Diageo Sells ‘Iconic’ Gleneagles

An "iconic'' Scottish hotel which hosted the G8 summit and the Ryder Cup has been sold by the drinks giant which owned it for more than 30 years.

Diageo announced it has sold Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, and its associated facilities, to a private investment group for an undisclosed sum.

The group is led by Ennismore, a real estate hospitality firm which owns The Hoxton brand.

Gleneagles Hotel was opened in 1924 and had been owned by Diageo since 1984.

In the year to June 30 last year, the business generated revenues of £43.5 million and an operating profit of £2.6 million.

The resort hosted the G8 summit of world leaders in 2005, the year the Make Poverty History campaign was a key focus.

In 2014, Gleneagles played host to Europe and America's finest golfers at the Ryder Cup, which attracted more than 250,000 visitors and a global TV audience.

Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes 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."

The acquisition follows several months of talks.

Sharan Pasricha, founder and chief executive of Ennismore, said: "We are delighted to be acquiring the iconic Gleneagles Hotel, which is one of the world's most prestigious and recognisable venues.

"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.''

Ennismore, which described its move as a "major expansion'', said it will retain the existing Gleneagles management and workforce.

Perthshire South & Kinross-shire MSP Roseanna Cunningham welcomed the assurances for staff.

She said: "First and foremost, I am pleased to have learned that assurances have already been given to staff that there will be no redundancies and no changes to their terms and conditions.

"The existing management are to be kept on and investment will be maintained, with Ennismore determined to build on the legacy of Diageo's development of the Gleneagles brand.''

She added: "The new buyers do appear to be a good match for the business, specialising in the hotel and restaurant sector, and with an eye to developing unique hospitality properties.

"Gleneagles is certainly that and, indeed, just in the past few days it was brilliant to see Andrew Fairlie's restaurant at Gleneagles named once again as the best restaurant in Scotland at the National Restaurant Awards.''