Latest news with #ClanDonaldLandsTrust
Daily Record
10-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Clan cash probe after trust puts ancient Highland lands on sale for £6.8m
The Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT) has overseen Clan Donald's historic lands on the Isle of Skye since the 70s but decided in March to sell up. Scotland's charity regulator is investigating a trust which is selling an ancient Highland clan's lands for £6.8million. The Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT) has overseen Clan Donald's historic lands on the Isle of Skye since the 70s. It announced in March it would sell the entire estate due to financial challenges. The move was met with fury by locals and families around the world with ties to the clan – one of the oldest and largest in Scotland. Now the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has opened a probe into the CDLT's governance and finances following complaints. A spokesman said: 'OSCR has received a number of concerns from the public about the CDLT. 'We are now engaging with the charity trustees to establish the facts of this case, and we have sought extensive information and explanation from them. 'We are specifically looking to understand the current financial position of the charity and the circumstances that led to the decision to put significant charitable assets up for sale.' The watchdog said it would decide if further action is necessary once it has established the facts. The CDLT was founded in 1971 to manage the clan's assets on Skye's Sleat peninsula to 'promote and preserve the history and heritage of Clan Donald'. It currently owns the 40-acre Armadale Castle and gardens, also the site of a beloved Clan Donald heritage museum. The CDLT has four trustees – its chair, London businessman Ranald Macdonald, owner of the Boisdale restaurants, Yorkshire-based landowner Sir Ian MacDonald of Sleat, US-based retired Major Bruce MacDonald, and Diane Carey-Schmitz. The entire estate, covering much of the southern Sleat peninsula, is up for sale at a guide price of £6.8million. A closing date has been set for the end of the month. We previously told how members of the US branch of Clan Donald had spoken out about their 'deep hurt' over the sale. And we revealed last month how hundreds of families with loved ones' memorials in the grounds of Armadale Castle haven't been told what will happen to them. At least 450 trees are said to have been planted in the gardens in honour of lost relatives along with memorial benches and wall plaques, some of which cost families thousands of pounds. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. Joshua Vice of Clan Donald USA – which boasts more than 2000 families with Scottish ancestry – said CDLT failed to consult them and made a 'unilateral decision' to sell the castle stronghold and the 22,000-acre South Sleat estate. He told the Sunday Mail in April: 'At no point was the radical step of a sale ever brought to light.' Last month, the US organisation called for the sale to be put on hold to allow for 'meaningful consultation' with the wider clan as well as Sleat residents. Clan Donald's high chief Lord Godfrey Macdonald previously said the loss of the Clan Centre at Armadale in particular would be a 'tragedy' and a 'betrayal'. The CDLT was approached for comment. In a statement in March announcing the sale it cited the 'high-cost, low-income nature of Armadale'. It added it planned to reform into a grant-giving charity to 'focus on our core purpose of protecting and promoting clan and indigenous Highland heritage'.
