Donald Trump 'hoodwinked' Scotland over '£1bn golf resort' claims former aide

Former U.S. President Donald Trump during a round of golf at his Turnberry course on May 2, 2023 in Turnberry, Scotland.

Neil Hobday, the man who helped secure a deal for Donald Trump’s first Scottish golf resort, has claimed the nation was “hoodwinked” over the supposed £1bn project.

Hobday worked as the project director for Trump’s controversial course, which is located in Aberdeenshire. The former president pledged to invest £1bn into the development, which opened in 2012. But Mr Hobday has claimed Trump has failed to keep up with his side of the bargain.

Trump International Scotland claimed to have “delivered on its promise to build one of the greatest modern links golf courses of all time”. They added that they have invested “hundreds of millions of pounds” into the economy. But Mr Hobday, who resigned from his post in 2010, has said he felt “hoodwinked and ashamed that I fell for it”, reports the Daily Record.

Speaking on Trumped, a BBC Sounds podcast, he said: “I don’t think even if he could raise the money to build the whole thing out, he wanted the golf course and that was it. He was willing to fight the environmental battle and create this impression that this was a $1bn project and Scotland absolutely needed it. But I think he never really had the money or the intention of finishing it.”

He continued: “I feel very hoodwinked and ashamed that I fell for it and Scotland fell for it. We all fell for it. He was never going to do it. “

Plans for the Menstrie Estate, close to the Aberdeen area, were unveiled in 2006 by Trump International Golf Links. They said the costs would be ‘in excess of $500m’.

However, when Trump arrived in Scotland, this total had risen to £1bn . Concerned locals expressed reservations about the project’s potential to harm the environment. Part of the planned course was scheduled to be built over a special scientific site; one of Britain’s best examples of shifting sand dunes.

This special status was dropped when the golf course was built. The government of Scotland approved the planning application, despite the local council saying no to the project. The Trump Organization previously said that it spent around £100m on the Aberdeenshire golf resort.

But the most recent accounts reveal the golf complexes’ total worth is only £33.2m. The initial planning included aspirations to build a huge 450-room hotel, as well as 950-holiday flats, 36 golf villas, and 500 houses for sale. However, none of these plans have as yet come to fruition.

The resort has yet to make any profit to date and has lost £13.3m since it first opened. Recently, a court in America found that Trump had officially exaggerated his wealth, in order to receive favorable rates for insurance and loans.

This included “a false valuation” of the Aberdeenshire course. The presidential candidate is contesting this ruling, and an appeals court in New York ruled that Trump now has ten days to pay a bond of $175 million, much less than the original figure of $464 million.

Trump International Scotland responded: “There are very few, if any, investors in the sport that have done more for Scottish golf in the past decade than Trump.

“In spite of the many global economic challenges, where other investors walked away – and despite spiteful opposition, the Trump Organization has remained steadfast in its commitment and delivered on its promise to build one of the greatest modern links golf courses of all time in Aberdeen. “.

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