Hope that Gateway may be sold soon

Anita Rogan, The Citizen, 16 February 2001

Agents behind the Gateway Centre, on the edge of St Andrews, have said that they are hopeful of securing a sale for the distinctive building within weeks.

The senior surveyor with Edinburgh-based selling agents, Chestertons, Mr Brian Gilmour, revealed this week that the company had recently been in talks with four different interested parties and said he was optimistic a deal could be struck before the advent of Spring.

The four new parties are a mix of UK and international companies and at least one has golfing connections.

The new interest comes in the wake of a decision by Chestertons to re-launch the Gateway with an asking price of offers over £2.5 million, after they failed to secure a buyer by the original closing date of September 1 last year.

Speaking on the long-drawn-out marketing process, Mr Gilmour said the firm had been in discussion with and received a number of offers from interested parties for the centre. However, a deal had not been struck due to a number of factors - not all to do with price.

He explained: “All the current interested parties have been made aware of the trading restrictions which exist for the centre, as well as the fact that space will have to be allocated for a museum and information centre for St Andrews university.

“All the organisations have been putting funding in place and drawing up solid business plans, and there have been a number of viewings and discussions, both with us and with the receivers, Grant Thornton. What we don’t want is what happened to St Andrews International to happen with another company”.

Before it went on the market during last year’s Open, the Gateway Centre’s future seemed assured, with a secure, though slightly convoluted arrangement which saw the bottom level allocated as a reception and museum area for St Andrews university, and the upper level housing the exclusive international “Golf Club of St Andrews”.

However, as the original opening date of mid-May drew nearer and was then postponed until June, rumours began circulating that all was not well with the company behind it.

Matters came to a head shortly after when it was revealed that the company, St Andrews International Ltd, had gone into receivership and that the property was to be put on the market.

The world-wide media interest which accompanied the Open brought an immediate flurry of interest in the centre, but despite all efforts, a deal failed to be struck by the time of the September closing date.

Since then, the price of the Gateway has tumbled from its construction cost of £9 million to just over £2.5 million. However, even that has failed to secure a buyer.

But Mr Gilmour concluded: “We are a lot further down the road of getting a sale than we were before Christmas, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a sale with the Gateway concluded within the next couple of months”.

A university of St Andrews spokeswoman, added: “Naturally, we hope that matters can be resolved as quickly as possible, as we attach great importance to the development of the museum and other facilities which we hope to provide to our students, staff and the general public”.