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Preferred bidder for Rum's Kinloch Castle

NatureScot The sandstone castle has turrets and battlements. It is set among grassy grounds filled with flowers.NatureScot
Kinloch Castle was built on Rum for a 19th Century industrialist

NatureScot says it has identified a preferred bidder to buy a derelict, publicly-owned Scottish castle.

Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rum is a Victorian-era former hunting lodge now owned by Scotland's nature agency.

It was put back on the market last August for offers over £750,000 after a previous potential sale collapsed in a row between a millionaire and a Scottish government minister.

NatureScot said the preferred bidder planned to carry out repairs and restoration work, and develop the property as a small hotel.

NatureScot said legal discussions were continuing, with a deal expected later this year.

A spokesperson said: "We can confirm that we have identified a preferred bidder for Kinloch Castle following the open market sale.

"In considering prospective buyers, we have taken into account not just the financial offer but also the planned use for the castle and how its future will contribute to the nature, sustainability, community and economy of Rum."

Getty Images The image shows a large room inside the castle. There is a deep red carpet on the floor, a piano and stags' heads on a wall.Getty Images
Kinloch Castle, pictured in 2016, is a former hunting lodge

A purchase looked to have been secured in 2023.

But businessman Jeremy Hosking withdrew his bid, blaming Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater for his decision and describing the sales process as "horrible".

Slater, who was biodiversity minister at the time, had put the sale on hold after Isle of Rum Community Trust raised concerns, including over what it said was a lack of information on what was planned for the building.

Getty Images The skin of a lion, its mouth open in a roar, is spread out on a deep red carpet in a room inside the castle.Getty Images
The property was built and furnished 125 years ago for an industrialist

Rum is one of the Small Isles off the west Highland coast.

Kinloch Castle was built between 1897 and 1900 as a hunting lodge for Lancastrian industrialist George Bullough, who had it luxuriously furnished.

It is the only example of a house designed by Leeming and Leeming, London-based architects specialising in commercial and municipal properties.

The property fell into decline after World War One and was taken over in 1957 by NatureScot's predecessor, the Nature Conservancy Council.

It has required extensive restoration work over the years.