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North-West based family brewers Robinsons have announced the acquisition of a delightful new pub in the heart of Cheshire. Hartford Hall in Hartford, Cheshire, sees the Robinsons managed pub portfolio grow to 28 properties, taking the total licensed premises to over 250 venues across North Wales and the Northwest of England. The iconic venue with 20 guest bedrooms was acquired from Marston’s through a private sale. Following 3 other successful acquisitions and transitions over the last 18 months for their managed pub estate, Robinsons are demonstrating a positive level of business growth. William Robinson, Joint Managing Director at Robinsons commented: “The acquisition of Hartford Hall is a very important part of our long-term growth plans for our managed pub estate, to secure and develop iconic pubs in exceptional locations. We believe that the pub has an exciting and prosperous future within our business, which has been around since 1838 and fully intends to be around for a long time to come.” Hartford Hall features a private dining area, perfect for small groups and warm celebrations, a suite bedroom with its own enclosed outdoor area, spacious shower and a freestanding bath, and a charming lit garden next to a pond with covered seating, perfect for the coming spring and summer months.

Leading maintenance, compliance and decarbonisation contractor Novus Property Solutions has continued its winning streak in the healthcare sector, having recently been awarded a significant measured term contract with The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. This latest contract win comes as the national contractor continues to build its exceptional reputation within the healthcare sector as part of its ambitious five-year growth strategy. Novus’ expert team will carry out a series of internal refurbishments and alterations as well as external works across the hospital, which is one of the largest single site cancer treatment centres in Europe. The national contractor will also complete a variety of other maintenance and lifecycle improvement works throughout the measured term contract, which will see Novus on site for four years, with the potential to extend the contract for a further two years. Commenting on this latest contract win, Chris Murphy, Head of Operations at Novus Property Solutions said: “We’re delighted to have been awarded this significant contract with the renowned cancer centre The Christie, cementing Novus’ position as the go-to contractor for a wide scope of works in the healthcare sector.” “Our team is highly experienced in working in live environments while minimising disruption to both staff and patients, and prioritising health and safety. Our delivery processes will support the patient experience, and our full team will demonstrate sensitivity and compassion for the duration of this contract.”

Leicester City is delighted to confirm that talented midfielder Sammy Braybrooke has signed a new long-term contract with the Football Club. The 18-year-old, who made his first team debut for the Foxes in an EFL Cup victory over Newport County in November, has committed his future to the Club until 2026. He joined City’s Academy at the age of eight and has risen through the ranks to establish himself as a key player, both for the Under-18s and Development Squad. His performances at Academy level have also earned him international recognition, with the Wigston-born youngster captaining England’s Under-18s and Under-19s age groups. Upon signing his new deal, he said: “It’s something that everyone wants, to sign a new contract, extending my stay at the Club I’ve been at since I was eight years old.” “I’m very happy to get it over the line and hopefully I can build on from this and show why I was offered this contract. It shows great faith in me and gives me a lot of confidence, showing that they want me to stay here as long as possible.” The Club’s renowned Academy – who retained their Category One status last season – have a proud history of developing players for the first team, with the likes of Harvey Barnes, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Luke Thomas all progressing through the pathway. The trio, who are regular performers under first team manager Brendan Rodgers, have together amassed 229 Premier League games for the Foxes, with Barnes making his senior England debut in October 2020.

