Former Virgin Hotel Glasgow sold by administrators

The former Virgin Hotel in Glasgow has been sold over a year after its sudden closure.

The 240-room hotel has been acquired out of receivership by Martin Property Group, a Northern Irish firm with real estate across the UK and Ireland.

The 17-storey hotel opened with 165 bedrooms in August 2023 and was the second UK hotel for the Virgin brand after it returned to the market with an Edinburgh opening in 2022.

It was run under management agreement by Lloyds Developments Limited but closed after just four months in December 2023 due to “financial problems”.

Virgin Hotels said at the time it had offered to buy the hotel and retain 130 staff jobs, but lenders decided to close the hotel and pursue a sale process.

Martin Property Group said it planned to complete the additional 77 bedrooms and reopen the hotel “as soon as possible”.

It is also considering developing a gym, function suite, whisky bar and coffee shop at the hotel.

Geoff Jacobs, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator of Lloyds Developments Limited, said: “The hotel occupies a prime position on the Glasgow riverfront. We look forward to seeing the hotel back in operation and wish the purchaser every success in the future."

Martin Property Group was represented by property consultants Graham + Sibbald.

As well as running its Edinburgh hotel, Virgin Hotels took over the former Mondrian Shoreditch hotel to launch its first London site in August 2024. It marked the start of a ‘phased transformation’ of the hotel, which will fully open this year.

The brand also runs six hotels in the US.