Inverness’s new five-star hotel has openeed for business, bringing 65 new jobs to the city.
The 47-bedroom Ness Walk, a £7 million project, is the latest addition to Kingsmills Hotel Group’s portfolio.
Design and construction on the banks of the River Ness, on the site formerly home to the Springfield and Maple Court hotels, began last year.
And now, the rooms – including two luxury suites – and the 80-seater Torrish restaurant have opened.
In addition, Ness Walk will have a glass walled private event space available to hire for groups of up to 200.
Tony Story, chief executive of Kingsmills Hotel Group, said: “It is with great pride and excitement that we have opened the doors of Ness Walk and we look forward to welcoming guests who value great service and luxury.
“This venue will continue our commitment to delivering the highest levels of service in the best of surroundings and locations. Our adherence to those values has been instrumental in the success and growth of our business.”
The development was supported by £4.5 million of funding from Barclays.
This is not the first time Barclays has supported Kingsmills Hotel Group to grow. The bank has provided financing for a number of projects in recent years at the nearby 4-star Kingsmills Hotel, taking it to 147 rooms and increasing that venue’s conference facilities.
Gordon McKean, Relationship Director, Barclays Corporate Banking, led the deal, and said: “We are pleased to again be playing our part in supporting Kingsmills Hotel Group to further expansion. This is a thriving business which has established a good reputation in the region and is boosting that local community through the creation of further jobs.
“Tourism continues to be very strong in Scotland and we are pleased to be supporting hospitality and leisure businesses to capitalise on that and realise their growth ambitions.”
Since 2012, Barclays has provided the business with £20m of funding and during that time employee numbers at the group have grown from 75 to 185.
Mr Story added: “We have worked with Barclays for a number of years now and during that time we have established a strong relationship, which is in large part due to the open-minded approach Barclays has always adopted to supporting our goals.”