The much-anticipated reopening of Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh takes place today, as the new £47m project opened its doors to the public at 7 a.m. Tuesday, 19 July 2022, after a closure of four and a half years.

Owned by The City of Edinburgh Council and managed by the charity, Edinburgh Leisure, this new state-of-the-art community sports facility, will support physical activity, sport, health, and wellbeing in Edinburgh for generations to come, whilst also recognising the legacy and heritage of the old Meadowbank.

The new venue supports accessible participation and has improved indoor facilities including two multi-sport games halls with seating, three fitness studios and a gym with triple the number of exercise stations.

Commenting on the reopening, Edinburgh Leisure’s Chief Executive, June Peebles, said: “Donald Goldsmith, the manager at Meadowbank, and his team are incredibly excited (as I am) about this much anticipated opening and are looking forward to welcoming customers old and new to this multi-million-pound investment which will provide countless opportunities for Edinburgh citizens to be active and will undoubtedly contribute to the wellbeing of our City.

City of Edinburgh Council Leader Cammy Day said: “The City of Edinburgh Council Leader Cammy Day said: “We are delighted with the new Meadowbank Sports Centre – I believe it will be one of the best facilities for community and club sport in the country. I hope the fantastic and top of the range facilities will encourage people to get more active and more often. I was very impressed when I was given my first look and I’m confident members old and new will be too.

 “Participation and accessibility are at the heart of the centre, and it will bring huge physical, mental, and social benefits to generations of local people for years to come. There is a packed programme of activity and range of classes for all interests and ability. Meadowbank has been an iconic part of the Capital’s sporting history and I’m in no doubt that the new Centre will build on this legacy.”

Chair of sportscotland, Mel Young, Chair said: “Meadowbank Sports Centre has been a sporting and social hub for so many people in the Edinburgh area over the years. Thanks to this incredible £47million refurbishment, people of all ages and abilities will be able to reap the benefits of newly refurbished facilities. The re-opening of Meadowbank will provide the local community with access to a state-of-the-art sport and physical activity centre on their doorstep, creating significant participation opportunities. This collaboration between The City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Leisure and sportscotland is a great example of partnership working developing genuine opportunities that will help make sport, and physical activity a way of life for local people.’’  sportscotland contributed £5million to the project.

The new Meadowbank has much to offer the local community and communities throughout Edinburgh and includes the following facilities:

  • An outdoor eight-lane athletics track with a 499-seat stand and outdoor throwing and jumps area
  • A 60m six-lane indoor athletics track and jumps space
  • Two multi-sport halls with fixed and moveable spectator seating
  • A hall for trampolining and dance
  • Two fitness studios (capacity – 30 each), which include world-renowned Les Mills programme of classes, smart tech bars and weights
    • The fitness class timetable will open with 92 classes
  • A Cycle Studio (capacity – 30) with Life Fitness IC7 bikes and ICG myride and Les Mills RPM classes
  • A gym with Life Fitness equipment, dumbbells up to 50kg, Watt bikes, SkiErg, row and Cybex SPARC machines (capacity – 90)
    • Combined bumped plates weighs in the gym – 2927.5kg
    • Combined dumbbell weight in the gym – 1,918kg
    • 40+ pieces of resistance and free weights equipment
  • Two squash courts
  • A combat studio for martial arts
  • A boxing gym
  • Two 3G (synthetic) pitches, including one with a 499-seat stand
  • A hospitality Suite and event-hosting facilities
  • Cafe and meeting rooms

Opening times and how to buy memberships are available on Edinburgh Leisure’s website and social media.

History of Meadowbank

Meadowbank has been the home of elite sport in the Scottish capital since the 1930s. The previous Meadowbank Sports Centre was built for the 1970 Commonwealth Games and was used by various clubs and sporting celebrities. It hosted two Commonwealth Games in 1970 and 1986.

It has also hosted some large-scale music events over the years, including T on the Fringe, an annual music festival. Muse, My Chemical Romance, Snow Patrol, Radiohead, Pixies, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails, Kaiser Chiefs, and Razorlight, all played the venue between 2005 and 2007.

The closure of the venue on 3 December 2017 marked the end of an era and the start a new one as the building was decommissioned to make way for a new sports centre for people in Edinburgh and beyond to enjoy for decades to come.

