The Trustees confirm that the closing date for offers was yesterday, and we are pleased to share that a large number of offers were received.

This encouraging response reflects the continuing importance and interest in the estate and Armadale. With the help of their legal and professional advisers, the Trustees will now take time to carefully review the proposals. Being mindful of the estate’s importance to the community, the Trustees will carefully consider all relevant factors when reviewing offers.

Because the process is commercially sensitive, there will be no announcement on potential purchasers for some time. The Trustees are very grateful for the interest shown and remain mindful of the importance of timely information for the community. Further updates will be shared when appropriate.

CDLT Board of Trustees

The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has completed a detailed inquiry into the Trust’s governance and decisions.

OSCR confirmed that Trustees acted within their powers, took appropriate legal and financial advice, and fulfilled their duties in deciding to market the estate, including Armadale, for sale.

The regulator found no grounds for intervention and has formally closed its inquiry.

OSCR also recognised that the loss of external funding means the charity is not financially sustainable in its current form, which supports the Trustees’ decision.

On 24 March 2025, the Board of Trustees of the Clan Donald Lands Trust (CDLT) announced their unanimous decision to place the Sleat Estate on the open market in April 2025, followed by the remaining Armadale property assets in early summer.

This decision, taken after careful consideration, reflects the urgent need to realign the Trust’s resources with its core charitable objectives and to secure a sustainable future for our mission.

For many years, the Trust has been open about the significant financial challenges facing our charity. The Armadale visitor centre has never been financially self-sustaining year-round, and its continued operation has relied on long-term dependence on a single major grant funder. While the current museum contains important elements of Clan Donald history, it reaches only a limited annual audience.

Safeguarding Our Heritage
We wish to once again reassure everyone that the CDLT museum collections are not for sale. They will remain on display for the current season and will continue to receive the same professional care they have enjoyed for many years. Looking ahead, the Board intends to use proceeds from the sale to help fund a new museum and exhibition centre, ideally still based on Skye, offering an expanded focus on Clan Donald and the wider Highland clan heritage.

Later this year, we will begin a comprehensive review of the collection, following professional museum standards, and will consult with lenders and relevant institutions. Over time, the collection has grown to include items with limited or no direct link to Clan Donald, making this review an important and carefully managed process.

Regulatory Oversight
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has been informed and is engaged in the process. The Trustees have acted fully within their powers in line with legal advice, following all required protocols, and have taken these decisions in what they believe to be the best interests of the charity and its long-term sustainability.

Sale Update
There has been considerable interest in both estates, and a number of serious parties are now well advanced in their due diligence. The Trustees remain hopeful that offers will be forthcoming which enable Armadale to continue as a whole.

The Trustees hope the right buyer will create new opportunities for local employment, bring estate assets into productive and viable use, and work constructively with local stakeholders to support crofting and broader community interests.

Among the many ideas and opportunities discussed, we are encouraged by the enthusiasm of numerous interested parties to preserve the castle and gardens for future generations.

We continue to liaise regularly with crofting representatives, agricultural tenants, and the Sleat Community Trust. All parties agree that securing a major investor would be a significant step toward a successful and sustainable future for the area.

Memorials
The Clan Donald Lands Trust remains fully committed to working closely with any future owner to ensure the continued care and respectful stewardship of memorial trees, commemorative features, and the wider gardens. Honouring the legacy of those commemorated here is, and will remain, a priority throughout this transitional period. It is equally reassuring that many prospective buyers have already expressed strong commitments to preserving existing memorials and safeguarding the site’s heritage for generations to come.

Our Strategic Vision
The proposed sale marks a pivotal moment in CDLT’s history: a chance to reset, refocus, and reinvest in our founding mission. It opens the door to a renewed future for the Clan Donald legacy, both physically and digitally.

Our strategic vision includes:

• A revitalised physical hub, ideally located on Skye, encompassing a more efficient museum, archive, library, and visitor centre—enhancing historical interpretation, community connection, and cultural programming.
• A global digital platform dedicated to Clan Donald’s heritage—providing accessible educational resources, storytelling, and cultural content to a worldwide audience.
• Expanded educational and cultural initiatives, including grant-giving programmes to promote learning, creativity, and participation across all ages and backgrounds.

This refocusing on our founding charitable purposes reflects both a deep respect for the past and a bold commitment to the future, ensuring that the story of Clan Donald continues to thrive and inspire for generations to come.

We thank our supporters for their continued understanding and engagement, and we remain committed to sharing further updates as matters progress.

Clann Dòmhnaill gu bràth!

Trustees:
Ranald Macdonald, Younger of Clanranald (Chair of Trustees and heir to Clanranald)
Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat, Bt. (Chief, Macdonalds of Sleat)
Major (Ret.) Bruce Macdonald (Chamberlain, The High Council of Clan Donald)
Diane Carey-Schmitz (Past High Commissioner, Clan Donald USA)

Further to previous statements available on our website, including the original sale announcement, the CDLT Board of Trustees has approved the marketing for sale of Armadale estate to commence on 14th June 2025. CDLT will continue to work with local crofting representatives, our tenant farmer, and the Sleat Community Trust. We are thankful for the positive local engagement to date which is focused on the best possible outcome.

