Machrihanish Dunes
August 9, 2009 by Perspective Magazine | Timeshare & Fractional ReviewsKintyre Development Company Offers Fractional Ownership Alongside Historic Scottish Links in the ‘Very Cradle of Celtic Scotland’
By Matt McDaniel
A brand new shared ownership resort project is being built in Machrihanish, a small village on the tip of the Kintyre peninsula – called the Mull of Kintyre – on Scotland’s west coast. But while parts of the fractional resort are brand new, the property itself has ties to the earliest days of golf.
Despite the awe-inspiring beauty of the area where land meets sea, it is the seaside golf that is truly the heart of the resort. A centerpiece of the project’s marketing campaign is the tag line, “The Way Golf Began,” which is a reference to the historic DNA found in the resort’s newly opened links course, Machrihanish Dunes. What’s more, the resort is adjacent to Machrihanish Golf Club with its Old Tom Morris designed course (which in 2008 was ranked 39th in Golf Digest’s “Top 100 Courses Outside the U.S.”).
So it’s only natural that U.K.-based developer Kintyre Development Company (KDC) is creating fractional golf residences here. “We invested in the property in 2006,” says David Southworth, president and CEO of Southworth Development LLC, which owns the controlling interest in KDC through an affiliated company. Southworth development is a U.S.-based golf, resort and residential development company that has served as developer, manager, consultant and/or construction manager to more than 40 properties during the past 18 years through its affiliated companies. “We started as a minority owner [at Machrihanish Dunes] and were the management company for all the different products: the golf, the hotel, and fractional,” Southworth notes. “We thought the project was unique and special,” so when the opportunity came to buy out most of the shares in the business, his company acted on it.
And golf is what makes this property “unique and special.” Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club, opened to the public on 2 May 2009, boasts the first 18-hole links golf course to be built on the west coast of Scotland in 100 years. Course Architect and Scotsman David McLay Kidd, who is internationally acclaimed for his design of Bandon Dunes in Oregon and The Castle Course at St. Andrews, created the 7,175-yard course that features six greens and five tees at the ocean’s edge. The course has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a designation similar to the National Historic Register in the United States, explains Southworth.
The resort is indeed a golfer’s paradise. Five of the world’s top courses are within a 35-mile radius, with four having hosted the Open Championship. Courses including Turnberry, Prestwick and Royal Troon in Scotland, and Royal County Down and Royal Portrush (the only Irish golf course ever to host the Open Championship) are within an hour away by plane or, in some cases, boat.
The Ugadale and Royal Hotels
While Machrihanish Dunes provides a golfing experience par excellence, the lodging options are top notch as well. Several projects are in various stages of completion at the Village at Machrihanish Dunes.
The Ugadale Hotel is the official hotel of the Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club. Currently, the historic hotel is undergoing renovation and restoration. The hotel overlooks the famous first hole at Machrihanish Golf Club (widely regarded as “the most spectacular opening hole in golf”) and will feature 22 rooms as well as a malt whisky bar and local-seafood restaurant. The restoration, scheduled to finish in early 2011, will act to complement the existing cottages and further the services and amenities of the village.
Next door, The Old Clubhouse Pub & Restaurant, once the original clubhouse for Machrihanish Golf Club, has undergone a complete interior transformation.
Once again, the classic Scottish pub serves as a warm and welcoming central meeting place for visitors and locals alike.
In addition, the developer also owns and is renovating another historic lodging establishment, the Royal Hotel in nearby (about eight kilometers) Campbeltown. Guests staying at any Village at Machrihanish will have charging privileges at the Royal as well.
“The Ugadale and the Royal were the jewels in the crown for this market a hundred years ago,” Southworth says. “These properties were built the right way, with all the finest detail. What we’re doing is simply restoring them to the grandeur with which they were founded. We’re obviously updating them, because some of the guestrooms didn’t have full bathrooms before. But we’re doing that in such a way that maintains the original character and ambience of the hotel.”
