A BUYER has finally been lined up for Kinloch Castle, the huge mansion in Rum owned by NatureScot, and plans to turn it into an upmarket hotel.
The 20-bedroom property went on the market in August 2025, with an “offers over” price set at just £750,000, or the price of a smart Edinburgh flat.
The Scottish Government nature agency said in April it was considering a number of bids. Now it says it is in legal talks with a “preferred bidder”, who has not been named but who has laid out plans for the place.
The key to finalisation of the sale will be what the buyer intends to do with the castle, with the agency acutely aware that it has to satisfy building conservation campaigners worried about the fabric of the building, and islanders worried about the impact of change.
The property is Category A listed, and has had dry rot, damp and a host of other issues. Agents marketing the property have said any buyer will need at least £10 million for repairs.
The nature agency says the bidder intends to repair and restore the castle “according to conservation best practice” to protect its historic fabric and interiors.
It said he or she intends to turn the sandstone pile into a “boutique heritage hotel”, laying on cultural, educational and ecotourism experiences for visitors.
And the plans also include creating jobs for local people plus training programmes, and to work in partnership with islanders and other organisations.
The property was built at the turn of the 20th century by the immensely wealthy Bullough family, who owned the entire island, as a hunting lodge.
It features lavish decorations and much of the gaudy interior is still intact.
It was acquired by the agency when it bought Rum from the Bulloughs in 1957, and turned the island into a nature reserve.
But after being used to host local events and as a hotel and hostel for visitors, it was shut in 2015 and it is now closed off with steel barriers, with the agency saying it is costing it around £64,000 a year just in maintenance.
In a statement, NatureScot said: “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.”
It added: “We are continuing legal discussions with the preferred bidder with a view to agreeing the missives this autumn.”
As well as the huge cost of restoring the building, any hotel plans will face barriers including ferry cancellations, the problems of supplying the island west of Mallaig and south of Skye, and the shortage of labour, with only about 40 people living on the island.
The community now owns the area of the island around the village of Kinloch, surrounding the castle, and among the concerns of islanders over its future is that a huge influx of people to work at a hotel could disrupt the social balance of the island.
There are also concerns that an owner wealthy enough to restore the building could themselves have a disproportionate influence on the community.
A previous sale in 2023 fell through when the buyer pulled out after the community raised concerns.
The building itself, though Category A listed, is made of soft red sandstone, imported from the south of Scotland and unsuited to the Hebridean climate, and is built around a steel frame.
The Bulloughs made their money in the Lancashire cotton industry and islanders have disparagingly described the structure as “a cotton mill with turrets”.