For more information:   www.edinburghleisure.co.uk

— SSE Thermal and Equinor-led project would be Scotland’s first power station with carbon capture and storage —

— Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, Worley and Técnicas Reunidas consortium wins FEED contract —

A pivotal low-carbon development in Aberdeenshire is continuing to build momentum – with a major contract award announced today.

SSE Thermal and Equinor are developing what could become Scotland’s first flexible power station equipped with carbon capture technology and have appointed a consortium to deliver the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) contract.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, Worley and Técnicas Reunidas will deliver a detailed plan for Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station, which would have a generating capacity of up to 910MW.

The station would connect into the Scottish Cluster’s CO2 transport and storage infrastructure, which underpins plans to deliver one of the UK’s first low-carbon industrial clusters.

The current Peterhead Power Station plays an essential role in keeping the lights on and is crucial to Scotland’s electricity system. There is a clear need, however, to decarbonise power generation and the proposed Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station represents this next phase of society’s energy transition – helping to meet net zero targets in Scotland and the UK, while providing flexible back-up to Scotland’s growing renewables sector and bolstering security of supply.

The UK Government has set ambitious targets for the country to become a world leader in carbon capture and storage, and Peterhead Carbon Capture will play a pivotal role with the ability to capture up to 1.5MT of carbon annually, which represents around five per cent of the Government’s 2030 target.

A recent report by SSE shows that the new development would create significant economic benefits in the transition to net zero, with £60m expected to be contributed to the Aberdeen City and Shire economy during development and construction, with 980 years of employment supported. Over the station’s operational lifetime, it is estimated that around £25m will be added to the wider Aberdeen economy each year, with around 240 jobs supported on an annual basis.

Catherine Raw, Managing Director at SSE Thermal, said: “As renewables scales up, the importance of flexible energy only increases – however that generation needs to be decarbonised which is why we are committed to delivering this landmark carbon capture project at Peterhead. As we begin work with the consortium on the engineering design, we hope to see the UK Government recognise the need for multiple power-CCS plants when it provides an update on Cluster Sequencing later this month. Crucially, it must give clarity on the Scottish Cluster and accelerate its development, which is necessary if Scotland’s net zero ambitions are to be achieved.”

Grete Tveit, Senior Vice President for Low Carbon Solutions at Equinor, said: “This is an important step in realising our ambition to build Scotland’s first flexible power station equipped with carbon capture technology. By providing low carbon back-up power to complement intermittent renewables generation, Peterhead Carbon Capture Power Station will improve energy security through the energy transition. We are excited to be working with SSE Thermal and the consortium to deliver this critical project, unlocking investment that will bring both local employment and supply chain value.” 

Bradley Andrews, President at Worley, on behalf of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, Worley, and Técnicas Reunidas consortium, said: “Cooperation with a common vision is key to the energy transition. The consortium’s work with SSE Thermal and Equinor is an example of how companies can collaborate to overcome the challenge of reaching net zero. This project will produce flexible and clean power allowing further renewable generation while reducing carbon emissions at scale. It’s a landmark project for Scotland in its ambitions to help decarbonise industrial clusters in the UK – and it supports our efforts in delivering a more sustainable world.”

A S36 planning application for the project was submitted to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit in March of this year.

Integrated Graphene, a Scotland-based technology development and integration company, has announced plans to invest up to £8 million in scaling up its revolutionary 3D Graphene foam, Gii®, manufacturing process to meet surging global demand from the human diagnostics and energy markets.

Founded in 2016, Integrated Graphene has developed the world’s only commercially viable graphene manufacturing process that is currently scaled to high volumes. This novel process eliminates the scale-up challenges associated with CVD graphene and graphene powder. As well as direct manufacturing, Integrated Graphene is designing manufacturing processes for blue-chip companies to effectively bolt-on to existing lines, and it also has a team dedicated to supporting organisations to adapt graphene technologies for their products.

The company’s investment plan will focus on scaling-up the manufacturing of its market-ready graphene enhanced electrodes and super capacitors which are currently being piloted by global blue-chips in human diagnostics point of care testing and smart label asset tracking applications.

These printable electronic products include the Gii-Sens®, which offers a better and more-effective sensor material for the human diagnostics market and Gii-Cap® which targets 10% of $500 billion battery market, with the potential to remove 60 million batteries from being thrown away every year.

Since coming out of “stealth mode” in 2020, Integrated Graphene has quickly established its reputation in the market, winning several commercial contracts and dramatically increasing its intellectual property portfolio.

