Scotland’s Gleneagles hotel, which has hosted the Ryder Cup and the G8 summit, has been sold by beverage giant Diageo to UK-based private investment group Ennismore, which owns two Hoxton-branded hotels in London and another in Amsterdam. It is also developing sites for new Hoxton hotels in Paris and Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
A purchase price was not disclosed, but word is it was originally put on the market for £200 million. The Guardian is reporting Ennismore acquired the 232-room, 850-acre estate for about £150 million.
The hotel was acquired in 1985 by Guinness when it bought Bell’s whisky. Guinness went on to merge with Grand Metropolitan Hotels to form Diageo, wich said the asset was not part of its core business, the reason for its sale.
Sharan Pasricha, founder and CEO of Ennismore, said: “We will be proud guardians of this asset. We plan to operate Gleneagles as a standalone business – alongside the Hoxton – to ensure that its management team can preserve the special appeal of this Scottish landmark.”
Ivan Menezes, Diageo’s chief executive, said: “Diageo is proud to have been the owner of Gleneagles but the hotel is not a core business for us and therefore, following the success of the Ryder Cup, we feel this is an appropriate time to realise value through this transaction.”