An upmarket holiday home and travel company has been confirmed as the new operator of the Cairngorm Funicular Railway, vowing to make it one of the great European adventure resorts.
Natural Retreats UK, which is based in Cheshire, has already completed the development of new luxury lodges and the Inn at John O'Groats. The company was announced as preferred bidder in February for the funicular.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will continue to own the Cairngorm Estate, including the funicular and associated infrastructure on the mountain. The railway, which was bitterly opposed by conservationists, runs from the base station 3599ft up Cairngorm Mountain to the Ptarmigan Restaurant.
The new arrangement will see the ownership of current operator Cairngorm Mountain Ltd, which HIE had to take into public ownership when it failed, transfer from HIE to Natural Retreats.
Natural Retreats unveiled a £6.2million five-year investment plan which will secure the future of the resort for the next 25 years. Meanwhile HIE is supporting the development with a £4m loan to develop a new Day Lodge.
Alex Paterson, Chief Executive at HIE said: "Natural Retreats' ambition to attract new visitors to Cairngorm will produce spin-off opportunities for other local businesses in the tourism sector, especially in Strathspey."
Matt Spence, founder and CEO of Natural Retreats added: "I am immensely thrilled with the appointment of Natural Retreats as operator of Cairngorm Mountain. We truly believe Natural Retreats will elevate Cairngorm Mountain as one of the leading leisure and adventure resorts in Europe."
The firm also runs trips from Land's End to John O' Groats.
Mr Spence said his dream was to see both the prestigious international summer and winter X Games held at Cairngorm. The annual sports event, controlled and arranged by the US sports broadcaster ESPN and features "extreme sports".
He explained: "Cairngorm Mountain is one of Scotland's best assets. We are aiming to provide the ultimate training ground for the next generations of Jenny Jones' and Callum Smiths with the goal of gold at the next Winter Olympics. This is a four season resort with endless opportunities - we are determined to break seasonality here."
He said the aim was to re-launch the Cairngorm Mountain brand to encapsulate the unique experience Natural Retreats hoped to bring and to help create a sense of pride with the existing expertise on-site.
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