BARONY Castle Hotel has been sold by De Vere Group in a deal worth around £2 million.
A consortium under the banner of Barony Castle LLP is being backed by NatWest in taking on the B-listed mansion to the north of Peebles in the Scottish Borders.
The new owners – including Lithuanian investors Vytautas Syvys, Juosaz Aliukonas and Raimundas Syvys plus Edinburgh-based Prestige Hotel Management – intend to invest £400,000 upgrading the 78-bed hotel from a three star to a four star rating.
It will also be rebranded under the Mercure franchise, part of Accor Group.
Richard Spanner, managing director of Prestige, said: "Our operations director used to manage Barony Castle in early 2000 so we had previous knowledge of the hotel and are pleased to complete the acquisition.
"The planned £400,000 investment will help to raise the standard of the hotel as we plan to bring it under the Mercure hotel franchise."
The Great Polish Map of Scotland, which lies adjacent to the hotel, will also fall under the responsibility of the new owners.
The concrete scale model of Scotland was the brainchild of Polish war veteran Jan Tomasik. During the Second World War the hotel was the headquarters the 1st Polish armoured division and subsequently a staff college for Polish officers.
The map was completed in 1975 and recently awarded B-listed status by Historic Scotland.
The new owners have committed £25,000 towards the estimated £70,000 costs of returning the map to its former glory.
Gina Cleife, business development director at NatWest, said: "We are delighted to support this project. Barony Castle Hotel is an exciting asset for Barony Castle LLP with the added interest of the Barony Map of Scotland, a unique addition to the hotel."
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