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EXCL The Trump Org is planning a new "world class coastal retreat" in Scotland. It says it'll meet growing demand for "investment opportunities" & mark its entry into the retirement property market. But there are Qs over the development & Trump's finances. https://www.scotsman.com/news/uk-news/revealed-trump-plans-build-new-world-class-coastal-retreat-scotland-2910997
Here’s a thread, with pics by my colleague @2point8_photos, spelling out some of the issues in play. The most obvious one is that this retreat, if approved, would represent one of the most ambitious and expensive projects undertaken by Trump’s firm since he became president.
It would also offer an unprecedented opportunity for individuals, investors & companies to buy into Trump Org’s vision of hundreds of properties peppering a picturesque part of Scotland's west coast - further stoking tensions between Trump’s private interests & his public office
The Trump Org has not announced this development, nor is it known about beyond a select few individuals and firms. But I've obtained a 15-page masterplan document produced by Trump Org's architects which sets out the scale of its vision in considerable detail.
The coastal retreat would comprise swaths of private homes, retirement villas, holiday homes available to buy or rent, luxury apartments, and rental cottages, all sited on farmland adjacent to Turnberry's Aisla course - his most prestigious overseas asset.
The 225 units, along with amenities, shops, trails, etc would be built in phases. It’s unclear how much would be spent, how it'll be financed, or how Covid-19 will impact on the plans. I repeatedly asked Trump Org and Trump Turnberry for comment. Neither firm responded.
As far as I’m aware, the development would mark the Trump Org’s first ever foray into retirement property. The masterplan says it is a “natural extension of its current trading assets,” and a response to “an ever-increasing demand for investment opportunities.”
Since Trump bought it in 2014, Turnberry's incurred losses of £42m+. It’s reliant on £114m+ in loans from a NY revocable trust he set up. Yet Trump Org seems determined to spend more £££ on an asset which stubbornly refuses to turn a profit. It is an interesting business plan.
. @patrickharvie, one of Trump’s arch critics in Scotland, told me: “[Trump’s] personal finances have never been transparent … rather than letting him help himself to another piece of Scotland's tourism industry, we should be going to court to seek an Unobtained Wealth Order"
If you don't know what UWOs are, how they work, and why they're mentioned in relation to Trump, this story I wrote for @TheScotsman in February might help: https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scots-ministers-told-seek-unexplained-wealth-order-donald-trump-resorts-2001733
Trump has wanted to build housing at Turnberry for a long time. He spoke about it in mid 2016, and since then, his son, @EricTrump, has been spearheading efforts to develop the Trump Org’s landholdings. I revealed its plans to build 87 units in 2018: https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/donald-trumps-turnberry-resort-plans-major-expansion-housing-and-luxury-villa-development-220890
The following year, I learned local planning officials had rejected the request to rezone swaths of farmland earmarked for the development. I asked the Trump Org how the decision would impact on its investment at Turnberry. Answer came there none: https://www.scotsman.com/news/uk-news/donald-trumps-plans-major-expansion-turnberry-resort-rejected-1406146
So what do you do? Some firms might retreat & forget the whole idea. If you’re Trump Org, you come back with a development that's not just bigger, but unprecedented in its scale. Its ‘coastal retreat’ masterplan, I've since found out, was finalised a month after my Oct '19 story.
It switched development from a small parcel of land near the village of Maidens to a far bigger expanse of farmland running alongside a disused airstrip at Turnberry. It once hosted the RAF during both world wars, but is used nowadays by dog walkers and horse riders.
So what now? I met up a few days ago with South Ayrshire Council’s leader, Peter Henderson. He told me there are no plans to rezone the land in question for housing under the council’s new local development plan (LDP), a guide for what development is allowed over the next decade.
But Trump Org is free at any time to submit a planning application for its new retreat. Its proposed economic benefits would be judged alongside the finalised LDP. In a remote, rural region dealing with a post-Covid-19 (and Brexit) financial reality, that's not insignificant.
Will the Trump Org press ahead with these plans? Only it knows. Some people seem to think so, including Jane Lutz, the secretary of Turnberry community council. She said there was a “narcissistic” element to its determination to develop the land around the famous golf resort.
More to come on this, but if you have info or a tip about Trump Org’s biz in Scotland, my DMs are open, or you email me at martynmcl at protonmail dot com. You can also read some of my previous Trump stories on my online portfolio. https://martynmclaughlin.com Thanks for reading.