The Ugadale Golf Cottages
The final development, the Ugadale Golf Cottages, will be available as 32 residences that blend with the natural landscape. Finished in highest quality stone and slate-roof exteriors, “the cottages were built with traditional architecture and layout for that area of Scotland,” says Southworth.
Each cottage has two bedrooms, each with a zipped king bed which can be separated into two twin beds. In addition, each cottage has a pull-out couch which can accommodate an additional two guests, making it possible for six people to stay.
Interiors will be finished in natural stone, hardwoods and stainless steel and fully furnished and finished to international four-star standards with an eye toward casual elegance. Wools and overstuffed furniture adorn the interiors to create a “club” feel.
The cottages have been thoughtfully configured to best accommodate visiting golfers and are fully serviced and professionally managed. The eight completed cottages have spectacular views of Machrihanish’s beautiful landscape and the Atlantic Ocean.
Fractionals with a Guaranteed Return
KDC is constructing the cottages in three phases. A limited number of cottages are being offered to the public on a freehold fractional ownership basis, which provides a heritable title that will be registered in the Land Register of Scotland.
The title may be sold or passed on to family. Freeholds are being sold in four-week fractions, which will be made up from a fixed week in each season. Phase I of the cottages is complete, consisting of eight units ready for fractional ownership. There is no exchange component.
In Phase 1, when a fraction is purchased, the owner (or, where the purchaser is multiple individuals or an entity, one identified nominee) will also receive the right to play golf at Machrihanish Dunes free of charge. Owners of fractions and their guests will be entitled to preferred tee times at Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club, as well as discounted greens fees. For golfers, these may be the most-valuable benefits of ownership.
James Garland, general manager, explains another surprising incentive: “We’re offering a 7% investment return per annum – a guaranteed return for the first three years. Even if there’s a shortfall, the company will make up the difference.” “The reason we can do that,” adds Southworth, “is that currently in the Machrihanish and Campbeltown market, the supply and demand for overnight lodging is way out of whack. There’s really no supply to service the demand. So, the 7% return is for those who do not use their units for the first three years, because we can then put them into the rental pool.” The bottom-line numbers make his a compelling offer. “Seven percent in today’s world isn’t too bad,” he says.
Sales and Marketing
Prices for the cottages start at £39,900 and vary based on size, configuration, location and the specific weeks included.
The primary target audiences are the English and Scottish markets, with the United States as a secondary market. “It’s primarily golf enthusiasts, and specifically links golf enthusiasts, as well as people that come to Machrihanish and Campbeltown for holidays,” says Southworth. “On the latter group, the people that have always been vacationing there, this in a way is just kind of a better mousetrap – it’s a new product that has all the conveniences that people are looking for.” In addition, the resort is making use of Southworth Development’s U.S. database. “We get a lot of Americans at Machrihanish,” says Southworth.
Marketing is to high-end prospective owners; Garland says potential owners have £50,000 in the bank or
incomes in excess of £100,000 per year. “We’re working with an estate agency in the UK, Clyde Property, located in the wealthy parts of west coast of Scotland, which is one of the reasons we’ve chosen them,” says Garland. “And we’re also working with a further company who are doing a specific target market there, aiming at the top 500 owners within the UK. Outside of that, we are working with HSBC and their Premier Golf Network,” placing highly targeted regional advertisements and working with outside companies to develop golf and accommodation packages, and partnering with Visit Scotland to promote the area.
Future Plans
Southworth and Garland say much more development is to come at Machrihanish Dunes. The second of the three planned villages will also include single-family home sites and straight condominium ownership.
Outside of the Mull of Kintyre, Southworth Development has five other current projects currently, including a
fractional property in the Bahamas. “As far as our future and how we grow, it’s just to continue to do what makes sense,” says Southworth. “There might be another opportunity or two out there right now.”
Matt McDaniel has reported on the shared-ownership industry for more than a decade, but especially enjoys writing about Scotland, his ancestral home.
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