A recenty launched report has shown that a family-owned ingredients manufacturer has helped 529 charities with 14 tonnes of food donations since April 2022 - the equivalent of 33,320 meals. The annual Impact Report from Glenbervie-based Macphie Ltd has highlighted numerous ways that the business has improved the lives of its local communities and charities in an effort to hit its major environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets. The food firm was among Scotland’s first businesses to achieve B Corp status in 2015, having successfully demonstrated an unwavering high standard of social and environmental performance. In its latest B Corp assessment, Macphie achieved a 93.7 rating - the median score is 50.9 - up by 15% from its first scoring in 2015. In the last 12 months Macphie has taken a number of steps in key areas to strengthen its standing impact areas. Andy Stapley, Macphie’s CEO said: “Our ways of working have always been based on the principles of sustainability and we want to make a positive impact on both our local and wider environment, both now and in the future, by doing the right thing to protect the people and places around us." “Proving we’re not just talking the talk when it comes to sustainability, we are B Corp accredited which means we’ve proactively joined a community of like-minded businesses using their force for good and this report only highlights the work we have been successfully achieving up to this point.” Macphie’s Impact Report shows that the firm’s food donations have prevented the waste of 22.4 tonnes of CO2e, while its other contributions have included the hosting of local secondary pupils as part of a foundation apprenticeship programme and funding a scholarship and three-month work placement for a university food science student. To reduce its carbon footprint, Macphie has invested £75,000 into the installation of a sub-metre network across the Glenbervie site to closely track energy use and identify ways to operate more efficiently. Since 2014, the business has been using power from two on-site wind turbines installed and owned by Glenbervie Wind and the installation of a 1.2MW on-site biomass facility in 2008 made it the first food manufacturer to produce ingredients using this technology. Andy continued: “Since our move to Glenbervie in the seventies, we’ve closely aligned our ambitions to hit social and environmental goals, as well as financial targets, and have committed to continuous improvement across five key pillars covering governance, customers, communities, workers and the environment." “We have made great strides as a company towards our goals, yet we are still steadfast on our ESG journey, making it a priority to not only give back to the land and our external stakeholders, but also our own Macphie family.” A winter payment scheme was also introduced to provide staff with an additional £750 to help with cost-of-living challenges, and in partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council, two Syrian refugees were taken on as full-time employees. Macphie is an internationally renowned ingredients manufacturer established in 1928, which now employs more than 250 people across its three sites. It manufactures a wide range of products including cake mixes and savoury sauces, as well as offering plant-based and gluten-free options. Its vision is to be the go-to partner for food brands around the world, turning ideas and creativity into practical solutions. Its passion for making life easier for chefs and bakers is reflected in its “simply clever” strapline. You can read Macphie’s 2022-23 Impact Report in full here

Scotland will play four Test matches in the summer in preparation for the Rugby World Cup 2023, with three of those games taking place at BT Murrayfield. Starting with a home fixture against Italy on Saturday 29 July, Scotland will then welcome France a week later, before travelling to face the Rugby World Cup hosts on Saturday 12 August with the venue to be confirmed. After a week’s break, Scotland will complete their summer programme against Georgia at BT Murrayfield on Saturday 26 August, with kick-off times for all games to be confirmed in due course. The Rugby World Cup 2023 will take place between 8 September and 28 October next year, with Scotland drawn in Pool B alongside defending world champions South Africa, Ireland, Tonga and Romania. Head coach Gregor Townsend said: “2023 is a huge year for our national team and after the Guinness 6 Nations our focus will quickly turn to the Rugby World Cup.” “All four fixtures will provide invaluable experiences in our preparation for the tournament. Having the opportunity to play at home on three occasions before we depart will enable our players to feel the backing of our supporters ahead of setting off for the World Cup.” “The match against France away from home will be very important as we are going to spend time at our training base for the World Cup in Nice prior to the match and replicate the schedule our players will experience during the tournament itself.” The Scotland 2023 Summer Test Schedule is as follows with Kick-off times still to be confirmed: Scotland v Italy Saturday 29 July, BT Murrayfield Scotland v France Saturday 5 August, BT Murrayfield France v Scotland Saturday 12 August, TBC Scotland v Georgia Saturday 26 August, BT Murrayfield Ticket information for these matches will be available over the next few months. Keep an eye on scottishrugby.org for more details.

