23-bedroom hotel close to St Andrews purchased by the Wallace family
Commercial real estate specialists Colliers has sold The Old Manor Hotel, in Lundin Links, Scotland, off a guide price of £1.2million, to a local leisure operator that already owns three holiday parks and a hotel on the Scottish east coast.
Previously a 19th century mansion house, the imposing 23-bedroom 4-star country manor hotel, which overlooks the famous Lundin Links golf course and enjoys outstanding views over the Firth of Forth and Largo Bay, became a hotel in 1994. It’s been owned for the last 11 years by Alistair Saddler who built the business up to become one of the area’s leading hotels, located on the East Neuk of Fife, close to St Andrews and a number of renowned golf courses. Alistair has sold the hotel to pursue other business interests in Loch Tay.
The property includes the Sea View Restaurant, a cocktail bar and lounge with panoramic scenery. A substantial self-contained meeting and conference area, which can cater for up to 120 guests, is also part of the hotel’s offering.
The new owner, the Wallace family, has an abundance of local knowledge on the tourism and domestic market in the area, due to their ownership of Leven Beach Holiday Park nearby. They also have additional hotel experience at The Bay Hotel, which was added to their Pettycur Bay Holiday Park over ten years ago.
Commenting on the purchase of the property, Steven Wallace, one of the directors of Pettycur Bay Holiday Park & The Bay Hotel said: "We're pleased and delighted to announce that we are the new owners of The Old Manor Hotel, with big plans to update the property with a full refurbishment programme kicking off straight away.
“We want to reopen in the new year, ready to make the most of the spring/summer staycation season, which is particularly relevant this year with the Open Championship taking place in St Andrews later in the summer,” added Steven, who is the grandson of Thomas Wallace, who purchased Pettycur Bay Holiday Park jointly with his two sons, Alan and Tommy, over 30 years ago.
“We think this is the best, most positive news we can give our sector – and the local economy here in Lundin Links, which massively relies on tourism - as the country continues to wrestle with the pandemic. The hospitality sector is hugely important, and doing hospitality well is a source of great pride to many family businesses like ourselves,” Steven added.
A refurbishment programme, covering several of the hotel’s bedrooms was started by the previous owners, and will now be continued by the Wallaces.
Robert Smithson, associate director in Colliers’ Hotels team said: “This sale, following our recent sale of the Airds Hotel in Port Appin, again highlights that strong demand remains for high quality businesses in popular tourist locations; and in particular those assets close to the coast.
“I am pleased to have sold the hotel on behalf of the Saddlers to a local buyer who will continue to invest in the business as part of their growing leisure portfolio in the area.”
