Sale of A-listed Old High Church in Inverness falls through after prospective buyer is unable to produce funds, says Church of Scotland

The sale of Inverness’s oldest building has fallen through 12 months after it was first agreed.

An offer for the A-listed Old High Church was accepted by the Church of Scotland in November 2023 after it was placed on the market for offers of over £150k.

But after 12 months of negotiations, the Church says the prospective buyer has been unable to produce the funds in order to complete and it will now be placed back on the market.

It described the situation as “extremely disappointing” for the congregation of Old High St Stephen’s which continues to bear the costs associated with the care of the building.

• Call for action to be taken to prevent deterioration of empty A-listed Old High Church in Inverness

• Mystery continues over future of historic Old High Church in Inverness 5 months after sale approved

• Tears as last regular service takes place at historic Old High Church

The building, which has important links with the Battle of Culloden, Highland regiments and the globally-popular historic drama series Outlander, held its last regular service in February 2022 after the Church of Scotland said it was no longer financially viable to maintain both the Old High and the B-listed St Stephen’s in the Crown neighbourhood.

The building dates from 1769/1772 with a late 16th century tower with lower structure dating from 14th century. It houses the city (old burgh) clock and curfew bell.

When it was placed on the market, the sales schedule described it as a once-in-a-lifetime purchase opportunity for the right buyer.

After a closing date was subsequently set for last November, the Church of Scotland confirmed that a sale had been approved by its property holding arm, the General Trustees, and that transfer of the building could move forward.

It also said at the time that a number of offers had been received.

They included a bid by the Friends of the Old High Church which felt the building had potential as a multi-use space for community events, as well as a hub for multi-cultural entertainment, educational, social and tourism activity and had set up a crowdfunding campaign.

A Church of Scotland spokesman today confirmed the sale had fallen through.

“Unfortunately, after 12 months of negotiations, the prospective buyer has been unable to produce the funds in order to complete the purchase of the Old High Church,” he said.

“Missives were concluded with a contractual date of entry of 1st November 2024.

“The purchaser failed to complete on schedule and is now in breach of the missives.

“This has been extremely disappointing for the congregation of Old High St Stephen’s, which continues to bear the costs associated with the care of one of the city’s oldest and most historically significant buildings.

“The church will once again be placed on the market and we hope this will lead to a successful outcome for both the congregation and Old High, enabling it to be preserved for future generations, and the wider Inverness and Highland community.”

The prospective buyer, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Inverness Courier: “I am afraid I was unable to get the church insured so we have fallen into breach.

“It is a grade A-listing and we could not operate without valid insurance.

“It is not something I had considered to be a problem when I offered to purchase last year.”

Thomas Prag, a member of the Friends group which had previously hoped to acquire the building for community use, said there was a sense of extreme frustration that after months of negotiations the sale had not been completed.

“In the meantime, the church has sat there unloved and unused while the local session had to go on paying out for insurance on the building,” he said.

He speculated there might be a second chance for a community buyout.

“I would like the community to review what it would like to happen to this building,” he said.

“It is an important building in Inverness. It is the early part of Inverness’s story.

“It needs looking after and it needs a new lease of life.”

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.