As part of its growth plans, the company intends to double its existing footprint in Stirling and treble its headcount to 100 over the next three years, hiring a significant number of market leading development and commercial experts in the UK, Europe and North America. The company will also increase capital expenditure in its next generation pilot line to allow rapid market expansion of Gii-Sens and Gii-Cap. For Gii-Sens, that includes wearables, animal diagnostics, companion diagnostics, environmental diagnostics. With Gii-Cap, expansion markets include Drones, e-mobility, space, satellites, and wearables.

The investment comes on the back of a significantly oversubscribed Series A + funding round for an undisclosed sum led by existing investors, Par Equity and Archangels.

Following graphene’s discovery in 2004, it has been hailed as a wonder material for its potential across a number of industries and applications, from quantum computing to healthcare. Most products under development continue to use a powder version of graphene, which is notoriously difficult to scale and, in most cases, performance is shy of expectations hence commercial adoption being slow.

Integrated Graphene has developed a unique breakthrough process to produce a pure 3D Graphene Foam (Gii®) onto a range of substances at ambient room temperature. The company believes that its revolutionary Gii®manufacturing process addresses the key requirements of the graphene industry of producing high quality, cost effective and production scale graphene, which has not been achieved by any company to date.

The addressable market for graphene enabled products is potentially more than $25 billion based on reasonable levels of penetration across all markets, and volume demand for graphene across key application markets is thought to have the potential to reach $1 trillion by 2030[1].

Claus Marquordt, co-founder and CEO, Integrated Graphene said: “This investment marks a real tipping point for Integrated Graphene and the manufacturing of our unique 3D Graphene foam in its first two market-ready products. We are actively involved in projects with several global blue-chip companies to deliver high volumes of electrodes and super capacitors that address critical needs in accelerating point of care human diagnostics for a wide range of killer diseases and in enabling low-cost flexible and sustainable power systems for the booming IoT, Smart Label and Wearable tech markets. By investing now, we will be ready, this year, to produce millions of units per annum from a new facility in Stirling and to transfer the technology at scale to global partners in the future.”

Aidan MacMillan, Senior Investment Manager at Par Equity, said: “Integrated Graphene has developed a game changing, frontier solution with the potential to drive enormous impact across a range of large-scale industries.  As existing investors in the business, Par Equity, and a selection of our advisers, have worked closely with Claus and the team to build the business.  We’re delighted to continue our support in this round, to catalyse the team’s ambition and unlock the company’s growth potential.”

Niki Mckenzie, Joint Managing Director at Archangels, added: “Since we first invested in Integrated Graphene two years ago, the company has moved rapidly from start-up to scale-up and now has its sights focused on meeting increased global demand from multiple sectors. We are looking forward to continuing our relationship with the team, as they embark on this next critical phase of growth.”

[1] Graphene Market- Growth, trends, and forecast (2020-2025), Mordor Intelligence

·        Construction; production and manufacturing; logistics; and hospitality facing greatest difficulties recruiting staff (all 78% or higher), but all sectors have significant issues 

·        BCC proposes three-point action plan to tackle the huge number of unfilled vacancies 

·        This includes urgent reform of the Shortage Occupations List (SOL) needed to cover more people and job roles  

New figures released by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reveal firms’ recruitment struggles remain at record high levels. The data for the leading business group’s Quarterly Recruitment Outlook (QRO) for Q2 2022 was drawn from a survey of over 5,700 businesses.   

Attempted recruitment in Q2 remained broadly the same as the previous quarter, with 61% of firms looking to find staff (60% in Q1 2022). But more than three quarters of firms (76%) continue to report recruitment difficulties, dropping just two percentage points from Q1 (78%).  

The construction sector is facing the most severe recruitment challenges, with 83% reporting difficulties. This is closely followed by production and manufacturing on 79%, logistics on 79% and hospitality on 78%.  

In the face of rising business costs, less than a third of employers (28%) have increased their investment in the last three months. Smaller firms are even less likely to report an increase, at just 19%.  

Responding to the findings, Head of People Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce,  Jane Gratton,  said: 

“Businesses remain under huge pressure to fill jobs, but record levels of recruitment difficulty are showing no signs of improvement. Solutions are urgently needed, so that firms can keep their doors open throughout these tough times.   

“We have written to the Government outlining a three-point plan on how they can work with businesses to solve this: 

·        Firms must be encouraged to find new ways of unlocking pools of talent – by investing more in training their workforce, adopting more flexible working practises and expanding use of apprenticeships; 

·        Government must help employers invest in training by reducing the upfront costs on business and providing training related tax breaks; and 

·        The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) must be reformed to allow sectors facing urgent demand for skills to get what they need.  

