At £5m: Scotland's most expensive flat

FIRST-TIME buyers need not apply - unless they happen to be extremely wealthy. An apartment with grandstand views of the Home of Golf and its most famous course will go on the market next month for an eyewatering £5.1 million.

The four-bedroom property overlooks the 18th green of the Old Course at St Andrews, where the sport's Open championship is regularly played. Its enormous price, if met, would make it Scotland's most expensive apartment.

Another penthouse suite with 360-degree views, over the course, the historic town and the Fife and Angus coast, will also go on sale for 4.8m.

Both properties occupy the upper floors of Hamilton Grand, the seven-storey red sandstone building bought by American tycoon and golf enthusiast Herb Kohler last year for a relatively modest 11.5m in a sealed-bid auction.

Altogether, 26 separate apartments will go on sale in the former university hall of residence ranging from two-bedroom properties at 1.35m up to more extensive properties around the 5m mark.

In addition to their new holiday homes - which can be bought unfurnished or furnished - each owner will be entitled to the services of a concierge, butler and valet. They will also get access to parking and membership of the Old Course Hotel spa and golf course, which is also owned by Kohler. Access to a balcony that overlooks the Old Course is also included in the price.

If the luxury apartment sells for above 5m, it will beat the 2006 record price paid for Seton House, a Robert Adam mansion in East Lothian, which has two wings, six bedrooms, and a stable block set in 23 acres of grounds.

Although Highland estates with thousands of acres of land have sold for more, the most expensive apartment sold in Scotland is believed to be a property in Whittinghame House, East Lothian, put on the market for 2.5m.

Kohler plans to spend more than 30m renovating the now dilapidated building, which is sited close to the celebrated clubhouse owned by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the sport's governing body.

The price tag of the individual apartments reflects the confidence of international property experts that the rich have weathered the recession and are now prepared to start spending again on high-class properties in prime locations.One property expert said the cost of the apartments was unsurprising given the attraction of the Home of Golf to the world's sporting and entertainment industry elite.

A nearby three-storey property on The Links, the road which runs along the Old Course's 18th fairway, sold for almost 4m last year.

"The price of these properties seem to be pitched right as they are aimed at international second-home owners who want a ringside seat at the global mecca of golf," the expert said.

Local residents believe the pricing matches St Andrews' reputation as one of the world's most important golfing destinations. Councillor Bill Sangster said: "It's good to see the building coming back into use after so long.

"The prices are high but can you imagine the view from the penthouse out across the courses, the West Sands and along the coast. This is aimed at a particular clientele and this view has to rank among the best in the world."

Debbie Taylor, the president of the Kohler Company's Hospitality and Real Estate Group, said: "Hamilton Grand will be a unique real estate opportunity for those who want to own a home in the birthplace of golf and a premier destination rich in history. We are looking forward to returning a piece of Scottish history to its landmark status."

The properties are to be marketed by Savills, the agency which specialises in selling upmarket properties to wealthy international clients.

Sales literature produced by the Kohler company claims the Hamilton Grand, originally built as the Grand Hotel, in 1895, is the second-most photographed building in world of golf after the R&A clubhouse.

Artists' impressions of the interiors - the renovation is by US designer JJ Reese, whose trademark is "theatrical renaissance" - depict Edwardian-style idylls of elegantly-furnished rooms with liberal use of hardwoods and marbles.

Residents will also have a private library for their exclusive use along with an Italian Garden courtyard in the centre and there will be a grill restaurant and bar, open to the public, on the ground floor.

The building has had a mixed history. Deliberately-built to be more grandiose than the R&A clubhouse by an owner who was refused entry to the golf club, it was the first Scottish building to have a pneumatic elevator and hot and cold running water in every room.

It became an RAF training centre during the Second World War but was later acquired by the University of St Andrews for use as a students' residence, Hamilton Hall.

Declared surplus to requirements, it was closed in 2005 and sold to Rhode Island real estate investor David Wasserman. But his plans to build 23 loft-style residences stalled and the property went back on the market last year. The personal wealth of 72-year-old Herbert Vollrath Kohler Jnr, whose family made their money selling bathrooms, was estimated at $4 billion in 2007.

Kohler's company hopes to complete the renovation by June next year.Previously, the company has restored The America Club at the Kohler resort in Wisconsin, turning the former dormitory for immigrant factory workers into the Midwest's only AAA Five Diamond hotel.