Prominent Dundee businessman Michael Johnston has died suddenly at home.
Mr Johnston, 65, was a major property developer in the Dundee area where his projects included the Carnoustie Golf Hotel and the Stack Leisure Park.
A colourful character who liked expensive cars, he was credited with playing a key role in the return of the Open golf championship to the Angus links after an absence of 24 years.
Carnoustie fell off the Open rota for reasons that included the absence of a major hotel, a loss that damaged the prestige of the course and the town.
Mr Johnston’s achievement in building the Golf Hotel was one of the factors that persuaded the Royal and Ancient Golf Club to bring the championship back to Carnoustie in 1999, and it has remained on the rota.
Born in Dundee, Mr Johnston was educated at St Michael’s Secondary and after serving an apprenticeship he left to work in the oil industry.
He worked extensively overseas especially in southern Africa, and amassed a sum of money that allowed him to return to Dundee and enter the property market.
Buying, developing and selling buildings and sites around the city made him more money, and he gained a high profile when he acquired an extensive area of the former Camperdown Works in Lochee, one the world’s largest jute mills.
His Cox Johnston company turned the site into the £50 million Stack Leisure Park, an entertainment complex built round the iconic Cox’s stack the replica Italian belltower that served the textile plant.
The Stack park enjoyed short-lived commercial success but the Carnoustie hotel proved more enduring.
He became involved after other hotel groups turned down the opportunity, and he saw the building become a landmark that has highlighted the town around the golfing world.
In an interview in 1999, he said: “I was invited to be a passive investor in the project, but I don’t think I’ve ever been a passive investor in anything.
“As we looked into it, it became obvious that there was a unique opportunity here, and I was prepared to grasp it, and continue with it.”
Mr Johnston became a millionaire and his fortune allowed him to indulge in his passion for expensive cars his stable of vehicles including a Rolls Royce and Ferrari.
He supported many local charities and cultural institutions, and sought a return to property development recently by unveiling plans for an £8 million block of flats in Broughty Ferry to commemorate the Mona lifeboat disaster.
Mr Johnston had suffered a stroke but had impressed family and friends with his recovery, and he seemed to be on good health when he died at home on the outskirts of the city on Saturday.
His wife Jennifer was too distressed to speak. He also leaves two daughters and grandchildren.