Funding to modernise recycling in Scotland’s biggest city and help increase national recycling rates has been announced. More than £21 million has been awarded to Glasgow City Council through the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund to support the introduction of a new twin-stream service for the separate collection of recyclable materials. This will give residents separate collections of fibre (paper and cardboard) and containers (metals, plastics, cartons and film), improving both the quality and quantity of recyclables captured. Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater announced the funding on a visit to Glasgow’s current recycling facilities at Blochairn. Glasgow City Council has committed £20 million of its own budget to develop a new Materials Recycling Facility to process the twin collections, alongside other waste centre facilities. This will ensure capacity to process the increase in recycling collected and means that more materials will be reprocessed for new uses rather than thrown away. Glasgow manages the largest share of household waste of any local authority in Scotland. This project will save over 6,000 tonnes of CO2 every year. Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said: “By investing more than £21 million towards improving facilities in Glasgow, we will help make it easier for households to recycle and increase local recycling rates.” “This is the largest single investment to date from our £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund. With Glasgow being Scotland’s biggest local authority area, it will also make an important contribution to the national recycling picture.” “This is a big year for recycling, with Scotland’s deposit return scheme going live on 16 August and our ambitious Circular Economy Bill being published soon for Parliament to scrutinise. These actions will boost recycling across the country, and make a major contribution to the fight against the climate crisis.” Councillor Ruairi Kelly, City Convener for Neighbourhood Services and Assets, said: “This funding award is great news for Glasgow and a huge vote of confidence in our plans for recycling in city.” “Our Blochairn centre is showing its age and the funding will help us to build a new recycling facility that ensures material from household recycling bins is sorted much more effectively. We will also invest in an expanded recycling service for kerbside collections." “These measures will ensure more of Glasgow’s waste goes on to be recycled, which is good for Glasgow’s recycling rates, but also for sustainability in Scotland as a whole.” Iain Gulland, CEO at Zero Waste Scotland, said: “The Recycling Improvement Fund exists to help councils improve and invest in their recycling and reuse services, helping citizens up and down the country move towards a circular economy, where materials and products are kept in use as long as possible.” “Zero Waste Scotland is happy to support Glasgow City Council in what is a significant and transformative project to increase their operational capacity for recycling as well as to improve the quality of materials collected.” “We look forward to supporting more local authorities through this fund in the future.”

Arbikie Highland Estate has completed the latest stage of their plan to be the world’s first green hydrogen-powered distillery with the installation of a new 1MW wind turbine to provide renewable energy. The installation of the new wind turbine means Arbikie is well on track to be one of the world’s most sustainable distilleries, having already distilled Nàdar (the world’s first climate-positive gin and vodka) in partnership with the James Hutton Institute and Abertay University and won the ‘Excellence in Sustainability’ award at the Scottish Whisky Awards Arbikie is now working in collaboration with Locogen and Logan Energy to power their distillery with green hydrogen. It will use renewable electricity from the wind turbine to split water in an electrolyser to create green hydrogen. This will be used in their hydrogen-compatible boiler to power the Arbikie Distillery with the switch having a significant impact on the distilleries carbon footprint. Iain Stirling, Director of Arbikie Highland Estate commented: “We are delighted to pioneer the use of green hydrogen in the distilling industry. As the latest custodians of our family farms and distillery it’s very important to our family to be as sustainable as possible.” Arbikie are working with customers, like Hilton and Marriott across the globe to create sustainable cocktails with their Nadars. Stirling added “Our Nàdar Gin and Vodka are in demand across the world as discerning consumers switch to planet-friendly spirits and our customers, including some of the world’s best bars, and hotels are using our Nadars to create sustainable cocktail menus.”

Renowned Scottish gin maker 1881 Distillery has been recognised at one of the industry’s most prestigious awards ceremonies, winning two honours at The Gin Guide Awards 2023. The brand’s navy strength gin, Honours, was crowned a winner in the High ABV category and overall highest scorer for Scotland, while 1881’s Tiffin Gin received a highly commended accolade in the Spiced Gin category. The awards celebrate the very best gins the industry has to offer, with an expert panel of judges examining the appearance, aroma, taste and overall appeal of each tipple from hundreds of entrants globally. The winners were announced online earlier this month. The 1881 distillery – which is located at Peebles Hydro Resort in the Scottish Borders – is named after the year the iconic venue was founded, with many of its gins drawing inspiration from its rich history, surroundings and culinary excellence. The hotel served as a military hospital during the second World War, with 1881 Honours Navy Strength Gin paying homage to those injured during the conflict. Meanwhile Tiffin Gin was expertly crafted in collaboration with Peebles Hydro’s cheffing team, originally as an accompaniment to an Indian concept menu offered at the hotel. Charlie Leckie, brand manager for 1881 Distillery, said: “It’s a real honour to be recognised in The Gin Guide Awards for yet another year. We pride ourselves on creating exciting, delicious gins which celebrate Peebles Hydro’s rich heritage and the people the hotel has welcomed over the years.” “This could not have been possible without the hard-work and dedication from our fantastic team. The enthusiasm and energy they bring is unmatched, and it’s that edge which I believe gives our gins the true gold standard.”

