A 639-acre Scottish golf estate developed by one of the United Arab Emirates’ wealthiest business families has been placed on the market, nearly two decades after its championship golf course was finished but never opened to the public.
Knight Frank has been appointed to handle the sale of gWest, located at Blackford in Perth and Kinross, immediately west of the Gleneagles resort. No guide price has been made public.
The property includes an 18-hole championship course designed by David McLay Kidd, the Scottish golf course architect whose portfolio includes Bandon Dunes in Oregon and the Castle Course at St Andrews.
Kidd described the location as “the best inland site I’ve ever seen for a golf course”.
Alongside the course, the estate features the unfinished shell of a clubhouse influenced by the designs of 18th-century Scottish architect Colen Campbell.
Existing planning approvals for the site permit:
Although construction of the golf layout was completed in 2009, the facility was never formally opened, gaining a reputation within the industry as Scotland’s “ghost course.” Playing access has been limited to a small number of invited guests.
The property was developed by the family of Mahdi Al Tajir, a Bahraini-born billionaire businessman and former UAE ambassador to the UK. Al Tajir built business interests across finance, property, and the Highland Spring bottled-water brand, ranking among Scotland’s wealthiest individuals.
His son, Mohsin Al Tajir, has previously cited a combination of the global financial crisis, the Scottish independence referendum, and Brexit as factors that created economic and political uncertainty, delaying further capital investment in the project.
Euan Kelly, a partner at Knight Frank Edinburgh, described gWest as a “once-in-a-lifetime asset” and stated that global buyer interest is anticipated.
“It is incredibly rare that an opportunity like gWest becomes available,” Kelly said. “We’re expecting a huge amount of interest from across the globe in what could be a once-in-a-lifetime asset: a substantial consented resort development site, with a golf course designed by a celebrated architect, in one of Scotland’s most prestigious leisure locations.”
The sale comes amid continued golf investment originating from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia’s financing of LIV Golf and broader acquisition of UK and European sports facilities, hotels, and real estate by Gulf investors.
According to data supplied by Knight Frank, the UK golf sector generated an estimated £2.7 billion in revenue during 2024–25, with projections approaching £3 billion for 2025–26. Scotland hosts approximately 560 golf courses—representing roughly 20 percent of the UK total—and remains a central destination for international golf tourism.
