An Aberdeen city centre hotel has changed hands and is poised for a new lease of life, with up to 20 new jobs, after “temporarily” shutting more than two years ago.
Thai company Compass Hospitality said Rox Hotel, on Market Street, was its seventh in Scotland and part of UK expansion plans. The company now has 17 sites in Britain.
Rox – formerly known as the Metro and before that the Bon Accord – was acquired for an undisclosed sum through a joint venture between Compass and Singapore-based Seacare Hospitality.
It is more than 13 years since Aberdeen businessman John Mitchell unveiled plans to convert the Metro, which he had acquired from his brother, George, two years earlier, saying he was ploughing “a few million pounds” into creating a four-star establishment.
The eight-storey hotel previously belonged to Syrian businessman Jamie Dikir and before him Buchan farmer Joseph Penny.
Bangkok-based Compass said it was in the midst of a post-pandemic surge in acquisitions.
A spokeswoman for the company added Rox may reopen as early as next week “all going well”.
Rox closed in March 2020 at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic and was swiftly put on the market with a £2 million price tag.
The new operator’s spokeswoman said: “We will be undertaking a substantial recruitment drive to fill between 15-20 available positions.”
We are confident that this will be another profitable venture into the robust and enduring UK hospitality sector.”
Harmil Singh, chief executive, Compass Hospitality.
According to Compass, its latest acquisition will feature “Aberdeen’s premier chandelier-lit ballroom” and function space for 180 guests”.
The firm continued: “This modern, four-star, 32-bedroom property boasts well-equipped en-suite accommodation, inclusive of 2 luxurious suites.
“The hotel also offers the 100-cover Rox Grill Room restaurant, in addition to the 70-cover on-site cafe and bar.”
Rox will continue to “welcome UK inbound and domestic visitors and tourists alike, as well as maintaining its base of local corporate guests”, Compass added.
Harmil Singh, chief executive, Compass, said: “The addition of this delightful four-star property to our expanding UK hotel portfolio demonstrates our confidence, particularly in the Scottish hospitality market, and we continue to look forward optimistically to further growth in this area.”
Seacare chief executive Chye Teen Lim said: “We are thrilled to welcome the Rox Hotel Aberdeen into our diverse portfolio of projects and to once again be collaborating with Compass Hospitality.
“We are confident that this will be another profitable venture into the robust and enduring UK hospitality sector.”
Compass is said to be one of south-east Asia’s fastest-growing hospitality management companies, managing and operating a portfolio of 50 properties across all market segments.
The group expanded into the UK market in 2015, while it also operates hotels, resorts, executive serviced apartments and spas – under its Compass, Citrus, Citin and Anandain brands – in Thailand and Malaysia.
Its other Scottish hotels are in Glasgow, Dumfries, Dundee, Inverness and Perth. It operates two hotels in Inverness – the Craigmonie, on Annfield Road, and the Columba, on Ness Walk.
