Hugo Burge, the internet entrepreneur and owner of Marchmont House in the Scottish Borders, died suddenly at his home on Wednesday, 10 May 2023, at the age of 51. His cause of death remains unconfirmed, but some media sources speculated that he might have suffered a heart stroke. His family and friends expressed their shock and sadness at his untimely passing, and paid tribute to his kindness, intelligence, curiosity and belief in a better world.
From Online Travel to Arts and Crafts
Burge was born and raised in London, where he developed an interest in technology and business. In 2000, he invested in the online flight booking website Cheapflights as part of the management buy-in led by banker David Soskin who became the company’s CEO. Burge joined the management team and was appointed chief executive in 2011. During his tenure, the company acquired the Danish travel search engine Momondo, with Momondo Group replacing Cheapflights as the name for the parent company. After successfully arranging Momondo’s sale to Priceline Group in July 2017, he stepped down from the chief executive role.
As an investor, he co-founded the investment company HOWZAT in 2006, which would invest in a number of digital travel sector businesses, including Trivago. His contribution to the travel sector was recognised when he was inducted into the British Travel and Hospitality Hall of Fame in 2018.
Burge’s father, Oliver Burge, bought the Marchmont Estate in the Scottish Borders as an investment in 1988. The main property there, Marchmont House, was still being used as a nursing home by the Sue Ryder charity until the home closed in 2005. It was subsequently bought by the Burges in 2007. After renovating the house and settling there himself, Burge founded Marchmont Ventures in 2018, an organisation to support the arts and crafts movement, of which he was a long time supporter. He turned Marchmont House into a retreat for artists, converting the stables into studios and the garage into a workshop.
In 2019, he founded the charity Marchmont Makers Foundation to fund writers’ and artists’ residencies, as well as to support local schools and charities. In 2022, he organised a celebration of the work of artist and musician Rory McEwen, who had lived at Marchmont House as a boy. He was also a patron of the Borders Art Fair.
A Force for Creative Good
Burge’s vision for Marchmont House was to create a “home for makers and creators” in the Scottish Borders. He commissioned pieces and created spaces for artists to work, from revived crafts like rush-seated chairs to modern sculptures. He gathered friends, family and admirers for conversations and celebrations of the arts and crafts he valued. He also collected many paintings by Rory McEwen, who had been somewhat overlooked as an artist.
Burge’s restoration work on Marchmont House was widely praised and awarded. He and his father were joint recipients of the 2018 Historic Houses Sotheby’s Restoration Award and the Georgian Group 2017 Architectural Award for Best Restoration of a Georgian interior.
Burge’s death has left a void in the arts and crafts community in the Borders and beyond. Many people have expressed their gratitude for his generosity and enthusiasm, as well as their condolences to his family. He is survived by his parents Oliver and Jane Burge, his sister Lucy Burge-Thomas, his brother-in-law James Thomas, his nieces Isabella and Olivia Thomas, and his nephew William Thomas.