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Scotsman
08-08-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Isle of Skye: Clan charity under investigation over sale of prized 210-year-old castle and ancestral land
Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... An investigation into a clan charity has been launched following its decision to sell off a castle and a substantial parcel of land on the Isle of Skye. OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator, confirmed it was examining the finances and decision making at Clan Donald Lands Trust [CDLT], which represents members of the largest clan in the world. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Armadale Castle on the Isle of Skye. A campaign has been launched to halt the imminent sale of the ancestral seat of the Macdonalds of Sleat. | CC/Mike Peel In March, trustees of the charity made the sudden announcement the body was putting Armadale Castle and gardens, the Clan Donald Centre museum and around 20,000 acres of the Sleat Peninsula on the market given financial pressures. The move sparked a backlash from clan members, whose donations helped secure the castle and land more than 50 years ago, with claims the assets belonged to them. A statement from OSCR said it had received a number of concerns from the public about the Clan Donald Lands Trust. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The statement added: 'We are now engaging with the charity trustees to establish the facts of this case and we have sought extensive information and explanation from them. We are specifically looking to understand the current financial position of the charity and the circumstances that led to the decision to put significant charitable assets up for sale. 'We will not reach a position to decide whether further regulatory action is necessary until we are satisfied that we have established the facts of the case.' Armadale Castle, which is largely derelict, is being sold by Strutt & Parker, along with six wooden cottages and woodland. The sale also includes the building that houses the Clan Donald Centre museum and a number of cottages for a combined price of £2.76 million. In addition, just over 19,000 acres of the Sleat Peninsula are being sold for offers over £6.75m. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Campaigners against the sale have now called for OSCR to pause the sale of the charity's assets as the closing date for bids of August 28 approaches. Around 4,000 clan members are believed to have donated to the trust over the past 50 years after answering a call from Lord Godfrey Macdonald, the current clan chief, who was forced to sell off a large part of the Macdonald estates to pay for death duties and inherited debt following the death of his father in 1970. Around £200,000 was raised - roughly £2.5m at today's values - to secure Armadale Castle, the ancestral seat of the Macdonalds of Sleat, and a large part of the Sleat Peninsula, with the assets to be held in perpetuity for all clansmen. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In an earlier statement, the trust said it would 'reform' its operations to 'focus on our core purpose of protecting and promoting clan and indigenous Highland heritage'. The trust said Armadale Castle was no longer commercially viable, with the number of clan members visiting 'too low' to justify the annual losses or the major investment required. The archive and library is due to be retained to create a 'world-class immersive, interactive digital platform' to display its collection. The charity is said to have run into difficulty after a major funding source in the United States dried up. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The trustees of CDLT are chairman Ranald Macdonald Younger of Clanranald (chair of trustees), who runs the Boisdale restaurants in London, Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat, and Major Bruce Macdonald of South Carolina and Diane Carey-Schmitz of Los Angeles.
Daily Record
16-07-2025
- Daily Record
'Hundreds' of families linked to Highland clan face losing memorials to loved ones in estate sale
Cash-strapped Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT) is selling its estate on Skye, which includes a castle and historic lands of the Clan Donald. Hundreds of families with ties to an ancient Scots clan face losing loved ones' memorials after their remaining lands were put up for sale. Cash-strapped Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT) is selling its South Sleat Estate on Skye, which includes a castle and historic lands of the Clan Donald. The estate, which covers much of the southern Sleat peninsula, has a guide price of almost £6.8million. The 40-acre Armadale Castle and surrounding gardens are being offered at a separate guide price of over £995,000. But more than 100 families have paid for memorials in the gardens, ranging from the low hundreds to £7000. At least 450 trees are said to have been planted in honour of lost relatives, as well as benches and wall plaques. Morag McDonald, who has a bench in the gardens for her late Uncle George, said: "I feel a whole across the mixture of emotions for my from grief and sadness to anger. "The lack of communication is just awful. There is a lack of integrity among the people running the Trust. "Apart from the fact there's a very emotive issue with the 450 memorial trees, the whole gardens are actually of global ecological interest because there are rare and protected species here. "Now we've absolutely no idea what's going to happen to the trees. "What is going to happen to the memorial plaques? Some of these cost thousands of pounds. "Then there's the benches. I presume the benches are just going to end up in a skip. "It's the absolute abject disrespect that people are being treated with." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Local man Rob Ware, who has planted four memorial trees for his late mum and dad, a granny and an uncle, accused the charity of 'a complete breach of trust'. He told the Sunday Mail: "For me, it has always been a place of pilgrimage and a place of reflection of tranquility. "Because I don't have graveyards for my parents who were cremated, I've visited that place many times over the years, particularly when the gardens were open during winter. "I liked to go up on Christmas morning and say a few words, and maybe in my mum's case, pour a wee dram across the tree. "People bought these memorials in good faith and since the sale was announced, there has been absolutely no communication, as far as I'm aware, with anybody. "The question now is the uncertainty of that. Will some rich sheikh come along with £2.5million and buy the whole lot?' As of last week, the Trust still had a live JustGiving crowdfunding page to help with the upkeep of the castle, gardens and Clan Centre museum within the grounds - despite all now being on the open market. Estate agent Strutt and Parker listed seven lots for sale individually. The castle estate has a guide price of £2.76million. The CLDT was set up in the early 1970s to take over what remained of the 800-year-old Clan's lands, once among the most powerful families in Scotland. It announced in late March the sale of all its lands and properties due to financial challenges but has faced fierce opposition over claims Clan members and the local community in Sleat, Skye, weren't properly consulted. The Clan's High Chief Lord Godfrey Macdonald has said the loss of the Clan Centre in particular would be a 'tragedy' and a 'betrayal'. CLDT CEO Alex Stoddart said: "The CDLT will ensure that the best possible solution will be found for any memorials that exist. The trees at Armadale are loved and cared for." On the JustGiving page, he added: "It is entirely appropriate for a charity to look to raise funds for its charitable works which will be continuing. The donations page has been in operation for many years."
