MICHELLE MONE'S former husband has announced plans to marry designer Samantha Bunn - a former employee of the underwear entrepreneur.

Invitations are said to have already been sent out, with picturesque Drumtochty Castle, near Laurencekirk, the chosen setting for Michael Mone and his bride-to-be.

Ms Mone is not expected to attend the ceremony due to be held this October.

The venue is where actor James McAvoy married Shameless co-star Anne-Marie Duff in 2006.

It features 350 acres of woodland, with guests allowed to freely-roam the grounds, fish in the private lochs and enjoy clay pigeon shooting.

Glasgow-born Mone, 43, co-founded the original Ultimo parent company MJM International with her ex-husband Michael in 1996.

The couple split in late 2011 with Mone eventually buying her husband out of the business.

Last year, she sold an 80 per cent stake in the firm to Sri Lanka-based lingerie group MAS Holdings.

Last week she resigned from the Ultimo and MJM International boards, with the former saying Mone's new projects and commitments had left limited time for her engagements with the firm.

However it came in the wake of criticism of Ms Mone's appointment by the UK Government to carry out a review into how best to encourage start-ups in areas of high unemployment.

Her credentials as a business czar have been called into question by members of the political community and other business leaders who have pointed out that Ultimo was not a particularly successful business.

Scottish carehome tycoon Robert Kilgour - himself a major Tory donor - is the latest businessman to describe Mone's appointment as a "puzzle".

He said: "It seems a bit of a stretch to me...Is the best the government could come up with?"

Previously, Douglas Anderson, from Glasgow's GAP group, said: "There is no way, by any measure, that she is qualified to advise anybody on setting up profitable business because, quite simply, she hasn't."

He added that Ms Mone's profile was a product of positive PR exposure as opposed to any financial success.

Ms Mone is also rumoured to be on her way to the House of Lords.