The restoration of an historic Highland Perthshire castle is being bankrolled by dozens of private investors in a scheme spearheaded by an offshore firm based in Dubai, The Courier can reveal.
New plans to transform Taymouth Castle near Kenmore into a series of hotel suites were approved by Perth and Kinross Council this week.
Previous owners Meteor Asset Management spent about £23 million refurbishing the A-listed building.
The Courier can reveal the castle, where Queen Victoria spent her honeymoon, has been bought by a new firm called Mount Two Limited, an offshore company based in the United Arab Emirates.
It is one of around 8,000 companies which has invested in the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone, about an hour’s drive from Dubai.
The area, established 17 years ago as a “cost effective investment destination”, offers a tax-free environment and is 100% foreign-owned. Its chairman is listed as His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saqr Al Qasimi.
No one from Mount Two Limited could be reached for comment.
The restoration has been backed by more than 70 investors, who have been described as co-owners. Some of these investors live in the area and three of them even objected to Mount Two’s proposal for the reworked suites.
The group – the Highland Tay Investors Initiative – has its own private Facebook page.
In his letter of objection, Ollie Hawes, who lives in New Zealand, said he had invested in the east wing of the development, at a price of 13 shares per suite.
He said he and other investors had not been consulted about the latest proposals, which effectively replace the consented 14 hotel suites with 23 smaller bedrooms.
Agents for Mount Two said in their submission to the local authority that the plan was “critical in terms of the new investor’s business plan to ensure the castle renovation and operation is financially viable”.
The property was built round the 16th Century Balloch Castle.
The 1st Earl of Breadalbane employed William Adam in 1733 to design two classical wings which were linked to the medieval centrepiece.
In 1799 the third earl largely demolished the old castle in the centre and many other changes and additions have taken place over the years.
The castle and its contents were sold in 1922 and it became a hotel, with a James Braid-designed 18-hole golf course.
The site operated as a Polish hospital during the war and was later leased to a civil defence school.
