Four historic townhouses on one of Edinburgh’s grandest crescents hit market in ‘highly unusual’ sale

The interconnected buildings on Atholl Crescent, within the New Town conservation area, were designed by noted architect Thomas Bonnar and date back to 1825. They were formerly the headquarters of legal heavyweight Brodies, which has moved to a new location in the city.

The West End townhouses are being marketed by property consultancy CBRE, which noted that they had detailed residential planning consent for 34 apartments. Included in the sale are an adjoining mews property and 27 car parking spaces.

Planning consent has been given for 23 flats in the townhouses and 11 within the mews building. While a conversion to residential usage seems the most likely option, CBRE said the buildings could alternatively be converted into a hotel subject to planning consent, with speculative plans having been drawn up for a 113-bed hotel. Other uses could include a private members’ club, a luxury care home or an aparthotel, the firm added. A price tag has not been disclosed.

Andrew Shiells, senior director of CBRE, who is acting for the private owners, said: “It is highly unusual to have four interconnected traditional townhouses on the market in such an incredible location in the heart of Edinburgh. There’s a great opportunity for a developer to return the buildings to their former glory and restore them to their original residential use.

“Atholl Crescent is one of Edinburgh’s grandest crescents and one of the most coveted addresses in the capital. There are so many exciting things happening in this part of the city with a huge development underway at nearby Haymarket where new offices, hotels, bars and restaurants are being built. It’s also just a short stroll to the Johnnie Walker Experience and all the shopping and leisure attractions of Princes Street and George Street.

“The Edinburgh hotel market is thriving and has shown strong increases in room rates over the last two years. The city is now an all year round destination and this site is ideally located to capture both business and leisure trade perfectly.”