A Scottish property developer has announced plans for an €15 million upgrade of the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana, the BBC reports.

Edinburgh-based Hazledene Group will restore and refurbish the five-star hotel. The work will be undertaken on behalf of Hazledene by hotels group CampbellGray Hotels.

CampbellGray will also manage the 136-room hotel, which was built in 1939 by Lord and Lady Strickland, the BBC reports.

Hazledene, run by entrepreneur Mark Shaw, acquired the hotel in late 2012.

The five-month refurbishment programme will run from November, with the hotel scheduled to return to full operation in time for Malta's presidency of the European Union in 2017.

Mr Shaw recently sold the Pragelato Village Resort in the Italian Alps to HSBC Assurance, and also built and owns the Park Inn Hotel in Aberdeen