Allied Vehicles in Glasgow has invested more than £1 million as it prepares to step up production of its range of wheelchair accessible vehicles to more than 7,500 per year. The company, Europe’s leading manufacturer and supplier of such vehicles, announced last month that it was taking on 75 new staff as it announced the move and around half of them have already started work, taking their headcount to more than 600. Operations Director George McAdam said new people are being brought in and trained in stages to allow production to continue. “We’ve got a plan between now and July to go from 100 vehicles, it gradually builds its way up and come July we’ll have 153 vehicles per week,” he said. “There’s a very detailed plan that looks at when we bring people in, when we move and when we make the changes to the production lines. We’ve got about half the new employees in just now and we’ve got a detailed schedule of recruitment and onboarding.” George said it’s something of a balancing act with new challenges being presented every time there’s a change in vehicle supplies. However, he said Allied are ready for all eventualities: “The project plan is pretty vast and has to allow for external factors. We’re having to do things like add in additional work stations and ramps, it’s a huge exercise of timing.” “We’re moving the production lines to free up areas, which allows a new line to be introduced, and it is various stages all the way through. We’ve brought people in, we’ve trained them, we’ve freed up one of the lines, so we’re going to be building even more of our top selling Peugeot Rifter Horizons as we’re doing it, we’ll do it in a way that supports in training the new people.” The company has also brought in a second £500,000 Trumpf TruLaser 1030 and a Randex computerised parts storage and retrieval system that cost over £80,000 – both vital in the task to step up production, as George explained: “When we start to get to volumes above 125 vehicles, the one laser just doesn’t cope with it, so we didn’t have enough capacity. This allows us to cut and shape parts in house and keeps us in control of the process.” “It’s very difficult to get capacity externally and at a good price, so the new laser is now fully operational.” “We are buying the last computers to allow us to do all our programming and nesting. Both machines are fully operational now, we’ve completed the training and we’re starting to utilise both machines as we ramp up through the volume. In the production stores area, the Randex system is in and we’re now in the process of programming it all, fitting all the shelves and getting it to talk to our K8 [mainframe].” “Because we’ve got the Randex it goes vertically and has lots of capacity and that frees up rack space that we wouldn’t have had. So again, it’s part of all the moving pieces on the chessboard that creates the space and lets us move towards that 153 number.” On top of the equipment costs, George said additional training is costing over £300,000 and tooling a further £150,000. He says it’s a major investment – over £1million – to hit higher run rates through process and layout changes, tooling and new equipment, but he added: “Things like the laser and the Randex have a 10- to 15-year life, so there’s … good longevity for the investment and the capacity that we’re going to have. Also, the skills and the ability to move people around about– rather than have specific product lines we have production lines – you can do any product on them.” “In the past that was a major problem because we had a ‘line-specific’ builds, so when the line’s down you have nowhere else to build the product, but because we have now configured in a way they can take any products, we just move material in and out. And if we do get a problem on one product, we’ve got other products, we can be flexible and still achieve our numbers.” However, none of these ambitions could reach fruition without Allied’s people, who George singled out for particular praise: “I think that through the times we had no vehicle supply, they did anything for us and now, where we’re ramping up, they’ve been very supportive from moving to different lines and they understand all the lumps and bumps on the road, and the support we’re getting from all of our employees is phenomenal … I see that as a major positive for the future if we can all work like this and deliver such a massive increase in such a short period of time.”

