Community takeover hopes for 175-year-old Angus roadside hotel

An ambitious bid is being launched for a community takeover of a famous Angus hotel. The former Finavon Hotel sits beside the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen road between Forfar and Brechin. It was originally built in 1850 as a traditional coaching inn.

In the modern era it has been a popular venue with both locals and travellers on the dual carriageway passing its door. However, the hotel has been hit by the downturn in the hospitality industry. It had been under long-term ownership before being taken over before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

A local effort has now been launched to raise the money to turn it into a community-owned business. And current owner Robbie Duffus said he is willing to listen to the proposal.

“It all depends on the valuation to be honest, but it is a conversation I am willing to have,” said Mr Duffus.

“We took over about a year and a half before Covid but it was then closed down.”

He has also brought back its 19th century name.

“One of our locals discovered it was originally called The Red Lion Inn so we transferred it back to its historical name,” said Mr Duffus.

“Since re-opening I have been running it as a sole trader, but we still offer accommodation, meals and the coffee shop is open at weekends.

“It is an excellent location beside the main road. The River South Esk is also right on our doorstep so we also get fishermen coming to us.”

And he revealed the proposed takeover could deliver a win-win boost for the Angus area. “If the price is right, I would hope to buy something else in the area,” he said.

The group behind the idea hope to gauge community enthusiasm for the bid at a public meeting next week. Local David Drysdale said the idea emerged from discussions from people who want to see the hotel thrive again.

“It’s not for sale as such, but we have spoken to Mr Duffus about our plan and he is willing to listen.

“We’re sympathetic to how much of a challenge running a hotel is these days, but we really want to see it succeed,” he said.

“Although we want to run it as a business, it is the community aspect which is our real focus.

“The hotel has been popular for weddings, birthdays, social events and family occasions.

“We can think of 101 uses locals and community groups could make of it.”

The group is looking at similar successful ventures elsewhere in Scotland. Those include the Red Lion at Culross in Fife and the Old Forge on the Knoydart Peninsula.

“They have been successful, so if it can work for them, we hope it can work for us,” added David.

“The hotel is a great local establishment but it has several other markets such as shooting and fishing.

“We’d have to get an independent valuation and set up a community benefit group with the proper structure so we are talking about quite a long process.

“We’ve made a decent initial impact but community engagement is also something we will have to work on over time.”

A Finavon Community Facebook page has been set up to keep people up to date with progress.

The first step to test local appetite for the venture is a public meeting in Memus Hall on Monday June 29 at 7pm.

David added: “It is really important that we have a good turnout at the meeting. By ‘our community’ we mean from Wardmill Farm/Oathlaw to Fern, including Justinhaugh, Baldoukie, Tannadice, Noranside and Milton of Finavon.

“We plan to set up a small steering group to take the project forward so we hope people will come along to get this up and running.”

This article appeared in the Courier on 24 June 2026