Saturday, November 2, 2024
Saturday, November 2, 2024
HomeNewsRobert and Vivien Kyle: RAD Group

Robert and Vivien Kyle: RAD Group

Husband and wife team Robert and Vivien Kyle are hairdressers to trade. They met at 19 and opened their own salon a year later, before moving into the licensed trade in 1991, when they bought The Sun Inn in Cumnock, Ayrshire, followed by The Black Bull in Mauchline, Ayrshire, in 1995. They founded the RAD Hotel Group in 1999, when they bought Lochside House Hotel, creating an award-winning wedding venue and later adding the Spa at Lochside, formerly a hunting lodge for the Marquis of Bute. They sold The Black Bull and The Sun Inn to Belhaven in 2001, before building up their hotel portfolio. Robert says that making the leap from hairdressing to hotelier was easier than people might think – both roles involve looking after customers, making them feel relaxed and special. He and Vivien pride themselves on attention to detail and a determination to exceed their guests’ expectations. This year the group’s 30-bedroom Hetland Hall Hotel, in Carrutherstown, Dumfries and Galloway, will undergo a £2 million refurbishment and expansion to increase the amount of accommodation and double the size of the restaurant and kitchen areas. Today the group consists of five hotels, including The Royal Hotel in Cumnock, Hetland Hall, The Carlton Hotel in Prestwick and The Radstone Hotel in Lanarkshire. They employ around 350 staff and turnover in 2014/15 was £10.7 million.

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