More than 15 elderly people have been moved to new accommodation after a north-east care home closed its doors yesterday.
Almost 20 full and part-time staff from St Andrews Nursing Home in Ballater now face an uncertain future.
The home was put on the market for more than £1million in August but no offers were made on the property.
In a statement released yesterday, receivers Tenon Recovery said the home had been making losses for a sustained period and said there was no alternative but to close its doors.
The company’s Iain Fraser said it had not been an easy decision.
He said: “We very much regret the closure, and have kept the home trading for much longer than would normally be the case for a commercial enterprise in the hope that a buyer might be found.
“Sadly, that has not been the case and we have no option but to close the business.
“My team and I will provide as much help as we can to families and residents on the options now available to them.”
The last remaining residents, 13 of whom were under the care of Aberdeenshire Council, left the home yesterday.
Staff remained until late afternoon, carrying boxes in and out of the granite villa which sits on the town’s Braemar Road.
No one at the home would comment on the details of the closure or whether or not staff jobs were safe.
In town, news of the home’s demise was met with surprise.
One shop worker, who did not wish to be named, claimed a friend who worked at St Andrews had not been told about the closure until Wednesday.
“I knew it was in trouble but I suppose we thought it would be bought over. It’s happened all of a sudden,” she said.
Another local, who wanted to remain anonymous, described the closure as “a great mess” and said he heard one resident had been moved to a home in Torphins, around 20 miles away.
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said it had been a “challenging time” for everybody involved.
He added: “We have been working very closely with the care home, its residents and their families to arrange suitable alternative care provision for our residents living at the facility.
“Although this has been a challenging time, we have been fortunate in finding suitable accommodation within Aberdeenshire for all 13 of our residents.”