New owners at the Stromness Hotel?

Orkney’s most controversial hotel could be under new ownership.

Emails have been sent, claiming the Stromness Hotel is now owned, not by Nai’am Paymán, but by a new company, understood to be controlled by his wife.

It is unclear what impact the ownership change has on the potential sale of the Pierhead hostelry — which is the subject of an order banning its sale due to unpaid debts to Orkney Islands Council (OIC).

The 24-room hotel was purchased Mr Paymán in 2021, and under his ownership, the ‘dry’ hotel — which does not sell alcohol — has courted controversy and notoriety ever since.

It was put up for sale with a guide price of £1.25 million in February.

Now, prospective guests have been advised that the hotel is now under new ownership by a company called Places Collective.

This company, incorporated on May 23, 2025, and registered in London, lists Mrs Sara Paymán, wife of Mr Paymán, as the majority shareholder.

The full email to guests states: “The water hasn’t changed. The view from your window hasn’t changed. The welcome hasn’t changed.

“A few things have changed for the better. The Stromness Hotel is now under new ownership by Places Collective. Flattie in a teacup is open Mondays to Fridays serving coffee and sandwiches. Scapa Flow Restaurant is open every day for breakfast and dinner. Pet-friendly. Same harbour, same warm welcome.”

OIC, when contacted, said it was unable to comment at this time. It is also unclear what “ownership” in this respect means — whether this relates to the deeds to the building or the running of the business.

Mr Paymán and Places Collective have not responded to any of The Orcadian’s requests for comment.

It is understood the property is still registered to Paymán Holdings 10, one of 27 companies that list Mr Paymán as a director. It is also the company listed as owning the hotel in April when taken to court by OIC.

Liquidators FRP Advisory is currently managing the liquidation of two companies Mr Paymán was previously a director of, one of which is Paymán Operations, which left staff at the Stromness Hotel thousands of pounds out of pocket in lost wages when it collapsed at the end of last summer.

Molly McErlane, restructuring advisory manager at FRP, said they had no information regarding the transaction of the hotel.

It is just the latest in a string of controversial developments surrounding the hotel under Mr Paymán’s tenure.

In October, 2025, an East Kilbride fabrication company arrived on the doorstep of the hotel, having been left in the lurch to the tune of £28,500 for the construction and installation of two emergency fire stairs. 

Mr Paymán claimed that the stairs had not been fitted as per the contract.

This followed a ten-month period of enforced closure for the hotel, after Scottish Fire and Rescue uncovered serious fire defects.

These defects were uncovered after a pensioner fell down a lift shaft.

Upon taking over the hotel, it wasn’t long before it hit the headlines after Mr Paymán’s decision to prohibit the sale of alcohol, closing down the popular Flattie bar, a move which has proved deeply unpopular with the local community.