A bid of £160 million has been made on the luxury Gleaneagles site in Scotland, which was placed on the market in February by owners Diageo.
Ralph Trustess, a British firm run by brothers Daniel and Stuart Levy, has made a formal bid to buy the property, which hosted the Ryder Cup last year.
Ralph Trustees, which operates the renowned Athenaeum Hotel in London as well as a number of other high-profile properties around the UK, has joined fellow suitors KSL Capital Partners, owners of The Belfry, in a bidding war for the property. KSL recently made a bid of £150 million.
Global drinks giant Diageo has owned Gleneagles since 1984 and made a previous attempt to sell in 1998. The company has stated that it wants to make around £200 million for the 232-bedroom hotel and 850-acre estate, although no formal asking price has been made.
Diageo placed the venue on the market after what a spokesperson described as "numerous expressions of interest over the years and particularly since the Ryder Cup."
The palace-style hotel, located in Perthshire, opened in 1924 after it was built by the Caledonian Railway Company.