Sadly, the necessity to sell is far from unique to hospitality or visitor attractions in the Highlands and Islands region, much down to relatively low footfall and short seasons. Furthermore, the practical requirement to restructure is not uncommon in the charitable trust or the business sector. The Trustees have done their best over many years, and the charity business is not viable in its current form without substantial investment from an entity with a new destination concept able to carry that commercial risk.

In our decades of operating the visitor centre there has simply not ever been enough passing/destination trade for the gardens, shop, café, and museum to cover the overheads of building maintenance, insurances, utilities, necessary renovations, gardens, and staff.

It should be noted that despite substantial annual external charitable funding, the CDLT visitor business has incurred losses every year since the centre opened in the 1980s. Sadly, this funding is no longer available. Charities are only legally permitted to operate commercial ventures as long as they are profitable and contribute to sustaining the charity’s purposes. The Trustees are also mindful of the remarkably small number of Clan members and kinsmen who visit each year, which does not justify the major investment necessary to keep Armadale going in its current form.

The idea of selling the wider estate and using the proceeds to bolster Armadale was the initially preferred conclusion. However, the estate sale proceeds are unlikely to be sufficient for the capital requirements of Armadale going forward now that we have lost the external funding. The Trustees could not see any realistic way to retain Armadale whilst fulfilling their legal and moral obligations to the charity and the Clan, being mindful of their duty to act in the best interests of the charity including minimising exposure to risk.

Over the decades CDLT has invested tens of millions into Sleat and the wider Island of Skye. The Trustees’ objective is to find suitable buyers who will bring serious investment, prosperity, training, and employment to the community for the long term.

The CDLT will at the proper time expand on exciting plans for a more engaging, efficient, affordable, and internationally purposeful Clan Donald HQ, which of course could still be on Skye. We welcome the positive interest shown in the future restructured charity with a number of the suggestions and offers of help received under active consideration.

Queries regarding the sale should be forwarded to the Trust’s appointed selling agents, Strutt & Parker at Robert.McCulloch@StruttAndParker.com or Euan.MacCrimmon@StruttAndParker.com

Clann Dòmhnaill gu bràth!

Trustees:
Ranald Macdonald, Younger of Clanranald (Chair of Trustees and heir to Clanranald)
Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat, Bt. (Chief, Macdonalds of Sleat)
Major (Ret.) Bruce Macdonald (Chamberlain, The High Council of Clan Donald)
Diane Carey-Schmitz (Past High Commissioner, Clan Donald USA)

The CDLT Board of Trustees issued a statement on 24^th March 2025 announcing their unanimous decision to place the CDLT Sleat Estate on the open market in April and the remaining Armadale property assets in early summer. On 27^th March the Trustees issued a letter to the clan providing the background to the decision together with an outline of future plans. These statements are available here.

At the time of a decision to sell the wider estate, the Trustees were Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat (Chair), Lord Macdonald (Vice Chair), Bruce Macdonald, Diane Carey-Schmitz and Ranald Macdonald Younger of Clanranald.

In taking this extraordinarily difficult decision, the Trustees have been directed and driven by their legal responsibilities and duties under Scottish Charity Law, the purpose of the CDLT, and their love of Clan Donald. Throughout the process the Trustees have been scrupulously guided by professional advisors.

Why now? The specific occurrence which demanded an urgent decision from the Trustees was the unexpected ending of the longstanding grant funding which had underwritten Armadale’s losses for decades. Sadly, in reality Armadale does not have sufficient visitor footfall to be commercially viable. In the opinion of the Trustees without substantial investment this will not change. However the CDLT was not established to invest in speculative Highland destination tourist ventures.

The seriousness of the economic challenges facing Armadale are compounded by the degree to which it is failing to achieve the heritage and cultural objectives of the CDLT. The annual engagement of Armadale with the clan is declining. The museum and archive team at Armadale advise that only between 2% to 3% of all visitors to Armadale have a defined Clan Donald connection. The number of families visiting the archive with a keen interest or specific query is rarely more than a dozen each year. In summary focusing all of CLDT resources into a high-risk commercial hospitality business for visitors of whom 97-98% currently have no links to the clan and are simply seeking something to do on Skye or a place to stop for a coffee, is not the core purpose of the CDLT. However, the Trustees do acknowledge, appreciate, and understand the emotional value placed upon Armadale as a physical clan headquarters.

The CDLT was intended to lead Clan Donald globally, but with Armadale the CDLT does not have the resources to create and drive a thriving online community, instigate international clan events, or support heritage projects or individual achievements with bursaries or grants. Weighed up against what Armadale is achieving in terms of clan engagement and the promotion of our heritage, it is clear to the Trustees that more appropriate options should be found to utilise the CDLT’s resources to enable it to achieve its original purpose. The Trustees invite the clan to join the CDLT on this journey.

