logo
'Exciting new chapter' teased for Dundee's McManus café

'Exciting new chapter' teased for Dundee's McManus café

The Courier04-05-2025
Leisure and Dundee has teased 'an exciting new chapter' for the café at The McManus as a £1.5m contract is advertised.
A notice published on the Public Contracts Scotland website reveals a new operator is being sought the run the café and provide hospitality at the art gallery and museum.
It is currently operated by Dundee-based Willow Tree Catering Limited, however this contract is coming to an end.
The tender notice, which was published on May 2, details 'the café is located in a thriving space situated in the centre of the museum'.
Those bidding for the contract must have a minimum of two years' experience in providing a similar service, which involves the creation of a destination experience.
They must also be 'experienced and up to date with current modern trends in café-restaurant operations' and 'provide suitable menus and beverage selections'.
Applications should be submitted by June 2.
The estimated value of the contract is listed at £1,500,000 and it will run for five years.
A spokesperson for Leisure and Culture Dundee said: 'The current contract with the café operator at The McManus is coming to an end.
'This marks an exciting new chapter for this thriving space at one of Dundee's best-loved visitor attractions.
'We look forward to sharing more details about future plans in due course.'
The McManus café previously made The Courier's list of the five best child-friendly cafes in Tayside.
We have also pulled together a guide to the best laptop-friendly coffee shops to work remotely in Dundee.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Radisson Blu Glasgow unveils new event spaces after revamp
Radisson Blu Glasgow unveils new event spaces after revamp

Glasgow Times

time32 minutes ago

  • Glasgow Times

Radisson Blu Glasgow unveils new event spaces after revamp

This marks the final phase of a £15 million transformation project that began in 2023. The investment at Radisson Blu Glasgow included upgrades to all 247 guest rooms, a new entrance, modernised lifts, and now 1,611 square metres of event and meeting facilities. (Image: Supplied) Hina Rubbani-Mills, general manager of Radisson Blu Glasgow, said: "As we've been on this journey for the hotel to improve our guest experiences, we've carefully planned out our meetings and events spaces to ensure that we can meet and exceed the needs for all gatherings small and large. Read more: How lone women walking through Kelvingrove Park changed Glasgow's planning approach "Working alongside Timorous Beasties has allowed us to infuse local touches and create spaces that provide inspiration for all delegates and attendees, as we set out to become Glasgow's leading hotel for business and leisure. "With plenty of industry-leading conferences, board meetings, and team getaways already on the calendar, we're eager to welcome more guests into our revamped spaces and foster opportunities for creative collaboration right in the heart of Glasgow." (Image: Supplied) The new facilities include a ballroom capable of hosting 800 delegates for conferences or 550 guests for dinners, as well as nine smaller rooms for team building and training sessions. The refurbishment also includes two breakout bars and improved catering options. (Image: Supplied) Located on Argyle Street near Glasgow Central Station, the hotel is positioned as a convenient choice for both local and international events. As part of the redesign, Radisson Blu partnered with Glasgow-based design studio Timorous Beasties to create wallpaper designs for the event spaces. (Image: Supplied) Paul Simmons, co-director at Timorous Beasties, said: "The starting point of the designs was drawing. "Drawing has always been one of our main preoccupations, we feel it's a definite part of our DNA."

UK-Based Forte Antique Quietly Builds a Global Backbone for Custom Music in the Creator Economy
UK-Based Forte Antique Quietly Builds a Global Backbone for Custom Music in the Creator Economy

Scotsman

timean hour ago

  • Scotsman

UK-Based Forte Antique Quietly Builds a Global Backbone for Custom Music in the Creator Economy

