Golf: Scottish ‘ghost course’ by Gleneagles set for overseas buyer
A top private golf course in Scotland bordering Gleneagles is expected to be sold to an overseas buyer for tens of millions of pounds.
Perthshire venue gWest Golf Course, dubbed Scotland’s Ghost Course, was supposed to be a £500m exclusive resort with a six-star hotel but has remained largely closed since 2009.
But it is now on the market after the Al Tajir family, the billionaire owners of the Highland Spring water firm, put the site on the market.
While there is likely to be global interest, the course is expected to be sold to a buyer from the US, Middle East or Far East.
Mahdi Al Tajir, an Emirati-Bahraini billionaire businessman and former ambassador for the UAE to the United Kingdom, calls local residence Keir House as his home, with the golf course adjacent to 2014 Ryder Cup host Gleneagles.
Euan Kelly, partner at Knight Frank Edinburgh, said: “It is incredibly rare that an opportunity like gWest becomes available.
“We’re expecting a huge amount of interest from across the globe in what could be a once-in-a-lifetime asset: a substantial consented resort development site, with a golf course designed by a celebrated architect [David McLay Kidd], in one of Scotland’s most prestigious leisure locations.”
Golf for sale in Scotland
It could be the kind of golf course US President Donald Trump takes interest in as he continues his push to host an Open Championship in Scotland.
His Trump Turnberry has long been deemed good enough to host the golf major but infrastructure constraints and wider geographic issues have halted the President’s plans. A hotel bordering Gleneagles – a proven Ryder Cup-hosting neighbourhood – would likely see gWest infrastructurally able to host The Open.
The mega-rich Ambani family own the Buckinghamshire-based Stoke Park while Dr Chanchai Ruayrungruang – who made billions taking Red Bull to China – and his influential Reignwood Group counts Wentworth Club as part of his portfolio.
The 18-hold course sits within 639 acres of Perthshire countryside and has consent for 170 residential plots, a hotel and spa and leisure facilities. Its domed clubhouse remains a shell.
Kelly added: “While the bold ambitions for the site have yet to fully come to fruition, a sale could see them take an important step forward and add another destination to Scotland’s, and Perthshire’s, strong tourist offering.”