A major ingredients firm has pledged £50,000 to good causes as it celebrates 50 years based from its home in rural Aberdeenshire. Macphie Ltd has announced its commitment to donating £50,000 this year to charities and community groups in Scotland. It comes as a gesture of gratitude to the communities which have helped the family-owned firm grow into a major industry player since its move to Glenbervie, near Stonehaven in the seventies. Although established in 1928 in Glasgow, it was Macphie’s move in 1973 to Glenbervie which truly laid the foundations for the firm’s operational transformation from bakery wholesaler into an internationally renowned ingredients manufacturer – producing cake mixes, sweet and savoury sauces, and desserts, including plant-based and gluten-free options. Andy Stapley, Macphie’s CEO said: “This pledge is about celebrating our wider Macphie family, those in our communities who have helped us over decades to build the firm up to what it is today.” “Although the decision to move our base out of Glasgow to the north-east estate in the seventies intrigued many, establishing operations at our Glenbervie home gave us unique roots for growth, which have been instrumental in our success.” “It was a pioneering move at the time. Operating a global company from a rural base has not always been easy but it’s important to recognise Glenbervie and the communities around it as absolutely vital to our business. We’re proud to be making the important commitment to supporting worthy local causes.” Cognisant of the importance of the Glenbervie base to Macphie’s international success, the firm announced its significant commitment to redirecting funds into communities local to its Aberdeenshire and North Lanarkshire bases. The food manufacturing titan is no stranger to giving back to the community. In the last 12 months alone Macphie has donated over £31,000 to over 100 causes such as local youth football teams, events in the area and supporting the committees behind local golf courses, green spaces and play parks. The company’s biggest single donation will see £30,000 paid out over three years to fund the development of a walking route in Kincardineshire between St Cyrus and Cove. This route will form part of the wider Queen’s Jubilee Coastal Path, stretching from St Cyrus to Banffshire. Andy added: “The past 50 years at Glenbervie has seen huge success for the firm and the community have played a major part in that. We enjoy being part of such a tight-knit area and are fortunate to employ so many brilliant local staff who have helped Macphie’s huge growth." “From community groups to charities to sports clubs, and everything in between, we are looking forward to hearing from positive initiatives to play a small part in supporting the amazing work around the area.” While Macphie will be on the look-out for potential donation recipients, interested groups will also be able to apply for a donation through a form on the Macphie website. The game-changing move to Glenbervie in the seventies came alongside forward-thinking sustainability initiatives by Macphie. In 1974, Macphie began treating the effluent at the Glenbervie site to be used in a sustainable way, which marked the start of an impressive green journey for the food firm – now the site features its very own wind turbines to power the factory sustainably. Sustainability is a key element of the fourth-generation family firm’s philosophy: it was among Scotland’s first businesses to achieve B Corp status in 2015, having successfully demonstrated an unwavering high standard of social and environmental performance. Macphie is an internationally renowned ingredients manufacturer established in 1928, which now employs more than 250 people across its three sites. It manufactures a wide range of products including cake mixes and savoury sauces, as well as offering plant-based and gluten-free options. Its vision is to be the go-to partner for food brands around the world, turning ideas and creativity into practical solutions. Its passion for making life easier for chefs and bakers is reflected in its 'simply clever' strapline.

