The Carrick at Loch Lomond

THE PROJECT:

Half an hour’s drive from Glasgow Airport and about 45 minutes from the City Centre and located just north of the internationally acclaimed Cameron House hotel and resort and a mile south of the world famous Loch Lomond Golf Club, The Carrick was originally conceptualized as a golf resort with luxury Villas which were to be offered on a shared ownership basis.

The development plan also included the building of one or more blocks of luxury two bedroomed apartments and it was some these two bedroom apartments within The Carrick’s Colquhoun Mansion House which have now been offered for sale on a fractional ownership basis.  Included in the fractional ownership package is membership of The Carrick Golf Club and Spa – with a championship standard golf course set before the magnificent silhouette of Ben Lomond and a world class spa with relaxing and reviving treatments, an infinity pool and rooftop treatment rooms.

The Carrick development, located on the shores of Loch Lomond, is an area of outstanding natural beauty, within National Park land.  The project was developed around a championship quality golf course created by Canadian Golf Course designer Doug Carrick and the course was laid out across the fault line which separates the Scottish Highlands from the Lowlands, with nine holes lying in the Lowlands of Scotland and nine in the Highlands.

The course has a superb Clubhouse with a fine dining restaurant and first class spa facility.  Luxury lodges of two, three and four bedroom configuration were planned for the resort and were to be offered for sale on a vacation ownership basis, as well as the self-contained apartments comprised within the “the Mansion Houses” so that when fully complete, the resort would comprise a total 96 properties broken down as to 78 lodges and 18 Mansion House apartments.

Both Lodges and Apartments were fitted out to the highest specifications and included designer kitchens and bathrooms; luxury leather suites and furniture, Edinburgh crystal and were fully equipped with Bang and Olufsen audio visual equipment.

THE CLIENT:

The client for whom the initial study was undertaken was De Vere Hotels and Resorts which is the UK’s leading provincial hotel chain with a collection of 11 of the most unique hotel properties in the UK.  From the breathtaking Cameron House on the banks of Loch Lomond, idyllic rural retreats such as Slaley Hall in Hexham, Northumberland, to famous seaside resorts like The Grand in Brighton, De Vere combines distinctive architecture and outstanding levels of hospitality service. The design and implementation work was carried out for De Vere Resort Ownership limited, its highly successful shared ownership subsidiary.

THE BRIEF:

The assignment undertaken by Dean & Associates comprised, inter alia

• a review of the building and development approvals granted for the project so as to determine whether a Fractional Ownership product could be added to the product mix at The Carrick;
• Precise seasonality analysis so to facilitate equitable usage across the defined seasons by Fractional Owners;
• Financial modelling for the Fractional offerings and Annual Dues analysis;
• Creation of a complete set of Fractional Ownership Product documents;
• Guidance on the implementation of the fractional offerings and assistance with the development of appropriate marketing strategies.

 

THE APPROACH:

Having understood the usage constraints imposed by the Planning Authorities and with the benefit of local legal advice, it was deemed feasible to incorporate a Fractional Offering utilising some of the Mansion House inventory.

The assignment necessitated the retro-fitting of a Fractional Ownership Plan to the existing vacation ownership structure [real estate laws in Scotland are very different to those in place in England and Wales] and whilst this is not the ideal starting point, the product structuring objective was achieved without disturbing the existing legal framework and the Fractional Offering adopted usage arrangements which were also fully compliant with the Resort’s planning entitlements.

The seasonality matrix also facilitated the sale of either a quarter share comprising 12 weeks of annual usage; an eight week share or a four week share, so as to have a range of price points and so as to be able to respond to any significant changes in market conditions within the United Kingdom. The initial launch was for the Quarter Share product given the savings that the targeted sales absorption would bring about in marketing and sales costs, through having to make fewer actual sales.  The eight week and four week offerings could be introduced subsequently if market conditions so warranted.

THE DELIVERABLES

The project’s success to date can be attributed to a number of factors:

• The location of the Resort, in an area of outstanding natural beauty but still very proximate to Glasgow’s City Centre, with its own range of activities and amenities, including a vibrant arts scene;
• The quality of the physical product and its excellent amenity base;
• A very focused, experienced and professional marketing and sales team with a deep understanding of their target market;
• The ability to leverage De Vere’s brand and use the nearby Cameron House property as a marketing platform;
• A location which experiences strong repeat visitation;
• A dearth of high quality second home style properties within a market which had traditionally demonstrated both high prices for outright second home properties but with limited supply;
• The granting of National Park status to the area in which the Resort was developed, thereby minimizing future development possibilities.