CRISIS-HIT Aviemore Highland Resort, one of Scotland's most prestigious tourist developments, has gone into "pre-pack" administration, with major write-offs for consortium shareholders and Lloyds Banking group.
But the arrangement, foreshadowed in The Scotsman yesterday, secures the future of the resort and the jobs of the 300 staff. Forward bookings will also be honoured.
Under the pre-pack administration being handled by the accountants Pricewaterhouse
Coopers, the Macdonald Hotels group has agreed to buy the assets and business of AHR. It has also agreed to commit funding to complete the refurbishment of each of the hotels on the site and provide additional features, including a cinema and clubhouse at the Spey championship golf course.
The pre-pack arrangement avoids closure and piecemeal sell-off, which would almost certainly have followed an orthodox receivership.
However, it will mean a big write-off for the consortium investors. These include Lloyds itself with a direct 33 per cent equity stake, David Sutherland, chairman of the Tulloch Group (who took over a one-third stake directly from the Tulloch group two years ago), and Macdonald Hotels.
Lloyds had a loan of some £40 million to AHR. Some of this has now been taken by Macdonald, but the bulk is likely to be written off.
While creditors will be looked after, one loser is likely to be Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs, which will not receive some £1.7m of outstanding VAT.
The Aviemore resort has been plagued with problems for the past 20 years, and over the past two years in particular it has been on the brink of closure. Arguably, the surprise is not that Lloyds has moved now, but that Bank of Scotland maintained its support for the time it did.
Donald Macdonald, executive chairman of Macdonald Hotels, said: "I am grateful to the Bank of Scotland for the support and commitment that they have shown to Aviemore over many years. Their new owners, Lloyds Banking Group, have also demonstrated an ongoing commitment to Scotland and this development and all who depend on it.
"It is time to put aside the baggage and troubles associated with this resort and for all concerned to grasp the lifeline that the bank has given us."
While plans to build 150 homes are on ice for now, Mr Macdonald said he hoped that, once the economy improves, Mr Sutherland will again be involved in the development.
Separately, results for Macdonald Hotels for the year to 25 September, released yesterday, showed a pre-interest profit of £12.3m, compared with £124.7m previously, which included a £123.4m gain over book value on the disposal of 24 hotels.
The latest profit is struck after a £4.7m writedown in the value of five of the group's assets.
The group has since been hit by a downturn in corporate and "business2business" bookings, but family holiday bookings are up on the previous corresponding period.
Better bookings have also been experienced recently at Macdonald Holyrood and the refurbished Roxburghe Hotel in Edinburgh's New Town.
Major projects included the 338-bedroom Macdonald Manchester Hotel and refurbishments of hotels in the Lake District and Oxford.
The full article contains 534 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