A leading Scottish hotel group has announced its new charity partnership for 2023. Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels, has pledged to raise much needed funds for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA), which provides life-saving services to communities in every corner of Scotland, for the next 12 months. The funds will be raised by hotel employees across the hotel group’s eight properties within the portfolio, as well as guests who pass through its doors throughout the year, with a number of activities already earmarked to kick off fundraising. The hotel group’s big-hearted employees have a fantastic fundraising track record, having raised thousands for a variety of both local and national charities throughout the years, and the team at Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels are looking forward to doing all they can for Scotland’s only air ambulance charity. With a crew based at Perth airport, close to the hotel’s flagship property, Crieff Hydro, the charity recently marked its 10th anniversary. Since May 22, 2013, SCAA has doubled its operation, launching an Aberdeen base in 2020, responded to nearly 5,000 call outs, raised over £50 million and flown nearly half a million miles, saving thousands of lives and impacting on thousands more, particularly in remote and rural areas. Stephen Leckie, Chairman and CEO of Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels, said: “It’s vitally important for us to support those most in need through charity fundraising, and we’re very much looking forward to embarking on this new partnership with Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance. The dedication and skill of the pilots and paramedics involved is phenomenal and their life saving efforts makes SCAA a perfect fit for our charity partner of the year.” SCAA CEO, David Craig, said: “We are immensely grateful to Stephen Leckie and the Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels for choosing SCAA as their charity partner this year. The generosity shown by hotel employees and guests visiting their properties will undoubtedly help save lives as we respond to emergencies across Scotland, 365 days a year. “SCAA’s life-saving service is only possible thanks to the ongoing support of the individuals, businesses and organisations of Scotland and partnerships like this with the Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels help to fly us into the future, ensuring we are there for the people of Scotland when we are needed most.” Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels comprises eight hotels located in Perthshire, Dundee, the Scottish Borders and the Highlands.

The golden girl of British athletics has joined a marathon Scotland-wide initiative to boost medical research. Eilish McColgan, the Commonwealth 10,000 metres champion, has become the 300,000th volunteer to join the Scottish Health Research Register and Biobank (SHARE), which gives people the opportunity to take part in medical research to develop vital new treatments for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and asthma. By joining the register, the 32-year-old, is the latest volunteer to also allow blood left from routine clinical tests to be utilised for research purposes, allowing scientists to both develop new medicines and improve their safety and effectiveness. Despite hitting this landmark figure, researchers insist that they are nowhere near the finishing line and have set their sights on recruiting one million volunteers to create an even more powerful resource for medical research. “As an athlete, I know the difference that seconds can make,” said Eilish, who smashed the British record enroute to winning April’s Berlin half-marathon.” “It is incredible to think that in less than 60 seconds a person can sign up to SHARE and help doctors to discover new treatments for conditions like diabetes, cancer and dementia.” “Anyone aged 11 years or older can sign up, and I particularly hope that more young people want to get involved in this incredible project.” “It takes just a few seconds to register, requires minimal commitment, and could help transform outcomes for some of our most challenging health conditions.” Eilish is the latest high-profile recruit to the pioneering project, following former Scotland football manager Craig Levein, television presenter Lorraine Kelly, and actress Joanna Vanderham. SHARE is already one of the largest registers of research volunteers in the UK. Participants have agreed to be informed about health research projects that they may be interested in taking part in. Last year, over 40,000 people in Scotland took part in clinical research trials, and the register is one of the ways interested participants can be informed about suitable opportunities. There is no obligation to take part in any specific study and it is up to the individual if they wish to participate. Anyone aged 11 or over can sign up. “SHARE is definitely a marathon and not a sprint,” said Colin Palmer, Professor of Pharmacogenomics at the University of Dundee’s School of Medicine. “However, this programme has the potential to transform healthcare outcomes across Scotland for years to come.” “It is a joy to welcome Eilish as our 300,000th recruit. As an inspirational athlete who appreciates the benefits of keeping in good health, she is a fantastic ambassador for SHARE.” Professor Iain McInnes, Vice Principal and Head of College, University of Glasgow, added, “Scotland has a proud history of pioneering medical discoveries. “This remarkable registry provides a foundation for even more exciting advances in the coming years, built on the generosity of the Scottish people.” Many who register for SHARE also give their permission to allow use of their left-over blood following routine clinical testing to be kept for research. This is the blood that is commonly used for tests called for by GPs and other clinicians and would otherwise be dispensed with. The use of ‘spare’ blood in this way is a world first. The project is part of NHS Research Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office and supported by Scottish Health Boards and Universities. The project is sponsored by the University of Dundee. Professor Brian McKinstry, of the Centre for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, added, “SHARE is a simple way for people to get involved and support research which is making a real difference to people’s lives. All people need to do is register online.” “There is no need for a special sample of blood to be taken and they do not need to make a visit to their doctor. All the samples which we are given access to will be anonymised using a barcode system.”