Drinks Firm Diageo Sells Gleneagles Hotel

Alcoholic drinks giant Diageo (LSE: DGE.L - news) has announced the sale of the Gleneagles Hotel and golf resort to a private investment firm.

Diageo had owned and run the iconic Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire for 31 years.

The luxury resort has hosted events such as the 2014 Ryder Cup and the 2005 G8 Summit.

As reported by Sky News last week, the hotel will be taken over by Ennismore, a real estate hospitality company with its roots in Shoreditch, east London.

The firm develops and operates hotels across Europe and the United States and also owns the Hoxton hotel brand.

The price paid by Ennismore has not been officially announced but insiders said at least one other contender for the sale had offered £150m in an attempt to secure the hotel at auction.

A statement by Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes said: "Diageo is proud to have been the owner of Gleneagles but the hotel is not a core business for us and therefore following the success of the Ryder Cup we feel this is an appropriate time to realise value through this transaction.

"I am pleased that Diageo's brands, especially our Scotch brands, will continue to be an important feature at this iconic Scottish hotel.

"We wish Ennismore and all the staff at the hotel a successful future."

Gleneagles was first opened in 1924 and generated business revenues of £43.5m in the year ending 30 June 2014.

It had an operating profit of £2.6m with a return on invested capital of 4% based on book value for the same year.