With content platforms demanding speed, rights, and sonic originality, Forte Antique is becoming a go-to partner for businesses investing in audio as intellectual property. Sign up to our Scotsman Money newsletter, covering all you need to know to help manage your money. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The internet's economy is no longer driven by just visuals and code — it's driven by sound. And while consumers are familiar with playlists and streaming hits, the real transformation is happening behind the scenes, where music is being treated less like entertainment and more like infrastructure. At the center of this shift is Forte Antique, a UK-based music production firm that has become a silent force in reshaping how content platforms, creative agencies, and app developers acquire their soundtracks. Unlike licensing-based models, Forte Antique delivers fully owned, custom-produced music — offering companies not access, but asset ownership. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As digital ecosystems race to create immersive brand experiences, industry experts say that companies are rethinking how they source music — and who controls it. "Composing in the Shadows: A music producer reviews her session in a dimly lit studio — part of the growing workforce behind the fully owned audio economy." A Digital Supply Chain Powered by Sound From Derry to Dubai, platforms today rely on quick-turnaround content for mobile, video, podcasts, and interactive media. But the typical licensing model — often tangled with usage limits and royalty obligations — no longer suits the needs of fast-moving businesses. Enter firms like Forte Antique, whose business model mirrors that of a private-label manufacturer — only for music. Instead of offering searchable libraries to the public, Forte Antique works in the background: Building custom music packs by genre Crafting sonic identities for platforms and startups Delivering white-label soundtracks ready for rebranding Operating recurring supply models for enterprise clients Each track is composed, delivered, and assigned with zero reuse, zero royalties, and zero legal ambiguity. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'What we're seeing is the professionalization of music procurement,' said a UK-based entertainment lawyer. 'Forte Antique isn't selling tracks. It's delivering assets with business utility — like owning a film, codebase, or original design.' Why Business Ownership of Music Is Booming This quiet shift in strategy is rooted in real-world concerns: Avoiding copyright flags on social platforms Securing global usage rights from day one Differentiating brand sound from competitors Integrating music into long-term products and IP portfolios The growing demand spans industries. Royalty-free platforms want exclusive music to protect catalog value. Agencies seek scalable assets for client campaigns. Apps want UX sounds that don't expire. Even AI voice and metaverse developers are sourcing music they can control. Forte Antique, with a team of 50+ composers across Europe and Asia, has capitalized on this demand by offering flexible models that support growth, privacy, and platform-agnostic use. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Originality at Scale — Without Licensing Fatigue Whether it's ten acoustic themes for a mindfulness app or a hundred trap beats for a streaming hub, Forte Antique delivers sound at volume without compromising exclusivity. Clients choose from 14 musical genres and receive audio assets in multiple formats (WAV, MP3, STEMS) with embedded metadata. It's a clean transaction — built for integration, not repetition. 'You can think of them as a silent factory for the global audio layer,' said a creative director at a European content agency. 'They're not just producing music. They're supplying infrastructure.' What This Means for Business in the UK and Beyond Forte Antique's model highlights a larger business trend: the shift from subscription-based digital services to asset acquisition in creative industries. As UK startups and agencies explore ways to own more of their digital supply chain, services like this — invisible to the end-user — are becoming mission-critical. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad

Ayrshire electrical firm targets growth amid ongoing success
Ayrshire electrical firm targets growth amid ongoing success

Daily Record

timean hour ago

  • Daily Record

Ayrshire electrical firm targets growth amid ongoing success

The company, based in Irvine, is looking to spread its wings with work the length and breadth of Scotland. An Ayrshire firm is keen to spread its wings as part of a nationwide expansion. ‌ Irvine-based EssJay Electrical Services are plugging into success from their base in the town's South Newmoor Industrial Estate. ‌ The team of eight, headed by Steve Roberts, are a major contractor for the Ministry of Defence and carry out work on more than 5,000 of their homes across Scotland. ‌ It's a major task for the family-run firm, who work on properties from Dumfries to Wick on a weekly basis. But Roberts, 48, has his eye firmly set on the company's continued growth - with local work just as important to their strategy. He said: "It all started with me doing soffit lighting during Covid and from there we began subcontracting for a local housing agency which gave us an avenue into the MoD work. "We'll do all of the planned maintenance work, bathroom refurbs and EICRs (Electrical Installation Condition Reports)...it's a lot of work but it's a challenge we love." Steve insists the feet of the company, which is NAPIT, Trust Mark and Safe Contractor accredited, are firmly on the ground as he looks to widen their reach. ‌ Son Connor and wife, Annie, are part of the small but dedicated team who are helping to grow the brand from their corner of North Ayrshire. He said: "I don't view us as some kind of success story - it's never a success until you reach the end and that's how I always approach things. "You can always keep improving and growing. ‌ "Our success, to call it that, has been down to the hard work of the staff here and the effort they put in. "They'll probably say that I'm a hard taskmaster, but if I get something wrong I want to be falling on my own sword and take the responsibility for it." Steve added: "At present a lot of our work is through the MoD and it's been great for us. "The challenge now is to increase our reach in the local area and beyond and we're really up for it."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store