Having worked in the hospitality, licensed trade and leisure sectors for almost 20 years, Pete Seymour is accustomed to the peaks and troughs of the commercial property sector. As CateringScotland.com’s guest contributor, he is best placed to offer advice and guidance to current and potential buyers of hotels, bars, pubs, restaurants, catering premises and leisure facilities. Here he provides his annual overview of the Scottish hospitality property sector, both for 2025 and for the year ahead…
I wrote an article earlier in the year looking at the activity in the Scottish hotel market, suggesting that the tide was turning, and that we were starting to see growing activity in the market. As we drew to the end of the year and reflected on 2025, I was pleased to confirm that activity levels have significantly improved in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Pete Seymour
Back in 2024, we saw a 7% increase in single asset sales outside the London area. I do expect this to be a significantly improved statistic when the results of all transactions across the market is released in early 2026.
The Scottish hotel and leisure team at Graham and Sibbald oversaw a 104% increase in the volume of sales in the last calendar year. Covering hotels, pubs, restaurants, cafes, wedding venues and other leisure business across the spectrum, this improvement follows the trend we have seen in the increase in viewings and activity from purchasers during late 2024 and early 2025.
With over 6,000 active buyers, we have unrivalled insight into the market, and our data indicates that the majority of enquiries are for assets which are for sale, rather than for lease, suggesting that prospective buyers are looking for an asset-backed investment. The other key trend is that most buyers are flexible over geographical areas, which would suggest they are looking for a lifestyle business, a profitable existing operation, or a business that meets price and turnover over location.
The top three regions in which we are seeing interest include Edinburgh, the Highlands and Northwest England, all of which are strong tourist locations. This is not wholly surprising, as these are the three main areas where visitor numbers and recent publicity have supported the sector.
When reviewing our transactions, we can see that the marketing period for sales is around 10 months, while letting typically sits at around seven months. That being said, there are areas where sale periods are between 12 and 18 months, and patience is key when selling a business, as the process can take time to generate the right buyers. Of the last 140 deals completed by the team in Scotland, around 17% of these have achieved an above-asking price. Meanwhile, almost the same number (16.9%) achieved actual asking price, with an average of only 10% selling for less than the advertised amount. The majority of deals come in at slightly under the asking price.
Hotels above £500,000 tend to take longer to sell, with businesses above £1m taking the longest. Where as cafés/restaurants and takeaways tend to shift within a much shorter period – rarely exceeding 300 days – we also see that mid-market hotels take longer to sell than premium or high value assets.
So, what does all this mean for the year ahead? Well, there are still major headwinds to deal with, not least the increase in the minimum wage in March, as well as a review of the rateable values in April, initial findings of which would indicate that hotels will endure a 24% increase in rateable value, on average.
Roman Camp Hotel, Callander
That said, the team here are focused on concluding several more transactions in the first quarter of this year, so we are quietly confident, where we have the right price, that there are buyers out there. Patience is needed when selling your business, and the good news is that time on the market does not appear to affect the eventual sale price.
Pete Seymour is Head of Licensed Trade and Leisure Agency at Graham and Sibbald. Their team of specialist chartered surveyors work extensively in the Scottish hospitality sector, advising and assisting clients on all aspects of commercial property transactions.
Graham and Sibbald’s Market Overview 2025-2026
Having worked in the hospitality, licensed trade and leisure sectors for almost 20 years, Pete Seymour is accustomed to the peaks and troughs of the commercial property sector. As CateringScotland.com’s guest contributor, he is best placed to offer advice and guidance to current and potential buyers of hotels, bars, pubs, restaurants, catering premises and leisure facilities. Here he provides his annual overview of the Scottish hospitality property sector, both for 2025 and for the year ahead…
I wrote an article earlier in the year looking at the activity in the Scottish hotel market, suggesting that the tide was turning, and that we were starting to see growing activity in the market. As we drew to the end of the year and reflected on 2025, I was pleased to confirm that activity levels have significantly improved in 2025 compared to the previous year.
Back in 2024, we saw a 7% increase in single asset sales outside the London area. I do expect this to be a significantly improved statistic when the results of all transactions across the market is released in early 2026.
The Scottish hotel and leisure team at Graham and Sibbald oversaw a 104% increase in the volume of sales in the last calendar year. Covering hotels, pubs, restaurants, cafes, wedding venues and other leisure business across the spectrum, this improvement follows the trend we have seen in the increase in viewings and activity from purchasers during late 2024 and early 2025.
With over 6,000 active buyers, we have unrivalled insight into the market, and our data indicates that the majority of enquiries are for assets which are for sale, rather than for lease, suggesting that prospective buyers are looking for an asset-backed investment. The other key trend is that most buyers are flexible over geographical areas, which would suggest they are looking for a lifestyle business, a profitable existing operation, or a business that meets price and turnover over location.
The top three regions in which we are seeing interest include Edinburgh, the Highlands and Northwest England, all of which are strong tourist locations. This is not wholly surprising, as these are the three main areas where visitor numbers and recent publicity have supported the sector.
When reviewing our transactions, we can see that the marketing period for sales is around 10 months, while letting typically sits at around seven months. That being said, there are areas where sale periods are between 12 and 18 months, and patience is key when selling a business, as the process can take time to generate the right buyers. Of the last 140 deals completed by the team in Scotland, around 17% of these have achieved an above-asking price. Meanwhile, almost the same number (16.9%) achieved actual asking price, with an average of only 10% selling for less than the advertised amount. The majority of deals come in at slightly under the asking price.
Hotels above £500,000 tend to take longer to sell, with businesses above £1m taking the longest. Where as cafés/restaurants and takeaways tend to shift within a much shorter period – rarely exceeding 300 days – we also see that mid-market hotels take longer to sell than premium or high value assets.
So, what does all this mean for the year ahead? Well, there are still major headwinds to deal with, not least the increase in the minimum wage in March, as well as a review of the rateable values in April, initial findings of which would indicate that hotels will endure a 24% increase in rateable value, on average.
That said, the team here are focused on concluding several more transactions in the first quarter of this year, so we are quietly confident, where we have the right price, that there are buyers out there. Patience is needed when selling your business, and the good news is that time on the market does not appear to affect the eventual sale price.
Pete Seymour is Head of Licensed Trade and Leisure Agency at Graham and Sibbald. Their team of specialist chartered surveyors work extensively in the Scottish hospitality sector, advising and assisting clients on all aspects of commercial property transactions.
Visit www.g-s.co.uk for more information.