Latest news with #WilliamGrant&Sons
Daily Record
29-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Drinks firms to hold charity football match at Airdrieonians' Excelsior Stadium in aid of St Andrew's Hospice
Teams from International Beverage and William Grant & Sons will square off this Saturday, with kick-off at 1pm. Two drinks firms are hoping for a significant net gain as they team up for a charity football match in aid of St Andrew's Hospice this weekend. Airdrieonians FC's Excelsior Stadium will host the clash between teams from the town's International Beverage and Bellshill's William Grant & Sons on Saturday, with kick-off at 1pm. The kind-hearted Lanarkshire companies have held the fundraiser twice before - in 2022 and 2023 - and collected around £37,000 for the hospice. Download the Lanarkshire Live app today The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now. Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7. The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you. Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Eileen Rae, business support manager at International Beverage, said: "We're delighted to be taking part once again in this year's charity football match in a bid to raise as much money as possible for St Andrew's Hospice, one of our longstanding charity partners. "As a business, we are always looking at ways to support organisations that matter the most to our staff as well as supporting the local community surrounding our sites, so St Andrew's Hospice certainly fits the bill. "The vital care and support they provide to local patients and their families is immeasurable, and our team will be bringing their A-game to the pitch this weekend." Colin McGraw, performance improvement co-ordinator at William Grant & Sons, added: "It's the third time we've been invited to take part in this fabulous event to help raise as much as we can for St Andrew's Hospice - a great charity in our local community that gives so much to its patients and their families. "This year we've worked extremely hard in our fundraising efforts and are looking to continue that hard work and enthusiasm on matchday by adding to our last two victories to keep hold of the trophy." A "fantastic day of football and fun for all the family" is guaranteed and tickets, priced £2 for adults and £1 for children, are available by contacting Lynsey Scobie from the hospice by emailing or calling 01236 772047. Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis. *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
Scotsman
18-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Whisky chief buys Aberdeenshire estate castle and grounds after rewilding company has to sell up
The sale is one of many made across the Highlands Rewilding portfolio. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox 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... One of Scotland's prominent whisky figures has bought an Aberdeenshire castle and grounds from a rewilding company that was forced to sell up over financial issues. Beldorney estate has been sold by Highlands Rewilding Grant Gordon, a scion of the William Grant & Sons whisky empire, which produces single malts including Balvenie and Glenfiddich, is in the process of buying Beldorney Castle and part of its 350-hectare estate. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The property has been owned by former Greenpeace director Jeremy Leggett's company Highlands Rewilding since 2021. The mass-ownership company currently manages two rewilding projects in the Highlands of Scotland at the Bunloit Estate and here on the Beldorney Estate. It was previously in Mr Gordon's family when Sir William Grant, the founder of William Grant & Sons, owned the estate for a period in the early 1900s. The Scotsman understands the whisky chief has bought a large chunk of the estate including its castle, while a neighbouring landowner in the community has bought a smaller bit of land. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The statues of William and Elizabeth Grant, the founders of the distillery, can be seen in the courtyard of the distillery. No plans on the future management of the Aberdeenshire estate have been made public yet. Highlands Rewilding, a company set up to rewild areas of the country, was forced to sell off its estates, which also include Tayvallich on the west coast and Bunloit in Inverness-shire, to pay back an £11m loan taken out to purchase land for its initiatives. Entrepreneur Jeremy Leggett is founder and chief executive of Highlands Rewilding, which owns three estates in Scotland – he hopes the ground-breaking sale and agreement can be copied in other places Mr Leggett said a total of 17 buildings across the company's three areas of operation had been sold and most of its land - approaching 1,500 hectares - has been sold to buyers who he said 'still want to partner with the company on land management.' Some 500 hectares are still on the market, with Mr Leggett saying he hopes they will go to a buyer or buyers who will be 'willing to partner with us on land management so our team would be able to continue its nature-recovery work on the whole estate.