Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed is planning to build a hotel on a disused oil rig in the North Sea.

Work on the £10m development will start in 2008 and although no operator has been lined up, Al Fayed is in talks with several candidates.

Prices at the 50-bedroom boutique property, which will be located in the Gromarty Firth off the coast of Invergordon, Scotland, will start at about £200 to £250 per person.

Gordon Robertson, general manager of Al Fayed’s Scottish Balnagown estate, said: “It will be the first of its kind in the world. We hope to capture trade from the 51 cruise liners that stop in the firth every year. Skibo castle is just up the road and there are some top golf courses nearby.”

The rig’s owner, an unnamed oil company, will also be investing in the 4,000sq m site by building a visitor’s centre and oil museum. It will also be responsible for the rig’s upkeep.

It will be connected to land by a pier and guests will reach the platform in a glass lift.

By Tom Bill

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