Cumberland Building Society notes investment of £45m into Scots tourism sector, which it stresses needs further support

The Cumberland Building Society is stressing the need to support Scotland’s tourism sector, noting that it has injected a collective £45 million into such firms over the past two years amid a challenging environment.

The building society notes that it helped fund the purchase of The Inn on Loch Lomond, Luss. Picture: contributed.

The organisation, whose branch network encompasses South-west Scotland in locations such as Dumfries, Annan, and Lockerbie, points out challenges to operators in the industry including rising interest rates leading to higher mortgage repayments, and consumers tightening their purse strings amid cost-of-living woes.

"An unclear ending to the crisis brings further difficulties for those in Scotland’s tourism sector who are looking to weather the storm,” added The Cumberland, which says it is the UK’s tenth-largest building society, serving 160,000 customers.

The lender added that the latest statistics from the Scottish Tourism Alliance reveal that 52 per cent of hospitality firms are still in “survival” or “consolidation” mode as a result of the financial crisis, while almost half state that they do not have enough cash reserves for the next quarter, whilst 39 per cent said domestic bookings for June to September this year are lower compared to the same period in 2022.

The Cumberland also said that with Scotland’s tourism businesses a key part of the country’s economy, "it has never been more important to provide support for the sector to navigate the challenges ahead and to help businesses fulfil their potential”.

Its support to date for Scottish firms includes providing £3.4 million in investment to Carlowrie Castle on the outskirts of Edinburgh to help upgrade its services and facilities; and £975,000 to support the development of Cairn Lodges in Morar.

The building society, which says it has been lending to hospitality business owners across the UK for more than two decades, also provided £550,000 to support the acquisition of the Castlebay Hotel in the Outer Hebrides; for No.26 by the Sea in Oban it aided in the refinancing of the property and supporting funding for the acquisition of staffing accommodation; and helped fund the purchase of The Inn on Loch Lomond, Luss.

Alasdair Swan, senior commercial manager at The Cumberland, said: “Supporting people and businesses across Scotland has been at the core of what we do at The Cumberland for the past 170 years. We want to make a positive difference to people’s lives now, and in the future.”