Leisure operator snaps up building linked to North Berwick hotel for seven-figure sum

The staff accommodation building belonging to the former Macdonald Marine Hotel in North Berwick has been snapped up for redevelopment after attracting “considerable” interest.

Allied Surveyors Scotland said the property has been acquired by leisure operator Caledonian Heritable – and while the eventual sale price is not being disclosed, it exceeded the £1.4 million asking price.

The property, which sits on a half-acre plot in the town’s Dirleton Avenue – less than a mile from the town centre – and spans more than 9,100 square feet, comprises 18 bedrooms over four storeys. It was put on the market in March and had been known as the Golf Hotel until about 2006.

The sale price is not being disclosed, but it was more than the £1.4m asking price. Picture: contributed.

Iain Mercer, Allied Surveyor’s director of commercial agency (east), said: “Such is the demand for property in North Berwick there was considerable interest from the moment we listed it. It led to a highly competitive and, ultimately, successful closing date for our client.”

Chicago’s AJ Capital Partners bought the landmark Marine Hotel & Spa along with the staff accommodation block, which became surplus to requirements, from Macdonald Hotels in February 2020. A major refurbishment of the seaside venue, rebranded as Marine North Berwick, is under way with a view to creating a hotel with about 90 bedrooms, two food and beverage concepts, expansive meeting and event space and an indoor-outdoor spa and fitness centre.

Allied Surveyors Scotland, which says it is one of Scotland’s largest independent firms of chartered surveyors, was in March appointed to sell the building. The firm currently has 32 offices in Scotland, “covering every post code”, around 160 staff, and launched its east coast commercial agency in April 2018.

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