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad These include the island of Danna and the Ulva Peninsula on the west coast, which are on the market in two lots for offers over £3,350,000 with Strutt and Parker. Commenting on the Beldorney sale, Mr Leggett said: 'I and the Highlands Rewilding team are very pleased with the end result of our sales of land and buildings on Beldorney. 'The land has been sold to two local families who are intent on continuing nature restoration. 'The buildings have returned to local families. We are delighted to see the same pattern of ownership transfer to local interests intent on nature recovery unfolding on Tayvallich. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'That pattern is a considerable secondary benefit of the Highlands Rewilding model. Meanwhile the primary benefit - data-led land-management for investable nature recovery - remains firmly in play, via partnerships underway and in train.' Mr Leggett said the large bridging loan from the state-owned UK Infrastructure Bank had been a 'risky' but necessary move to secure land at Tayvallich initially, half of which was then sold in a much-lauded deal to the Barrahormid Trust which will hold it in perpetuity for nature restoration and community development, including house building. Dr Josh Doble, Community Land Scotland's (CLS) policy manager, previously said CLS was 'deeply concerned' about the sales 'to repay enormous loans they took out to buy the land in the first place.' He previously told The Scotsman: 'Scottish land acquisitions should not be based upon these speculative financial models which require the rapid creation of underdeveloped natural capital markets in order to be financially viable.' Grant Gordon is a trustee of the Cabrach Trust, which he founded in 2011.
Press and Journal
16-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
The Tannochbrae: Inside former Dufftown doctor's surgery where well-known whisky term 'monkey shoulder' was coined
Almost eight years ago, James and Louise Creane-Smith took over The Tannochbrae guest house in Dufftown. And since taking the reins, the couple have put their stamp on the place, which attracts both tourists from around the world and locals. The building in the heart of Speyside dates back to 1872. It features five en-suite bedrooms and can accommodate up to 12 guests. The building, a former doctor's surgery, was where the phrase 'monkey shoulder' was coined for malt men with repetitive strain injury. And in homage to whisky workers, William Grant & Sons named one of their malt-blended spirits Monkey Shoulder. You can spot remnants of Dr Scott's surgery and enjoy a dram of Monkey Shoulder in the whisky bar – the former surgery's waiting room – which has more than 350 drams on offer to sample. In recent years, they have made modern upgrades to the house. James, whose parents previously ran the Fife Street business, said: 'Originally I was the chef in the restaurant that was part of The Tannochbrae. 'Then we ended up taking over the whole business from my family. 'It's been challenging and through Covid, we had to make changes. 'We ended up deciding to get rid of the restaurant as it was challenging to get really good staff consistently and the 18-hour days. 'It was important to adapt and ensure it continued to be a success.' In recent years, the couple upgraded the property with heating zones and auto lighting to help save energy. However, the couple say it was important to keep the character of the historic building. James said: 'We did some things to modernise it with automated lighting and heating zones as these days people are more conscious. 'Also, it has resulted in a huge reduction in all that electricity consumption which is great. 'Meanwhile, we did work on the roof to ensure it's good for the next 150 years.' He added: 'It is all about preserving this building which has a rich history. 'The floors in the entrance way and the staircase are the original. 'We want to deliver a modern guest house, while still showing off the history.' Tourists come in their larger numbers when visiting the nearby whisky distilleries like Glenfiddich and The Balvenie. However, the guest house also welcomes people coming back to the area to visit their family too. She added: 'We get a lot of Scandinavian tourists staying here when they are visiting distilleries. 'Also Americans too, we recently had a group of five guys from different parts of America coming together to enjoy a great time together here and some whisky too. 'On the other hand, we had people at Christmas who live within five miles from the house too. 'We cater for a lot of different guests.' James is positive about the future of Dufftown with new businesses opening up. He said: 'There is a lot of fresh blood coming into Dufftown and opening new businesses which is great to see. 'It brings new energy to the town and a lot of positivity. 'Over recent years, there has been the likes of the Cozy Coo and we have Beinn Coffee & Books opening soon too.'
