Edinburgh restaurateur Malcolm Duck has bought his first hotel, the Kilspindie House hotel in Aberlady, east of Edinburgh in East Lothian.
Duck, who owns the restaurant Duck's at Le Marche Noir in Edinburgh, and who is chairman of the Edinburgh Restaurateurs Association, said he planned to turn the hotel into an "eating and drinking place with rooms".
He added that he was not looking to turn the three-star hotel into a five-star boutique property.
The venture is the first foray into the hotel sector for Duck, though his team has hotel experience. The company's operations director, Lynn Abernethy, who will help with the expansion of Kilspindie House's catering operations, was formerly deputy manager of Edinburgh's Caledonian hotel.
Duck described the 26-bedroom hotel as a "golfing heaven" and said he would be targeting Edinburgh and golfers for business. He added that he planned to launch a Duck's at Kilspindie House restaurant in November, and was currently looking for more staff to cope with the expansion.
Former owners Graham and Karen Horten decided to sell the hotel to concentrate on other opportunities in northern Scotland.
The sale price for the 17th-century Kilspindie House, which was sold through agents Christie & Co in an off-market deal, was not disclosed.