LOMOND Galleries is under new ownership – after a mystery buyer bought the building for £115,000 more than its guide price.

The historic Alexandria building was purchased for a total of £265,000 during a recent auction held by real estate auctioneering and investment company Acuitus.

Mystery surrounds exactly who the new owner is.

The sale has, however, put major question marks over the future of a number of retailers who currently operate out of the well-known building.

Among those based in Lomond Galleries are Argyll Cars and Accessories Ltd, who run the automobile museum, Halo, Pavers Ltd, The Works Stores Ltd, Crafts U Make and Totally Tartan Kiltmakers.

A retail insider did concede it was a “worrying time” and they would “wait and see” what happened.

In recent weeks Leven councillor Jim Bollan demanded assurances were made to the retailers that they would not be turfed out if a new owner was found.

He told the Reporter: “This will be a worrying time for existing retailers and their staff in the Lomond Galleries, some of whom are local people.

“Any sale needs to ensure existing contracts/leases held by current retailers are honoured in full by any new owners.

“This should be a binding obligation in any sale agreement.

“Early discussions on this basis should then take place between the current retailers and any new owners on how to promote and secure the future of the outlets.”

The auctioneers, Acuitus, described the building as: “An attractive Grade A Listed former factory built in 1905, now comprises a shopping centre arranged over ground, lower ground and first floors.

“In addition to the main building, there are an additional two buildings, a small gatehouse and a two-storey house.

“The property benefits from a site area of 1.86 hectares (4.59 acres) and substantial on-site car parking.

“In addition to the on-site parking, there is an adjacent car park which is held on a lease from West Dunbartonshire Council.”

The Reporter did ask the Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce, to see if they knew through the grapevine who the new owners were but the group were also in the dark.

However, Damon Scott, chief executive of Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce said recently: “The chamber would be very keen to see the Lomond Galleries retained as a valuable asset for the communities of Alexandria and the Vale of Leven.

“We will offer our support to work with the new owner, our partners and existing businesses to this end.”

The Argyll Factory was built to house one of Scotland’s most promising car manufacturers.

In the following years it served as a munitions factory, producing torpedoes but then a number of failed business ventures meant it was under threat of complete demolition.

However, it survived to become a listed building and shopping outlet in later years.

In 2015 the Reporter told how two supermarket firms were in the race to move into Lomond Galleries after a plan to extend and revamp the Alexandria shopping centre was given the green light by councillors.

The shopping centre was expected to undergo a complete makeover with an extension to accommodate a new supermarket and boost business.

And it was thought that between 30 to 100 new jobs could be created.

It was also hoped that a supermarket would act as an ‘anchor’, drawing more customers to Lomond Galleries and the existing retail outlets.

But the plans did not come to fruition and now the owners decided to sell up.