The 55-room Sandyford Hotel in Glasgow was the first hotel that the Khunga Group purchased in 2010 followed by the Castlecary Hotel in October 2017 and Glenskirlie Castle in 2023. When deciding to buy Castlecary, they refinanced from another lender to us, and noted the change was like “night and day”. From the very beginning of the Khunga Group’s journey with us, their dedicated relationship manager built a strong relationship, and they were “delighted with the smooth transition. Any help or support we needed was provided at the time, we always received a helpful response”.
The venture with Castlecary was different to anything that Mohinder and Ranjit had done before. This time, they were focusing on the services provided in the hotel as well as the accommodation. This presented its own set of challenges, like how to free up the function suite for conferences and events. Before the Khunga Group had bought the hotel, the suite was being used as seating for the restaurant.
To make the space useable again, Mohinder and Ranjit decided to change the pub-style restaurant to a more modern bar and grill. With our property development loan, they were able to complete an extension and build of the bar and grill in May/June 2019. Alongside all this hard work, they opened five more bedrooms as high-spec honeymoon suites, three additional double rooms and have installed LED lighting throughout.
The original boiler system also needed updating, having been the same way for around 50 years. “There were around 16 or 17 boilers sitting at different places throughout the property,” Mohinder says. “I felt that the layout of the site was very disjointed and could work better to service the 52 bedrooms.”
The Khunga Group worked with us to update Castlecary’s boiler system to just eight boilers on site, all working much more efficiently. They said: “Barclays were a wee shiny light and always fighting our corner. They had local expertise and understood our needs. The partnership has a family feel, with regular contact and genuine understanding.”
With the Castlecary Hotel now having 52 bedrooms, a new restaurant and dedicated function suite, it has plenty of facilities to host weddings, conferences, private parties, and much more.
The Khunga Group are discussing their next property development loan with us, hoping to develop Glenskirlie Castle into a high-end wedding venue, following the success of the Castlecary Hotel. This will involve adding 20 bedrooms, installing a new restaurant and lounge bar, building a terrace in front of the restaurant and an extra car park.
“Our ambition now is to buckle down and focus on growing Castlecary and Glenskirlie Castle,” say Mohinder and Ranjit. “Without our partnership with Barclays, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve the growth we have so far. It’s a marriage made in heaven.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“Barclays were a wee shiny light and always fighting our corner.”
Khunga Group, General Manager, September 2024.