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
A crumbling castle...and how a £2.7m sell off has sparked a VERY bitter battle for the survival of Clan Donald
Tucked away in woodland on the ancestral Armadale Castle estate, there is a museum containing almost the whole sweep of Highland history within its walls. From the dawn of the Celts to the glory days of the Lordship of the Isles, from Culloden to Glencoe, its galleries speak of a time when the lands of Skye's remote Sleat peninsula enjoyed a ringside seat at the centre of the known universe, rather than at its outer fringes. Except that one final, damning chapter has yet to be written. Because although Armadale has been the seat of Clan Donald – Scotland's largest clan – for hundreds of years, a bitter feud over the very future of this great estate has now erupted which some say threatens to rival any single calamity in the clan's long and eventful past. Feelings have been running high since it was confirmed this month that the B-listed castle, its beautiful grounds and the Clan Donald heritage centre, which holds precious archives and artefacts dating back four centuries, have been put up for sale for around £2.7million. It comes just a month after the trust which runs the estate decided to put just over 20,000 acres of its land on Sleat on the market for £6.7million. The Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT) said it had to take the 'extremely difficult decision' to sell up after the charity ran into financial difficulties following the loss of its main benefactor, a US-based charitable foundation with links to the clan. Despite the millions of pounds poured into the estate for decades by its US donor, CDLT's chief executive officer Alex Stoddart claimed the visitor business on the Sleat was now 'non-viable'. The news has caused apoplexy in the clan's global diaspora who say they are the 'rightful beneficiaries' of the trust and insist the castle and its estate is not CDLT's to sell. In a growing war of words, clansmen and women have launched Clan Donald – Save Armadale, an international fundraising campaign to block the sale and push for new management of the trust to 'preserve this jewel in the crown of Clan Donald'. The group, which has attracted more than 400 members, believes the wider clan should have been consulted on the decision to sell, with many having financially supported the trust. The group's gofundme page states it represents 'the betrayed beneficiaries of the deed of trust of the Clan Donald Land Trust' who are 'opposing the decision of the four absentee trustees and CEO of the trust to sell off the beautiful Armadale Heritage Centre, museum, genealogy centre, library and extensive botanical gardens'. Campaign spokesman Morag McDonald condemned what she called 'the lack of community engagement and the contempt that people have been treated with'. She said the campaign's plan was to raise an initial £5,000 to seek legal advice on how best to halt the sale. It has also sparked friction locally where CDLT, a key employer in an area where crofting and tourism are the main industries, has been accused of a high-handed attitude to community relations. 'The Clan Donald estate isn't a real estate transaction, it is land families have lived on, farmed and crofted for generations, it has been an economic driver for Sleat and is integral to the identity of our community,' said Dr Andy Williamson, chair of Sleat Community Council. 'It is wrong that an absentee landlord can sell off this estate like a trophy for the wealthy with no regard for the community. This sale needs to be halted.' Their case rests in the complex legal arrangements of the trust established when clan members answered a call from Lord Godfrey Macdonald, the clan chief, who was forced to sell off a large part of the Macdonald estates to pay death duties and inherited debt after his father died in 1970. Around £200,000 was raised – roughly £2.5million at today's values – to secure Armadale Castle, the ancestral seat of the Macdonalds of Sleat, and a large part of the Sleat Peninsula, with the assets to be held in perpetuity for all clansmen. Since then, around 4,000 clan members are believed to have donated to the CDLT. Lord Macdonald said members of the Clan Donald hierarchy, chiefly in the US, had expressed 'incredulity' that such an important decision 'could have been announced in what they consider to be such an offhand and dismissive fashion, without any prior consultation'. He said that while he was 'supportive in principle' of the trust selling some assets, mainly land, he was 'devastated' at the proposed sale of the Clan Donald Centre which he regarded as 'the cornerstone around which the principal objectives of the CDLT as a charitable foundation was established in 1971'. He said: 'The overwhelming sentiment from overseas concerning the proposed sale of the Clan Centre, which I know is shared widely in the local community, is a strong feeling of betrayal.' It is telling how even the clan's most powerful voice has been diminished, however, in the face of its own trust's apparent refusal to engage. It stands in stark contrast to the remarkable call to arms on which the CDLT was founded. Morag McDonald, 57, a retired nurse, explained: 'The trust was set up by this massive appeal, which went out to Macdonalds all over the world when Lord Godfrey said, 'if we want to retain these lands, we have to set up a trust, does anyone want to contribute?' 