Capital firm awarded contract for new boutique hotel in Edinburgh

The Grade A Buchan House is set to be restored.

Development company  S Harrison picked Sharkey to transform a historic Edinburgh building into the latest hotel for the Malmaison Hotel du Vin Group. The Grade A listed Buchan House is located in a prime position on St Andrew Square in the heart of the city’s New Town. The work will transform it into a 72-bedroom Malmaison hotel complete with Chez Mal Bar and Brasserie.

York-based S Harrison has also now signed a forward funding agreement, with an end value in excess of £25 million, with a FTSE 100 pension fund to finance the development. S Harrison was advised by the Edinburgh offices of Ryden and Brodies and the fund was represented by CMS, D2 Property and Christie & Co.

When the 72-bedroom hotel opens in 2019, it will be the second Malmaison in the City and will create around 50 new jobs. The building’s period features will be restored and Malmaison will inject its distinctive, stylish aesthetic to make Buchan House a unique hotel offering within the famous Georgian architecture of the New Town.

S Harrison’s development director David Clancy said: “We’re delighted that work is under way to restore this historic building and give it a new lease of life as an exceptional hotel in a highly sought after location.

“Sharkey has a strong track record working on prestigious hotel projects throughout the UK and an unrivalled local knowledge of the Edinburgh market, which made them the ideal contractor for this development.”

Billy Harrison, managing director of Sharkey added: “This is a high profile hotel development at the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town, which makes it a superb project to be working on. In recent years we’ve successfully completed a vast range of hotel projects throughout the UK, for many leading names in the industry, and will utilise all our sector experience to create a stunning, landmark hotel that Edinburgh can be proud of.”

The new hotel will complement the popular Malmaison Edinburgh Leith, which famously occupies the site of a former brothel, and was the first ever Malmaison to open in 1994.

S Harrison has built a strong and growing presence in Edinburgh following its successful £23m redevelopment of a site on Leith Walk in 2016. The site was formerly part of Edinburgh’s original Botanic Gardens and was transformed into a 240-bedroom, student accommodation scheme.

S Harrison has also recently bought two other sites in the Leith and Haymarket areas of the city and continues to explore other opportunities in the area.