Fort William hoteliers buy Oban hotel

Raymond and Susan Hyams, former owners of the Imperial hotel in Fort William, have bought the Queens hotel in the busy fishing port of Oban, Argyll.

The hotel has been operated by Oxford Hotels since last autumn following the collapse of the Swallow Hotel Group, which acquired the Victorian property from British Trust Hotels in 2005.

The hotel is located on the Esplanade overlooking Oban Bay and is just a short walk from the town centre. Oban runs regular ferries to the Hebridean Islands and is a popular home port for yachtsmen.

The fully-licensed, mid-market hotel is active in the private and coach tourist trade and is forecast to turn over £500,000 in the current year.

It provides 43 en-suite bedrooms to sleep 78, an interlinked bar and lounge to seat 48 customers, and a 60-seat dining room.

A self-contained, three-bedroom flat provides owners' accommodation and there are also six staff bedrooms with a bathroom to the rear of the main building.

The Glasgow office of Colliers Robert Barry sold the freehold of an initial guide price of £1.5m.

By Angela Frewin