'When you study and read the deeds of trust, it is Clan Macdonald who are the beneficiaries of the Clan Donald Land Trust. Essentially, all of what they are selling is the property of the Clan Macdonald. 'We are the beneficiaries but it was decided by three trustees and the CEO that they are putting everything on the market. So thousands of people own it, but they haven't asked one person.' Dr Williamson said: 'There's a lot of sadness, because Clan Donald is at the heart of Sleat, our history and heritage.' He called Armadale Castle and gardens an 'anchor for tourism' given Sleat's position off the beaten track and far from the heavy tourism concentrated in the north of the island. 'If this goes, we lose a major attraction and all the other businesses, and their staff will suffer too.' While the thoughts of some have turned to the prospect of a community buyout, Dr Williamson cautioned any bid would need to factor in both purchase costs and sizeable ongoing repair expenses. He said: 'There seem few locally who would oppose the CDLT's sale of the 22,000-acre South Sleat Estate. There are around 200 crofters there, but their rights are well enshrined in law, so it makes very little difference to them who the landlord is. 'But although many want to preserve Armadale Castle and grounds and the rest of the businesses, there is not a single building on that estate that doesn't need work. We've heard the suggestion about £4million worth of investment is needed to bring the grounds up to standard.' The ruined B-listed castle is currently off-limits to the public until remedial works can make it safe. 'We feel part of the problem is the trust is run by absentee trustees – at the moment, the closest one lives in Yorkshire,' said Dr Williamson. 'They've got no sense of this place, no idea of the community. They have no clue what's happening on a day-to-day basis.' His 'worst nightmare' would be a buyer trying to turn it into a private house: 'The risk is it gets split up or bought as a trophy by someone who doesn't really know and care about its significance. Perhaps they look to knock down the castle and build a big house.' Dr Williamson said it had been very hard to find out any information about the CDLT's intentions as its relationship with the community was 'effectively non-existent'. He said the community council had been barred from any local conversations around the future of the estate. Eyebrows have been raised at the failure of the CDLT to make a go of things given the largesse of its chief backer, the Glencoe Foundation, down the years. It has lavished CDLT with grants totalling more than £2million in the past five years alone, with almost £1million paid out in 2021, when the impact of the Covid pandemic was at its height. CDLT claimed the pandemic hammered income and was catastrophic for the estate. But Dr Williamson said: 'The pandemic was a problem for the tourism industry in Skye, but it bounced back. Equivalent attractions in the area are now thriving.' The current board of trustees, chaired by restaurateur, Ranald Macdonald of Boisdale and Younger of Clanranald, who operates the successful Boisdale group of restaurants in London, evidently disagrees. It wants to use the proceeds from both sales – roughly £9million – to reinvent the charity as a purely grant-giving body which, it says, will enable investment in the clan's heritage and culture long into the future. In an earlier statement, it said: 'The CDLT visitor business has incurred losses every year since the centre opened. Sadly, this funding is no longer available.' In a further statement to the Daily Mail, it added: 'Whilst we have empathy with the emotional response from a minority of individuals, we reiterate the fact that the trustees in all their actions have acted in the legally correct interests of the trust.' The trust said it aims to retain the archive and library and create a 'world-class immersive, interactive digital platform' to display its collection. But battle lines have been drawn. This clan feud has only just begun.