The CDLT has worked for many years to try and make Armadale economically sustainable and engage better with the clan. No previous Armadale Boards and management teams were able to make Armadale viable, even with the generous funding available in those years. In the end tough decisions had to be taken. The number of Clan members visiting each year is too low to justify the annual losses or the major investment and development necessary to potentially secure viability.

In the coming months the Trustees will endeavour to ensure that the future purchaser of Armadale will be in the position to provide a brighter future for the local community. It is also the sincere hope of the Trustees that all interested parties will work together in the interests of the future of the Clan, the local community, and the CDLT. It is early days but so far the Trustees are very much encouraged by the support of many clan members, although there is some disappointment with the disinformation being disseminated by some parties without any consultation with the CDLT.

There has been some speculation about the museum. The museum collections are not for sale and this season they continue to be on display and well looked after. We are now looking at a number of different potential opportunities for the continuation of the CDLT collection being displayed to the clan and the general public. Later this year we will be reviewing our collections and opening discussions with lenders and other relevant bodies.

Over the years the museum has acquired a broad range of items, from papers to photos to artefacts. Many of these do not have a direct Clan Donald link and, due to space constraints, have never been on display. Depending on the collections review, items not staying with the Trust will either be returned to lenders or will be rehomed in other museums. This will be a big job and will necessarily take a considerable time. The Trustees were delighted to hear that some of our former staff have offered to help.

A big part of our current museum is about telling the story of Clan Donald, although sadly to a limited annual visitor audience. Going forward we hope to have the resources to expand on the storytelling and reach a far larger international clan audience, including new generations, through a world class immersive, interactive digital platform. The archive and library will be retained; we see that as a big part of our future heritage and genealogical work. This sale is not an end to our work but a new and exciting beginning.

This week, the Board is delighted to welcome back Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat as a Trustee. This follows a brief period of medical concern. Sir Ian confirms his firm support for the sale and the opportunity this presents. He states, “The revenue raised will allow the CDLT to deliver for the wider Clan in a way that it would not be able to envisage let alone deliver while carrying the increasingly heavy burden of Armadale”.

Finally, we have had especially positive responses from longstanding local community members regarding our proposed local sale liaison group. We look forward to working with them as the sale progresses. This is still at a very early stage.

Clann Dòmhnaill gu bràth!

Ranald Macdonald, Younger of Clanranald (Chair of Trustees and heir to Clanranald)
Sir Ian Macdonald of Sleat, Bt. (Chief, Macdonalds of Sleat)
Major (Ret.) Bruce Macdonald (Chamberlain, The High Council of Clan Donald)
Diane Carey-Schmitz (Past High Commissioner, Clan Donald USA)

The CDLT Board has been open about the challenges faced by our charity for many years. The Armadale visitor centre has never been able to pay for itself on a year-round basis and the charity was only able to continue operating due to the generosity of a major grant funder. When the heartbreaking decision to sell the wider estate and then ultimately Armadale was taken, it was a decision supported by all the Trustees.

Looking to the future, a sale will enable the charity to reform as a viable Clan heritage body able to endure without the burden of Armadale’s perpetual higher costs and limited income. It is our hope that a reformed and more sustainably funded charity will be able to do far more work for the Clan, in particular for the next generations.

We are excited by the prospect of a comprehensive Clan consultation process in the near future to ensure the reformed charity is on the right path. This will include a survey on potential options and services.

Although the future direction of the charity will depend on feedback from the wider Clan, we hope to be able to develop a new, more efficient, and more viable Clan Centre including museum, exhibition and a modern immersive digital experience.

Later this year, a review is planned of our current Museum of the Isles during which we will look at the current collection and explore future options to present to the Clan. Assuming there is support from the Clan, we expect many of our key items will feature in a new museum/exhibition. The archive and library are likely to play a significant role as well.

We also hope to provide a much higher level of genealogical research assistance, potentially in partnership with an online genealogical company. This may include on-the-ground research and an ability to locate ancestral home locations in the West Highlands and Hebrides and then share photos and videos of them to Clanspeople living further away.

We are also excited by the prospect of developing a worldwide Clan Donald family tree. Given the many family names of the Clan, this will be an enormous long-term undertaking which will need significant volunteer support. This project will enable our ancestors and their family journeys to be properly recognised and with a defined and lasting place in the history of our Clan. It will also enable the next generations to fulfil the old Gaelic proverb of ‘cuimhnichibh air na daoine bho 'n d' thainig sibh’ – ‘remember the people from whom you came’.

Meantime please be assured that our collections and archives are operating as normal. Though these are uncertain economic times, we look forward to a good visitor season and hope to see some of you at Armadale this year.

Clann Dòmhnaill gu bràth!

Trustees

Ranald Macdonald, Younger of Clanranald
Major (Ret.) Bruce Macdonald
Diane Carey-Schmitz