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A hotel group has sold the first of a trio of Scottish properties it placed on the market in March.

Crerar Hotels sold Ben Wyvis in Strathpeffer to the family-run Strathmore Hotel Group.

The 92-bedroom hotel had a guide price of £2.5m.

Crerar said it was holding "positive discussions" over the sale of two other hotels in the north of Scotland - Craiglynne in Grantown-on-Spey and Eight Acres in Elgin.

Their disposal is being handled by real estate services firm Colliers International.

'Key milestone'

Crerar has been selling off some of its portfolio in order to position its remaining properties at the "top end" of Scottish hospitality.

In January, it sold the 72-bedroom Scotland's Hotel & Leisure Club in Pitlochry, Perthshire, to Dublin-based Castle Collection for an undisclosed sum.

It has already committed about £10m to upgrading a number of its hotels including Oban Bay, Loch Fyne (Inveraray), Golf View (Nairn), Glencoe Inn and Isle of Mull.

Crerar Hotels chief executive Paddy Crerar said: "The sale of the Ben Wyvis is another key milestone in our right-sizing strategy.

"The capital released by the sale will be fully reinvested in our core properties, taking us even closer to achieving our aim of being Scotland's highest quality family of hotels and inns."

Strathmore Hotels is owned and run by the Rickard family, which now has a collection of eight properties across Scotland and the north of England.