A popular Cairngorms ski resort that faced the threat of closure a year ago is now thriving thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign and new backers.
The Lecht 2090 starts the season with a renewed sense of optimism as ski lovers flock to the slopes under bluebird conditions.
Today over 600 people are expected at the ski centre, which is located between Cockbridge and Tomintoul on the A939, the highest A road in the UK.
It’s been a dramatic turnaround for the much-loved ski centre.
Managing director Iain Du Pon said they had an “appalling” season in 2023/24 when the ski centre faced closure due to lack of money.
Fighting for its survival, Lecht 2090 started a crowdfunding campaign encouraging supporters to buy lift passes, successfully raising over £20,000.
“Simplest way to put it is that the crowdfunding gave us enough working capital to survive the summer,” said Iain.
“And interest in the Lecht showed that the business was viable and allowed us to encourage investment into the business to help us move forward.”
New investors
Iain says the campaign attracted new backers, helping secure the the ski centre’s future.
“We basically had quite a hole in our finances left over from such a poor season last year,” he added.
“It was the second worst that we’ve had as far as our records go, back to the 70s.
“It was really, really tough, but on top of that we had also invested quite a lot of money just before last season to improve some of our lifts and our infrastructure, so it was a bit of a double whammy.”
This was compounded by the Lecht having to close during 2021 due to Covid restrictions when snow conditions were ideal.
The Lecht crew spent the summer wondering if they would even survive, says Iain.
“If the crowdfunding hadn’t been as successful then we wouldn’t be here just now,” he admits.
“Thankfully it raised quite a lot of money – in the tens of thousands – which was fantastic.
“But it also attracted new investors for the business and helped us secure more funding from shareholders and from other people wanting to get involved. Which was really ideal.
“It’s been very much that element that has put the icing on the cake and made sure that we can stay open.”
Lecht ski centre is ‘labour of love’
He said new shareholders want to be “quietly supportive” and their details remain confidential.
“The people we have attracted to the business are very, very encouraging and really want to see the business thrive,” he added. “Which is lovely.”
Iain, who runs a construction company in Glasgow, says his work as the Lecht’s managing director is very much a ‘labour of love’.
“We’re into second generation of a couple of families that run the hill,” he said. “My dad Pieter was one of the original founding directors with a few others, one of them being James McIntosh.
“James sadly passed away a couple of years ago and his daughter Annette is the general manager at the Lecht and I am now taking over from my dad as managing director.
“It really is a very family-orientated place and that’s where our customer base is strongest and that’s really where we are pushing it.”
Likewise, Iain says the snowsports community in Scotland and the UK is an extended family and he has been heartened by the support for Lecht 2090.
“We do have competitors in the other mountain resorts, but we do all get on very well and we all try and support each other where we can,” he adds.
“We all want to see Scottish snowsports really thrive.”
Conversation