Rumors that Castle Stuart is "for sale" are "wide of the mark, though new investment is being sought" by Mark Parsinen, the managing partner and co-designer of the course near Inverness, according to Martin Dempster of the SCOTSMAN. Castle Stuart GM Stuart McColm said, "There is not a 'for sale' sign outside the door." He sought to explain "how the speculation had come about in the countdown to it staging the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open for a fourth time." McColm said, "We recently employed Christie & Co., who are property consultants, to widen an already international global network that we’ve got in terms of trying to find the right investment partner, and the reason we’ve done that is because we all want to get the next phase of the development here moving." It involves a second championship course, "which will be an Arnold Palmer signature layout, as well as a par-3 course and various properties being built, including two hotels, a spa and leisure facility." The 17th century castle "that gives the course its name has also been earmarked for refurbishment." McColm: "Mark can’t afford to fund it himself, so he has crossed the bridge of perhaps taking in a significant partner that might dilute everyone else. But he’s not worried about that because, at 67, he wants to get us over the line. ... We have a couple of seriously interested parties who want to invest in Castle Stuart, but we are leaving no stone unturned, which is why we are employing Christie & Co. It’s as a result of that, of course, that the rumors have been circulating and we’ve been trying to quash them because we are not for sale" (SCOTSMAN, 5/1).
