De Vere pledges £25m to create 'new Gleneagles'

Published on Sunday 6 May 2007 02:55

DE VERE Hotels will this week announce a £25m investment into its flagship Cameron House property in a bid to transform it into the Gleneagles of the west.

The hotel group will unveil a multi-million-pound room extension which will also including a new leisure club, conference facilities and an overhaul of its Loch Lomond marina.

The move is part of a wider strategy by De Vere to reposition seven of its major properties under the 'deluxe' brand and comes just months before Cameron House unveils a new championship golf course and luxury spa.

Hotel manager Philip Mahoney says the investment will catapult Cameron House into Scotland's number one luxury hotel resort.

He said: "Cameron House is the starting point for a 150m investment into De Vere's deluxe brand. The idea is to take the hotel into a whole new level of world class resort, recreating it as a global destination and a great place to hold an event.

"We are not leaving a stone unturned. Everything is being ripped out and re-worked. I would like people to think: 'Shall I go to Gleneagles, or shall I go to Cameron House?'"

De Vere Hotels, which includes prestigious venues such as Slaley Hall in Northumberland and The Grand in Brighton, was purchased by Richard Balfour-Lynn's Alternative Hotel Group in September last year in a deal worth 724m.

As well as the De Vere Hotels, the acquisition included the Village Clubs hotel chain, stand-alone health and fitness brand Greens, and spirits manufacturer G&J Greenall.

Cameron House has played host to celebrity guests such as film star Clint Eastwood, pop idols Robbie Williams, Michael Jackson and Cher, opera singer Luciano Pavarotti and football icon David Beckham.

AHG was founded by Balfour-Lynn with HBOS and four other directors of Marylebone Warwick Balfour (MWB), the property firm where he is chief executive.

MWB has experience in the hotel sector and owns 16 Malmaison and Hotel du Vin hotels across the UK. It also owns the five-star Park Lane Marriott.