Ardent Group has secured an £8.3m loan from digital bank OakNorth to fund a new luxury self-catering development on the outskirts of St Andrews.
Founded in 2001, the family-owned property developer, is led by the Keane family and has a portfolio spanning residential, leisure and mixed-use assets, as well as operational interests in hotels, pubs, self-catering accommodation and retail with interests across Scotland and Ireland.
It plans to deliver 21 high-spec, four-bedroom holiday lodges at Clashwood, a 6.27-acre site less than two miles south-west of the town centre. Each unit will feature luxury amenities and targeted at premium leisure travellers, including golfing visitors, international tourists, families and wedding parties.
Robin Keane, Director of Ardent Group, said, “St Andrews is one of the most desirable leisure destinations in the UK, with year-round demand driven by golf tourism, the university and its international appeal. We’ve spent considerable time refining the planning and specification for this scheme to ensure it delivers a genuinely premium product that reflects the quality of the location.
“OakNorth took the time to understand both the opportunity and our operational track record in self-catering accommodation. Their speed, flexibility and ability to support a complex development-led project made them the right funding partner for us, and we look forward to working with them as we bring this scheme to life.”
Matteas Law, Associate Director of Debt Finance at OakNorth, added, “Ardent Group has a strong track record across property development and hospitality, and this scheme benefits from an exceptional location in one of Scotland’s most resilient and high-performing leisure markets.
“St Andrews continues to see robust demand from both domestic and overseas visitors, supported by its global reputation, limited accommodation supply and major events such as The Open Championship. This, combined with the high-quality nature of the proposed accommodation, made this an attractive opportunity to support an experienced sponsor delivering a differentiated product in a prime market.”
Picture: www.clashwoodstandrews.com/