Daily Mail
15-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Historic island castle is on the market but furious clan members are plotting to block the sale
FOR hundreds of years it was a seat for Scotland's largest clan. But now an island castle has gone on the market – angering opponents who have branded the move a 'betrayal'. Armadale Castle on Skye is one of several assets being sold off by Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT) after it announced the 'unavoidable and unanimous' decision earlier this year following 'long standing economic difficulties'. CEO Alex Stoddart said the Armadale visitor business, which includes the 17th century castle, its heritage centre and gardens on the island's Sleat peninsula, was 'non-viable' in its current form. But the move has outraged clansmen and women from around the world who claim they are the 'rightful beneficiaries' of the trust and insist the actions of CDLT 'defy the purpose of the trust deeds'. Save Armadale - Clan Donald is now fundraising for a planned legal challenge to block the sale and push for new management of the trust to 'preserve this jewel in the Crown of Clan Donald'. The group, which has more than 400 members, believe clansmen and women should have been consulted on the decision to sell, with many having financially supported the trust since its formation in the 1970s. The group's gofundme page states it represents 'the betrayed beneficiaries of the deed of trust of the Clan Donald Land Trust' who are 'opposing the decision of the 4 absentee trustees and CEO of the Clan Donald Lands Trust to sell off the beautiful Armadale Heritage Centre, museum, genealogy centre, library and extensive botanical gardens and trails'. It adds: 'We require to appoint a lawyer to challenge them and their decision on the basis that their current actions are not in the best interests of the beneficiaries of the trust, defy the purpose of the trust deeds, and betray the local community in Sleat.' If they are successful they say any surplus funds raised will 'go towards any future endeavours to support a newly invigorated heritage centre' and, if not, they will be handed to 'a similar cultural heritage project in Scotland'. They claim the castle is 'of national cultural and historical importance and its closure will have a huge, economic and detrimental affect in the Sound of Sleat in the South end of Skye'. The castle, heritage centre and gardens are being sold for offers over £995,000, or along with ancillary buildings and other land for £2.7million, and comes just a month after CDLT put just over 20,000 acres of its land on the Sleat Peninsula on the market for £6.7million. Campaign spokesman Morag McDonald said the group's aim was to 'put pressure' on CLDT to 'immediately halt the sale of our heritage centre, and demand they come to the table immediately to answer our questions and allow us time to seek a viable future for the Clan Donald Heritage Centre in Armadale under new, competent management and with our money handed over from phase 1 of the sale'. The deed states the charitable purposes of the trust include 'providing funds to assist in the education of Clansmen, to provide scholarships at schools and universities for the sons and daughters of Clansmen'. The CDLT Board announced the sale stating: 'The idea of selling the wider estate and using the proceeds to bolster Armadale was the initially preferred conclusion. 'However, the estate sale proceeds are unlikely to be sufficient for the capital requirements of Armadale going forward. 'The Trustees could not see any realistic way to retain Armadale whilst fulfilling their legal and moral obligations to the charity and the Clan, being mindful of their duty to act in the best interests of the charity including minimising exposure to risk. It adds: 'The Trustees' objective is to find suitable buyers who will bring serious investment, prosperity, training, and employment to the community for the long term.'
