Members to profit as press club snapped up

Published on Monday 18 June 2007 12:00

THE former Edinburgh Press Club building has been sold for almost £1 million in a deal which will see members pocket thousands of pounds each.

The B-listed three-storey Georgian townhouse in the West End has been snapped up for 925,000 by an anonymous buyer - believed to be an overseas investor.

The club was wound up at the beginning of the year after membership dropped to around 250.

Now some members - not yet identified - stand to gain a share of the profits.

The club is also set to net 3000 from the sale of a 1941 caricature of Winston Churchill which was gifted to it by the artist Tom Curr, a former member.

The Rutland Street building was on the market for offers over 725,000, and billed as "lending itself to a variety of future uses, including conversion back to residential use".

Former press club chairwoman June Plank said: "We don't know yet what they intend doing with the building. There are so many things it could be used for, mainly because of its size."

Former Scotsman photographer Denis Straughan, a member for 50 years, said: "It used to be a tremendous atmosphere when all of the press were there after a day at work, congratulating each other and so on. It was sad to see it close - I had so many happy memories there."