SCOTLAND’s hotels sector is under siege by foreign investors with the value of deals up more than 500 per cent this year.
Savills said overseas buyers have spent around £52m on hotels in Scotland in the year to date, against £7.8m in the whole of 2016.
The property advisor noted the fall in the value of the pound in recent months has helped stoke strong interest in hotels in regional cities of the UK.
Edinburgh has attracted most attention with more than £35m of the total invested in Scotland this year going to the city.
The biggest deal was the £17.7m purchase of the Holiday Inn Express in the city centre by British Virgin Islands registered International Hotel Properties.
Steven Fyfe, an associate at Savills, said Edinburgh remains the most sought after hotel market in the UK outside of London. But Scotland’s competitive tourism industry means hotels in other places also make attractive targets.
Overseas investors have bought hotels in Dundee and the Highlands and Islands this year.
Glasgow is attracting interest but there have been fewer hotels for sale than in Edinburgh.
MGM Muthu of India bought five hotels including the Newton in Nairn and the Alexandra in Oban.
China’s Creation Gem acquired the Isle of Eriska Hotel and Spa.
The Double Tree Hilton in Dundee went to Singapore-based 7 Hospitality.
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