Dubai's Jumeirah scraps six-star Scottish hotel

Dubai luxury hotelier Jumeirah Group has scrapped plans for a so-called ‘six-star’ property in the Scottish city of Glasgow, according to its CEO.

The $200m Jumeirah Glasgow Hotel was originally set to open in 2011, and was billed as the jewel in the crown in a huge rejuvenation of the Scottish city. The $200m glass-fronted, 26 storey tower was to include 160 luxurious guest rooms, 85 serviced apartments, an infinity pool and Scotland’s largest ballroom.

However, the project was plagued with delays which culminated in the hotel’s developer going into administration.
“The owner decided not to go ahead with it,” Group CEO and president Gerald Lawless told Arabian Business.

“Therefore they decided to cancel that project, and it won’t happen as Jumeirah. We’ve terminated with them. We had that option because it was already well beyond the start and finish date. That happens in management agreements - sometimes 25% to 35% of projects never see the light of day.”

Lawless added that the decision had been taken “six to nine months ago”. The site of the proposed hotel is currently listed for sale at £125m.

He said that the hotelier was still looking at other options for hotels in the UK. “I’d see plenty of potential for Jumeirah in the UK because the market is so aware of Jumeirah.”

Lawless added that though that the group’s current focus was seeking new management agreements in “the Middle East Africa and Asia” and any properties in the British market would be “opportunistic”.

Jumeirah, which operates Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, currently has 18 new properties in its pipeline, including hotels in Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Morocco, Oman, and India, as well as five in China.

The group is also expanding its Madinat Jumeirah leisure and retail complex in Dubai, with construction set to be completed in 2015.