Landowner expands his Scottish island empire

A Swiss-based landowner has expanded his portfolio in the Outer Hebrides with the purchase of one of Lewis’s most prominent properties.

Ian Scarr-Hall, president of GSH, an international property management company, has acquired Uig Lodge in the south-west of the island. It is the fourth property he owns on Lewis, alongside the Uig and Hamnaway, Morsgail and Aird Bheag estates.

The holdings form part of the Rèasort Estate, a partnership focused on high-end tourism. The estate hosts fishing, shooting, weddings and corporate events, while placing an emphasis on local employment and sustainable land management.

Read more: Inside the £1m house overlooking one of the finest beaches in the Outer Hebrides

Uig Lodge is a traditional sporting estate that offers world-class fly fishing on the local river. | Rèasort Estates

Uig Lodge lies next door to the Modern House, Timsgearraidh, which was recently marketed at £1 million — the first property on the island with such a price tag. The property, also known as the Writer’s House, was built for Nicholas and Camilla Barnard, founders of the Rude Health brand. A dedicated website for the retreat confirms that the house has been sold.

Mr Scarr-Hall now lives in Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, which he bought at the time of the North Harris community buy-out in 2003.

Subscribe to Hay’s Way - get her weekly newsletter

Since then, it has been reported no community pre-knowledge or involvement has taken place in subsequent Scar-Hall deals as Reasort Estates has expanded its ownership to around 70,000 acres, including the purchase of houses in the Uig area for staff and holiday lets.

Aird Bheag estate, once owned by crofters, which was sold to Reasort in 2024 by the film-maker Chris Young.

When the small estate was previously on the market, the advert described it as “without doubt one of the most beautiful places in the Western Isles.”

A steering group was formed recently in Uig to register interest in potential community buy-outs.

Innes Morrison, estates manager for Rèasort Estate, which has 17 full-time-equivalent employees, said: “Our acquisition of Uig Lodge demonstrates our strong commitment to the area of Uig and to the surrounding local community.

“We are confident the lodge will prosper in the coming years and provide employment opportunities locally, helping to retain young people in the area.”

Uig Lodge sits on a traditional sporting estate that offers fly fishing on local rivers. Along with Rèasort Estates’ existing properties, it forms an important part of the tourism infrastructure on Harris and Lewis. A private nine-hole golf course can be found on the grounds, with direct access to walks along some of the islands’ finest white sandy beaches.

The lodge was previously owned and run by Dickon and Elly Green, who also run the on-site Uig Sands restaurant, which they will retain ownership of.

Built in 1876, the rural retreat was then owned by Lord Leverhulme and was beloved by his niece, Emily Macdonald, who described it as a “scene which surely has few equals in all Britain for sheer breathtaking loveliness”.

He would later give her the lodge as a wedding present. Uig was also a favourite place for the Swallows and Amazons author Arthur Ransome.