A former north-east prison once dubbed “Scotland’s hate factory” has been sold to a local engineering giant.
Peterhead-based Score Group said it plans to create up to 40 jobs with the purchase of the former HMP Peterhead, which will be used as a new training centre and storage facility.
A number of trainees and apprentices will also be taken on.
Neither Score nor the Scottish Prison Service would put a price on the sale.
However, deputy managing director Conrad Ritchie said the firm intended to provide the “best value for the town” by boosting the prospects of local youngsters.
“Acquiring this site presents us with an opportunity to grow our training provision, which we feel will benefit both the company and the surrounding community,” he said.
“We are undertaking this project on our own and have purchased the site with no support from any government funding bodies, our offer will have represented the best value for SPS and we are going to make sure it means best value for the town.”
Mr Ritchie said the firm intended to deliver on that promise by creating jobs and training young people.
“As an employer we feel that it is important that the youth in this area know that there are opportunities for them to undertake apprenticeships and acquire qualifications with our company,” he added.
Mr Ritchie was a staunch opponent of plans to merge Banff and Buchan College with Aberdeen College, claiming the move – finalised in November – would undermine the work his firm had done to date.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Prison Service said: “We can confirm that the former HMP Peterhead site has been sold.”
The prison closed its doors in December to make way for the new HMP Grampian “superjail”.
The £140million replacement has been the scene of a series of disturbances, including a drunken 14-hour siege last month which resulted in almost £250,000 of damage.
More than 40 prisoners barricaded themselves into a second-floor cell block during the stand-off with staff last month.
Score Group, which provides engineering, research, design, supply, repair, manufacturing and training services worldwide, recently opened a new base at Fraserburgh and is footing the bill for a new medical surgery in nearby Crimond.
The firm, which has its headquarters on the outskirts of Peterhead, already operates from 30 locations in more than 20 countries.