‘Harrods of the Highlands’ on sale for £50m

The clothes, food and homeware retailer, which occupies an 11-acre site near Pitlochry, Perthshire, is expected to receive interest from trade and luxury goods companies.

The company’s owners, husband and wife Mark and Linda Birkbeck, now in their 60s, plan to retire and are said to be considering offers they have received over the past 15 years.

Yesterday, Patrick Birkbeck, their son and the current managing director of House of Bruar, said: “Yes, the main plan is for Mark and Linda to retire, and if that then results in the business being sold at the same time, that is what will happen.”

The Birkbecks launched the House of Bruar in 1995 with the profits from the sale of their chain of high street stores, Jumpers. Over the years it has become Scotland’s most prestigious independent store, attracting more than one million customers each year, with annual profits of £3.6m last year – a figure expected to rise to £4.7m next year.

The key to the store’s success has been its wide range of clothing inspired by the style of the country landowner, which dates back 150 years.

The House of Bruar design team now work together with a number of British mills to produce their own exclusive cloths in tweeds, plaids and twills in both wool and cashmere.

Over the years, the site has undergone 22 different extensions, most recently last autumn when a new menswear hall opened.

Today the House of Bruar consists of ladies country clothing, ladies fashion clothing and accessories, a cashmere hall – believed to be the biggest in Britain – men’s country clothing, country living, gifts and homeware, a vast food hall with delicatessen and butchery, a 600-seat restaurant and an art gallery.

The family, who remain the principal shareholders, hope to achieve the £50m sale price as the business has net assets with an estimated value of £20.4m, an annual profit of £4m and no debt. The company is also examining ways to expand its current online business.

Mr Birkbeck, who hopes to remain as managing director after the sale, said: “My parents feel the time is right to retire. They have spent 40 years in the trade just getting to that level and they have been reducing the amount of time they have been spending on the business, so now is the time to formally retire and we hope to accomplish that within the next six months.”