Scottish castles besieged by buyers from overseas

Published 09th Mar 2009

The weak pound and plenty of properties are attracting foreign interest


There's never been a better time to become monarch of your own glen or laird of all you survey. In an unusual move, at least 15 castles and three top-class sporting estates have been placed on the market in Scotland, with interest from buyers across Europe and the US.

Castles range in price from as little as £150,000 for a classic "fixer-upper" such as Westhall Castle in Aberdeenshire to those selling for millions of pounds.

Last week the 5,000-acre Dalchully Estate, near Laggan, Inverness-shire - the Highland retreat of Xavier-Louis Vuitton, heir to the world-famous fashion dynasty - went on sale for more than £4.25m. There are at least two similar sporting estates on the market at the moment.

"Prices for castles and estates have come down a bit but invariably if they are well looked after they will hold their value well. There's been a lot of interest from Europe because of the strength of the euro against the pound," said John Lambert, of Edinburgh-based chartered surveyor John Clegg and Co. "We've had interest from Danes, Belgians and French buyers who are attracted because they get much better value for their money now."

According to agents CKD Galbraith there is little evidence that sporting estates and castles have lost any significant value in the current climate.

"We recently sold Balfour Castle off Orkney, one of the most northerly castles in the world. It sold for more than £2.7m and it wasn't on the market for long," said John Robin Bound, of the company's Inverness office.

"Castles and sporting estates have proved over the years to be good investments. They are certainly better investments than the stock market. Since 2006 the FTSE has halved in value and while the price of estates or castles may not have gone up as swiftly, they haven't dipped as significantly."

Skelmorlie Castle in Ayrshire, which comes with 27 and a half acres of land and a picturesque view of the Isle of Arran, is on sale for offers of more than £1.95m, while Barcaldine Castle in Oban has just gone on the market for offers over £1.35m.

"We've already had a lot of interest in Barcaldine Castle. People have been telling us it is now 30% cheaper for them to buy than it was a year ago because of the euro strengthening against the pound," said Jamie MacNab of property services company Savills. "We've got four castles on the market, three of which are in the north-east, which is very rare. People sell their castles for a variety of reasons, but it tends to be people whose children have left home.

"Then you get the couple in their 60s, 70s or 80s who say, 'We've enjoyed this, but now we want a simpler life so we'll sell up.'"

However, the idea that so many castle and estate owners are "downsizing" is something of a surprise to Andy Wightman, author of Who Owns Scotland

"I'm surprised that as many as 15 castles are on the market because these types of properties tend to be held by the same people for a very long time.

"It wouldn't surprise me if the credit crunch has had an impact and these people are looking to realise capital. Rural property castles and large estates tend to be held by the same families for generations. Half of Scotland hasn't been on the market for centuries."

Source: ' Guardian '

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