CRERAR Hotels, the family-owned Scottish hotels group, has been acquired by investment firm Blantyre Capital and management partner Fairtree Hotel Investments for an undisclosed sum.
The deal will see Crerar’s seven hotels join Blantyre and Fairtree’s growing portfolio, which also includes Scottish properties Fonab Castle and Dunkeld House Hotel as well as the Daffodil Hotel and Spa in Cumbria.
Crerar chief executive Chris Wayne-Wills is to stay in place, with chairman Paddy Crerar stepping down.
Crerar said the new owners have ‘identical aims and ambitions to those we have worked hard to foster at Crerar Hotels’.
“Their view of the potential for high quality hospitality in Scotland pitched to the global stage is unquestionable and their access to greater resources makes delivering on the potential of Crerar Hotels achievable,” said the outgoing chairman.
Crerar’s properties include the Loch Fyne Hotel & Spa in Inveraray, Golf View in Nairn, Oban Bay Hotel in Oban, the Isle of Mull Hotel & Spa on Mull and Thainstone House in Inverurie.
“Both Nic Ross and I, at Fairtree, are hugely excited to be expanding our hotel portfolio in Scotland with the addition of the Crerar Hotel Group, which offers a variety of beautiful hotels in iconic locations across Scotland,” said Fairtree’s Joe Bester.
“The pride the group has in offering an exceptional guest experience is an excellent fit with the existing portfolio properties, and we are looking forward to building on the huge opportunity this acquisition offers us to expand and enhance the portfolio within the national and international marketplace.”
Johann Scheid of Blantyre added: “The addition of these seven high quality assets to our platform allows us to expand on our offering in providing unique and memorable experiences to our international customer base.”
Wayne-Wills said: “Knowing the ambition of the new owners our teams are ready and will relish the opportunity to make this next step change an unbridled success.”
