Glasgow-based G1 Group buys Edinburgh's Scotsman Hotel

Glasgow-based hospitality and leisure operator G1 Group is buying the Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh, less than a year after the property hit the market. 

Formerly under the ownership of JJW Hotels, part of the MBI Group, the 69-guestroom property is being sold to G1 independent of its restaurant and spa facilities, which are under separate ownership. According to the Group, the deal is the “biggest single-venue purchase made in their 27-year history.” 

The “complex deal” for the acquisition was brokered between representatives of the G1 Group, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group and CBRE Hotels, who had been appointed to market the hotel following the appointment of Eileen Blackburn of French Duncan LLP as liquidator in June 2016.

The G1 Group, which operates exclusively in Scotland, operates four other hotels in Edinburgh, including the Grassmarket, Stay Central and Murrayfield Hotels, and the boutique Inn on the Mile Hotel on the Royal Mile. The company owns several other venues in the city, including The Three Sisters, Espionage and Cabaret Voltaire.

“Buying anything out of liquidation is a difficult process for all concerned, and we cannot commend Eileen Blackburn and David McGinness of French Duncan enough for their professionalism throughout, in their ability through their rapport with the hotel team to retain a significant amount of goodwill from both patrons and staff members, at a very difficult time for both,” Brian McGhee, chairman at G1 Group, said in a statement.