By Ian McConnell

Native, which operates an aparthotel in Glasgow’s Anchor Line building, is taking over management of Kintore House in Edinburgh’s New Town.

The 82-apartment complex in the Scottish capital will be run under the Native brand from December 1. Native cited “buoyant” demand for aparthotel accommodation in the months coming out of the lockdown implemented in spring as the coronavirus pandemic hit. The Kintore House aparthotel currently operates under the Mode brand, part of BridgeStreet.

A spokeswoman for Native noted the aparthotel group was not purchasing the building, owned by Gloag Serviced Apartments, but was “simply coming in as the new operator and keeping all dozen staff with no redundancies or changes”. Native noted Kintore House was originally constructed in the 1790s, describing it as “a significant part of the original fabric of Edinburgh’s New Town”.

Native chief executive and founder Guy Nixon said: “After opening in Glasgow, it was a natural step to head to the wonderful city of Edinburgh, building on our commitment to bring the Native concept to wider regions of the UK. We are excited to be operating in Scotland’s two greatest cities.”

He added: “Even with the challenges of this year’s global coronavirus pandemic, leisure demand for aparthotels has been buoyant in the months coming out of lockdown and we’re well-placed to capture post-Covid demand.”

Native launched its aparthotel in the Anchor Line building in Glasgow , owned by DRG (formerly known as Di Maggio’s Restaurant Group) in 2018. Last year, Native launched a boutique aparthotel in Manchester’s Ducie Street Warehouse.