. Whilst all are already well regarded hotels with a healthy trading base, each offers clear scope for further revenue and profit growth, and each has a distinctive market within the various tourist hotspots of the north east. “Our instructions are that while the three properties are available as a group and have been priced to reflect a collective discount, consideration may be given by our client to individual disposals based on the level of offer and deliverability being at an attractive level.”