Public buy-out bid for abbey fails

Terry Nutkins, the television presenter who bought the abbey two years ago and intended turning it into a major tourist attraction, had been in talks with a community group about a takeover.

However, he has now formally rejected the offer in a letter to the Fort Augustus Abbey Preservation Trust (FAAPT) on behalf of the board of Abbey Millennium (Scotland), the building’s owners.

It read: "While Abbey Millennium is eager to see Fort Augustus Abbey preserved and developed for community use, the board is concerned that there is insufficient funding for that to be a reality. The board will not review this decision and have instructed me to proceed with an alternative option."

Mr Nutkins, the majority shareholder, said yesterday that the abbey will be put up for sale at an auction on 4 June at Manchester Airport, with a price of over 1 million, unless it can be sold before then.

He said there is serious interest from private buyers, including four parties - two from the UK and two from abroad - who will visit Fort Augustus this weekend.

FAAPT, a registered charity, was due to meet to discuss the position last night.

The trust offered 775,000 for the abbey, in line with the estimate from the district valuer, conditional on it securing funding for the purchase and restoration costs by September next year.

Mr Nutkins, who presented the children’s television programmes Animal Magic and The Really Wild Show, said he was saddened at the outcome but was concerned at the delay in getting a deal.

He told The Scotsman yesterday: "I have now officially declined their offer. Both parties have been very patient but we just could not come to an agreement."

He said the news that Inverness and Nairn Enterprise was withdrawing backing for the community project made the company "extremely nervous", adding: "They [the trust] have already said we would not get paid for 18 months and we were concerned there was insufficient money available to make the whole thing a reality."

However, Mr Nutkins did not finally close the door on the trust. He said: "If they come back and wanted urgent talks, I would say yes, as long as they were sensible about things."

He said that if it is sold privately, he intends to vet prospective buyers so that the abbey can be developed in a way suitable for the building and the area.

The community trust planned to transform the famous building on the shores of Loch Ness into a tourism-related and timeshare business, creating more than 40 year-round jobs.

It started a fund-raising campaign with a target of 300,000, the community’s contribution to the costs of acquisition and restoration, with funds sought from the Scottish Land Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s community land unit.

It was estimated the attraction could bring in 70,000 people a year and generate more than 1 million annually.

The abbey opened in 1876, having been created from the remains of a Hanoverian fort built by General Wade in 1742.

Formerly a fee-paying school, the last Catholic boarding school for boys in Scotland, it closed in the mid-1990s due to falling numbers.