Loch Lomond resort for sale for second time in 250 years
Ardlui Resort on Loch Lomond is up for sale for the first time in almost 50 years, and only the second time in its 250-year history — for £7 million.
The resort has been owned by the Squires family since 1978, although their association with the property stretches back further.
Brian Squires, now 77, first came to the lochside hotel in 1959. His parents, who managed hotels, had secured a lease from the Colquhoun family to give new life to what was, by then, an empty building.
The Colquhouns had originally built the property as a hunting lodge on their estate in the late 1700s and it was used as a hotel from about 1886 onwards.
Squires and his wife Anne purchased the Ardlui site at the north of Loch Lomond in 1978 and have expanded it in the decades since.
Alongside the three-star hotel, there is a holiday park licensed for up to 96 units as well as self-catering lodges, a 100-berth marina and two lochside homes.
The marina is also the home of a ferry crossing which takes walkers across the loch to Ardleish to connect to the West Highland Way path.
Squires said he knew when he first arrived aged 11 that 'I wanted to stay here, to build something lasting'.
He added: 'It's one of the nicest places you could be. The views are wonderful. It's a standalone place, not really a village. But we've got a railway station, a bus service, and the nearest villages are only eight miles away.
'We liked the uniqueness of having the north corner of Loch Lomond. It felt like ours.'
The Squires's children, Scott and Glenn, also work in the business but the family have decided it is now time to sell.
Squires said it had been a privilege to be a 'steward' of the area for so long and 'now someone else can take it forward'.
Richard Moss, the head of UK parks agency at estate agency Colliers, which is handling the sale, said: 'Resorts of this scale, history, and repeat guest loyalty simply don't come to the market often.
'With its diverse income streams, from the hotel to the marina and holiday park, Ardlui offers immediate trading potential and significant opportunity for growth in the provision of high quality holiday and leisure offerings in one of Scotland's most sought-after natural settings.'
The Colquhoun family still has a large presence around Loch Lomond through Luss Estates. Sir Malcolm Colquhoun is the clan chieftain.
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