Stagecoach co-founder Dame Ann Gloag has put Beaufort Castle in the Highlands up for sale.
It is located directly north of Kiltarlity, 13 miles west of Inverness and four miles south-west of Beauly.
The Perth bus tycoon, 80, retired from Stagecoach in 2019 after 40 years of working in the business with her brother.
The public notice of the sale comes five months after she was charged in connection with an investigation into alleged human trafficking and immigration offences.
Her husband David McCleary, 72, stepdaughter Sarah Gloag, 47, and her son-in-law Paul McNeil were also charged.
At the time, a spokesman for Miss Gloag said: “Dame Ann strongly disputes the malicious allegations that have been made against her, her foundation and members of her family, and will vigorously defend herself.”
What is up for sale at Beaufort Castle?
Beaufort Castle, which is a category A listed building, was associated with the Clan Fraser for more than 600 years.
The original castle was built in the 12th century, but the current version was constructed in 1880.
Miss Gloag bought the ancestral home of the family in 1994 for around £1.5million due to the family having to pay an inheritance tax bill.
On the Rightmove online listing, no picture of the outside of the building is shown, and it is only represented with a picture of a hallway with a suit of armour in it.
However, it has since been confirmed that it is indeed Beaufort Castle.
It is described as having a number of key features, including:
- 26-bedroom principal property
- Chapel with organ and vestry
- Six residential cottages
- A total of 127 acres including woodland, pastureland, and arable ground
- Biomass heating system
- Six reception rooms
What could happen to Beaufort Castle in the future?
Also on the for sale page is a sentence which states additional land is available for “further potential residential and recreational development opportunities”.
It is not clear what developments this could include but in the past Miss Gloag has shown interest in changing Beaufort Castle.
In 2019, she submitted plans for a glamping field and 50 wood cabins with a cafe and wash house.
She had previously unsuccessfully attempted to turn 400 acres of the Beauly estate into a golf and country club.
Dame Gloag’s business success with Stagecoach
Miss Gloag, who grew up in a council house, decided to found Stagecoach – alongside her brother – with her bus driver father’s redundancy money and two second-hand buses.
The Perth-based firm grew out of Margaret Thatcher’s privatisation and deregulation of the bus industry throughout the 1980s.
Now it is the UK’s biggest bus company, employing more than 24,000 people.
According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2020, she and her brother, Sir Brian Souter, were worth £730 million, although that was a decrease of £145 million from the previous year.
Since stepping down, Miss Gloag has been focusing on her philanthropic work.
She set up The Gloag Foundation in 2004 which supports projects that “prevent or relieve poverty” in the UK and abroad.
