Crerar Hotel Group sold to Blantyre and Fairtree as pair continue to build portfolio

Blantyre Capital Limited and Fairtree Hotel Investments have acquired Crerar Hotel Group for an undisclosed sum, in a deal the pair said will play a “key part” in building their luxury UK hotel portfolio.

Privately owned Crerar Hotel Group owns seven four- and five-star hotels in Scotland, including the Balmoral Arms in Royal Deeside, the Oban Bay Hotel in Oban and the Loch Fyne Hotel & Spa in Argyll.

The sale marks Fairtree and Blantyre’s fourth hospitality purchase within the UK since 2021, following on from Fonab Castle and Dunkeld House Hotel in Perthshire and the Daffodil Hotel and Spa in Cumbria.

Chris Wayne-Wills (pictured) will remain in his role as chief executive of Crerar Hotels.

Paddy Crerar, outgoing chairman of Crerar Hotels, said: “After getting to know the new potential owners it was soon clear that they shared identical aims and ambitions to those we have worked hard to foster at Crerar Hotels.”

Joe Bester of Fairtree added: “Both Nic Ross and I, at Fairtree, are hugely excited to be expanding our hotel portfolio in Scotland with the addition of the Crerar Hotel Group, which offers a variety of beautiful hotels in iconic locations across Scotland.

“We are extremely proud to have a strong partner like Blantyre in this iconic portfolio acquisition as we continue to build out our UK luxury leisure portfolio.”

Johann Scheid of Blantyre commented: “The addition of these 7 high quality assets to our platform allows us to expand on our offering in providing unique and memorable experiences to our international customer base.”

The vendors were advised by Colliers.