Anti-migration group's claim about 'proposed' Aberdeenshire asylum hotel proven false

An anti-migration group’s claim regarding a vacant Aberdeenshire hotel being turned into asylum accommodation is false.

Aberdeen Against Illegal Migration (AAIM) has organised a number of protests in the North East outside accommodation housing asylum seekers in the region.

The group has also joined similar demonstrations across the country.

On Friday, in a post marked as “must read” on their Facebook page, which has 22,000 followers, AAIM claimed that the owner of an Inverurie business had purchased the Kintore Arms Hotel “with the sole purpose of converting it into a migrant hotel”.

They further stated that more than 200 “undocumented dangers” would be moving into the Aberdeenshire town.

The group said that the information regarding the new asylum hotel had been heard from a “few different people”.

AAIM issued a message to Inverurie residents which read: “We are standing with yous! [sic] We will be there very soon to stand against this!”

A post form the Inverurie Garden Centre denied the claims made about the businesses acquisition of the hotel.

A post read: “The rumours regarding the owner of Inverurie Garden Centre purchasing the Kintore Arms Hotel and the subsequent plans for the hotel are factually incorrect and untrue.”

The hotel, which has operated since 1855 and is owned by the Elgin group, is currently closed for refurbishment and renovation according to the business website.

The Home Office is responsible for housing asylum seekers and they have contracted this responsibility to a number of private providers.

In 2025, Mears Group, Serco and Clearsprings Ready Homes were tasked with procuring and managing asylum accommodation.

The Home Office confirmed that claims regarding the transformation of the Kintore Arms Hotel into asylum accommodation are false.

Aberdeenshire Council also confirmed they were not aware of any plans to turn the premises into an asylum hotel.