Diageo sells Gleneagles hotel to Hoxton hotel owner Ennismore

Scotland’s Gleneagles hotel, the world famous golf resort which has hosted the Ryder Cup and the G8 summit, has been sold to a company that runs hotels moulded in the image of east London’s hipster district Hoxton.

The hotel’s owner – the drinks giant Diageo, which makes Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky – said it had sold the resort in rural Perthshire because it was no longer an important part of its global business.

Ennismore, the leader of the private investment group that has bought Gleneagles, owns two Hoxton-branded hotels in London and another in Amsterdam. It is developing sites for new Hoxton hotels in Paris and Williamsburg, New York’s hipster quarter.

The companies did not disclose the sale price though Ennismore is said to have paid about £150m. Gleneagles made an operating profit of £2.6m from revenues of £43.5m in the year to 30 June 2014.

Gleneagles was built by the Caledonian Railway Company, whose general manager was captivated by the countryside while on holiday in Strathearn and decided to build a golf hotel. It has its own railway station.

The hotel’s construction was delayed by the first world war but when it opened in 1924 it was described as a “riviera in the Highlands”. By the 1950s, golf and grouse shooting at Gleneagles were a fixture of the high society calendar.

The hotel was acquired in 1985 by Guinness when it bought Bell’s whisky. Guinness went on to merge with Grand Metropolitan Hotels to form Diageo, which has concentrated on drinks and has expanded into China and other emerging markets.

The hotel’s three championship golf courses include the King’s course, opened in 1919, and the PGA centenary course, designed by Jack Nicklaus, which hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup.

Gleneagles has 232 rooms and is set in an 850-acre estate. It has four restaurants, including Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, which is the only restaurant in Scotland with two Michelin stars and has featured in the BBC’s MasterChef: the Professionals series.

As well as golf, Gleneagles is known for activities such as grouse shooting, equestrian sports and walking. The British School of Falconry is based there.

Former prime minister Tony Blair chose the hotel to host the G8 summit 10 years ago in July 2005.

By contrast Ennismore’s website says its Hoxton hotels are inspired by the “‘hoods” they are part of and that the company likes to challenge the status quo. The company, which opened its first hotel in 2006, says public areas at its venues are “filled with the Hoxton ‘hustle’.”

The company said it would keep Gleneagles’ management and workforce, maintain its status in Scotland and spend money on improving the hotel. Gleneagles will continue to stock Diageo drinks, including its range of Scotch whiskies.

Sharan Pasricha, founder and chief executive of Ennismore, said: “We will be proud guardians of this asset. 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.”

Ivan Menezes, Diageo’s chief executive, 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.”