Tracey Lawson - The Scotsman
(tlawson@scotsman.com)
October 19, 2001
THE future of One Devonshire Gardens, one of Scotland’s most prestigious hotels, was uncertain last night after
its parent company went into receivership.
Residence International - which also owns The Devonshire Hotel in Glasgow and the Edinburgh Residence - said it
had suffered a downturn in business after the foot-and- mouth crisis and 11 September terrorist attacks.
The receivers KPMG said last night that Residence International was placed in the hands of the receiver on Wednesday
evening.
The downturn has coincided with Residence International’s development of luxury timeshare options at One Devonshire
Gardens and the other three affected properties - The Devonshire Hotel, which is next door, the Edinburgh Residence
in the Capital’s New Town, and the Paris Residence in the French capital.
Gordon Ramsay’s Amaryllis restaurant is part of One Devonshire Gardens, a five-star Glasgow hotel which costs up
to £345 a night - but his spokeswoman insisted the business was separate and would not be affected.
Blair Nimmo, who is handling the receivership for KPMG, said: "There are no doubt other factors, but you would
have to be a blind man not to see that recent events have played a role in this."
A few staff at Residence International’s Rosyth headquarters have been made redundant, but Mr Nimmo said no more
job losses are anticipated as KPMG will operate all four establishments as normal while it seeks a buyer.
Mr Nimmo said he has already received calls from three major international time-share companies expressing an interest
in purchasing the entire Residence International portfolio.
He added: "We don’t anticipate difficulty finding a buyer. One Devonshire Gardens has a world-wide reputation.
When it comes to the timeshare properties we are not talking about a couple of weeks in Tenerife as sold 25 years
ago - we are dealing with top quality luxury accommodation."
The development will cast a rare shadow over the success story of One Devonshire Gardens, which was opened in 1986
by Scots entrepreneur Ken McCulloch,
Mr McCulloch sold the hotel to Residence International last year for a reported £3 million, and it appeared
to have gone from strength to strength in recent months.
In May this year, One Devonshire merged with The Devonshire Hotel - the adjacent hotel operated by Glasgow hotelier
Jeanette Montgomery, which has been a home-from-home to a cast of international celebrities. Ms Montgomery was
appointed UK Operations Director of Residence International on completion of the merger.
Soon afterwards the hotel was the focus of national attention when celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay opened his restaurant
Amaryllis within One Devonshire Gardens, to critical acclaim.
The chef, who is as famous for his fiery temper as for his excellent cuisine, was not available for comment last
night.
But his spokeswoman assured clients that Amaryllis would not be affected developments at Residence International.
She said: "Amaryllis is not owned by Residence International, it is owned by Gordon Ramsay Holdings, which
has a long lease on its facilities within One Devonshire Gardens.
"So the restaurant will be unaffected by what happens at Residence International. Amaryllis has lots of bookings,
and it will be business as usual."
Nobody from Residence International was available for comment last night.
(c) Copyright The Scotsman. All rights reserved. To see more of The Scotsman, or to subscribe to the publication,
go to http://www.thescotsman.com