Scottish castle once considered by Taylor Swift sold for £2m

A 19th century Scots castle - which was offered to popstar Taylor Swift - has sold for almost £2m to a Chinese businessman, it has been revealed.
Picture: GooglePicture: Google
Picture: Google

Kinnettles Castle, a baronial-style stately home near Forfar, Angus, was put on the market last year by entrepreneur Mike Clare, the founder of the Dreams bed empire.

The sale hit the headlines when rumours emerged that Taylor Swift was looking to buy a castle in Scotland.

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Estate agents Colliers tweeted the singer – whose boyfriend is Scots DJ and producer Calvin Harris – to see if it could tempt her to buy the boutique castle hotel in the heart of the Angus countryside.

Angus estate agents Colliers originally tweeted the singer  whose boyfriend is Scots DJ and producer Calvin Harris  to see if it could tempt her to buy the castle before its eventual sale to a Chinese businessman. Picture: Lisa FergusonAngus estate agents Colliers originally tweeted the singer  whose boyfriend is Scots DJ and producer Calvin Harris  to see if it could tempt her to buy the castle before its eventual sale to a Chinese businessman. Picture: Lisa Ferguson
Angus estate agents Colliers originally tweeted the singer  whose boyfriend is Scots DJ and producer Calvin Harris  to see if it could tempt her to buy the castle before its eventual sale to a Chinese businessman. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

However property records show that the new owner is Bin Zhu, 56, a Chinese businessman based in Hong Kong.

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His newly incorporated company UKBH Limited paid £1.9 million for the property in a deal which was concluded last month.

The property, which boasts 11 bedrooms, a garden pavilion marquee and 44 acres of parkland, had been advertised for sale for £2.5 million.

Angus estate agents Colliers originally tweeted the singer  whose boyfriend is Scots DJ and producer Calvin Harris  to see if it could tempt her to buy the castle before its eventual sale to a Chinese businessman. Picture: Lisa FergusonAngus estate agents Colliers originally tweeted the singer  whose boyfriend is Scots DJ and producer Calvin Harris  to see if it could tempt her to buy the castle before its eventual sale to a Chinese businessman. Picture: Lisa Ferguson
Angus estate agents Colliers originally tweeted the singer  whose boyfriend is Scots DJ and producer Calvin Harris  to see if it could tempt her to buy the castle before its eventual sale to a Chinese businessman. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

It is not yet known what Mr Zhu’s plans are for the castle, which has been previously been rented out as an exclusive venue.

Mr Clare’s company AmaZing Venues had bought the castle in March 2011 and operated it as an exclusive-use conference, wedding and corporate events venue.

England football star Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen chose the castle as the setting for the christening of their son Kai in 2010.

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But he and his wife had to wait five hours for the secret ceremony to start as Arctic conditions delayed the priest, choir and caterers. The proud mum and dad killed time by giggling, kissing and going sledging together.

Despite the bid to get Taylor Swift to snap up the castle, the Shake it Off singer quickly sent out a tweet to say that she was not planning to plough her cash into a Scottish estate.

At the time the castle went on sale, selling agent Alistair Letham, of Colliers, said: “It was largely built in the late Victorian period when all the people who were making pots of money out of jute or whaling bought estates to build castles outside Dundee.

“It’s an interesting building. You could see it reverting to residential, but it also has a fixed marquee for weddings and the old stable block is just waiting to be developed.”

In the early 14th century, King Robert III granted Alexander Strachan a tract of land in Forfar which went on to become the Kinettles baronial estate.

A dated stone situated opposite the castle’s dovecot suggests that a modest two-story house occupied the site from 1678.

In the 16th century ownership of the land was passed to the Lindsays who held it for 200 years before it was passed on to Sir Thomas Moodie, the then Provost of Dundee.

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The property again traded hands in the 17th century, when it was bought by the Bower family.

In 1802 the Kinnettles estate was sold to John Aberdain Harvey who built a second manor house surrounded by fine parkland.

In 1864 James Paterson bought the property and began work on the structure known today as Kinnettles Castle.

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