Belmont House sold as family home, holiday and event venue

Belmont House in Unst.

The historic Belmont House in Unst has been sold, its former owners have confirmed.

The Belmont Trust, which was set up to restore the Grade A listed building in 1996, made the announcement on Friday.

Trust chairman Mike Finnie said: “We are delighted that new owners are making Belmont House their family home, and also will be continuing to run the property as a holiday and event venue.

“Over the past 25 years our volunteer trustees have put in an enormous amount of work in the restoration and then successful running of Belmont House.

“We are very grateful for the support of the many folk in Unst and Shetland who have contributed to making Belmont a success.

“The Belmont Trust has achieved its aim of restoring the house for future generations.”

The trust bought the 18th century Georgian villa for £5 after it had fallen into disrepair. Trustees led a £1m restoration programme to return the building to its former glory.

It won various restoration awards since its completion in 2011 and has been let out as a self-catering property and wedding and conference venue for the past 10 years.

The house, together with two acres of landscaped grounds, went on the market last summer with an asking price of £395,000.

Mr Finnie said the trust had accepted the most “advantageous bid”.

Following the sale, he said the trustees intended to wind up the charity, with remaining funds to be dispersed “in line with our charitable purpose”.