Tycoon Trump takes over Turnberry

Donald Trump has struck a deal to take over one of the best-known golf resorts in Scotland.

The US tycoon confirmed widespread speculation that he has bought the Open Championship course and hotel at Turnberry.

In a statement, he said: “It is an honour and privilege to own one of golf’s greatest and most exciting properties. I intend to invest many millions of dollars in order to bring the hotel to the highest levels of luxury. When completed, I believe that the Turnberry Hotel will be the finest and most luxurious hotel in all of Europe.”

The purchase comes just months after Trump purchased Doonbeg Golf Club in Co Clare.

Trump had claimed he would turn his back on Scotland after losing a legal challenge in a planning row about an offshore wind turbine test centre which he says will spoil the view from his other Scottish golf course, in Aberdeenshire.

Turnberry is home to a spa and five-star hotel which will continue to be managed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts. The resort sits on more than 800 acres and has views of the Irish Sea and Isle of Arran. Trump said the course won’t be “touched or altered” other than with the approval of Royal & Ancient, organisers of the Open Championship.