The Archibald Mackay Group, an Edinburgh property investment company, has bought a grade B listed townhouse in Leith for a hotel development. It has also completed its conversion of an empty office block in the city centre into the Eleven Stafford Street Hotel, backed by a £530,000 funding facility provided by Reward Finance Group.
The four-storey townhouse at 3 John’s Place in Leith, was purchased for £975,000, with the Group planning to turn it into an aparthotel comprising of 16 studio apartments. This is due to open in late 2024.
Caroline Claydon, director of Archibald Marckay Group, said, “Developing properties in the hospitality sector is a big area of focus for us, and so being able to purchase 3 John’s Place and complete the redevelopment of Eleven Stafford Street is a significant step forward towards achieving our ambitious growth plans.”
Ms Claydon added: “After finding it extremely difficult to access finance via several high street banks, we were relieved to speak with Brian [Machray] and the team at Reward, who worked with us closely to understand our business needs and provide a flexible working facility.
“They also provided the funding at speed which was essential to complete the property transaction in Leith and ensure we stayed on track financially when undertaking the sensitive refurbishment of our new boutique hotel on Stafford Street, so that it retained its stunning Georgian architecture, heritage and charm.”
Mr Machray, business development director for Reward Finance in Scotland, said: “We’ve played a key role in funding several major residential and commercial property purchases and development projects across Scotland, so funding this latest acquisition and refurbishment scheme by Archibald Marckay Group is the perfect fit for us as a lender.
“We’re finding many investors and SMEs in the commercial and residential property space are unfortunately being held back and struggling to complete purchases or build projects in the current economic climate because they can’t access finance through high street banks. We’re able to successfully fill this void and deliver agile funding solutions that are needed by so many property businesses to unlock growth opportunities.”
The deal between Archibald Marckay Group and Reward Finance was brokered by Kenny Campbell, associate director for Breadalbane Finance.