“The SOL is not currently fit for purpose and should be more flexible, so it supports firms experiencing a national recruitment crisis. Recruitment difficulties have been at record highs for a year.  

“There are 1.3 million unfilled jobs in our economy and now fewer people in the workforce than before the pandemic. This is holding back productivity and growth, and employers are at their wits’ end. It is putting livelihoods at risk and damaging the economy.  

“The Government must reform the SOL criteria to include more jobs at more skill levels to give firms breathing space to invest in their workforce.  

“Employers cannot wait for a new Prime Minister before this is sorted. Shortages are impacting not only on their ability to service order books but also on the morale and wellbeing of their people.

“The economic challenge we are facing is huge and unless we start to fill the hole caused by 1.3 million vacancies, we cannot get back to growth.”   

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is pleased to announce that Dr Linda Wain has been appointed to the role of Engineering Director.

Dr Wain, who has been Head of Engineering and Assurance at LNER for five years, will oversee all aspects of LNER’s fleet, future procurement and major engineering projects such as the adoption of digital signalling to ensure customers receive the world-class, punctual service that customers expect from LNER.

Speaking about her new role, Dr Wain said: “I’m delighted to be taking up the role of Engineering Director at LNER, and in doing so following in the footsteps of many great people who have worked in the business in the past. Ensuring that our fleet is well maintained and is constantly improved to take advantage of new technology is incredibly important as we look to deliver an exceptional experience to our customers.

“I’m also pleased to be the first female Engineering Director at LNER and I hope to use my position to challenge perceptions and encourage more young women to consider engineering as a worthwhile and rewarding career.”

Dr Wain brings with her 30 years of experience in various roles in rail, in engineering, reliability improvement, fleet and depot management. She has previously worked at the Royal Air Force and Ford Motor Company.

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “Linda is already an incredibly inspiring leader within our business and I’m confident that she will use her considerable expertise to successfully drive forward our exciting portfolio of engineering projects. She brings a huge amount of passion and energy to her role and I am delighted she will be leading our Engineering team.”

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is proud to lead the industry when it comes to welcoming people back to rail. New data shows LNER saw the most customers return to its services when compared with pre-pandemic usage than any other operator.

The findings are published in the latest results from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which show that LNER recorded relative usage of 83 per cent in the year from April 2021 to March 2022, up 63 percentage points compared with the previous year, meaning LNER has topped the table for four consecutive quarters.

Data from LNER shows that more than four million passengers travelled across its network between January and the end of March 2022.

LNER has seen leisure travel return to and at times exceed pre-Covid levels over the past 12 months, particularly during school holidays, with its extended booking horizon among the many digital innovations making travel simpler and smarter for customers.

Customers currently can book tickets up to mid-late September and will soon to be able search for weekday journeys as far ahead as December 2022, with the LNER website and app providing more flexibility when planning future staycations, days out, and work trips. The extension and automation of its booking process are part of LNER’s pioneering investment in technology and innovation to make journeys simpler.

Danny Gonzalez, Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at LNER, said: “It’s fantastic to be welcoming so many customers back to rail and we are proud to have led the industry comeback over the past year. We put our customers at the heart of all we do, offering greater choice and control with an extended booking horizon, which we plan to open even further ahead to offer people greater flexibility. We believe our innovative approach has created a better experience for customers that paves the way for pioneering change across UK rail.”

Customers also have peace of mind that should they need to change their booking if timetables change, LNER is able to automatically alert them, providing live updates with the offer to amend their journey free of charge via the Change of Journey app and web features.  There’s also One-Click Delay Repay for customers who book direct if services are delayed by 30 minutes or more.

More than 400,000 people have already joined LNER’s enhanced rewards scheme for loyal customers. LNER Perks offers two per cent credit back on LNER journeys and £5 credit for signing up, along with further exclusive offers.

These latest updates are a continuation of the ongoing digital innovations LNER is delivering to put its customers first – with more features planned for the future as people continue to be welcomed back to rail.

As many brands, companies and countries begin to bring together and formulate their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Policies and Plans how many are falling foul to ‘Green Washing’?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines greenwashing as:

“Disinformation disseminated by an organization, etc. so as to present an environmentally responsible public image; but perceived as being unfounded or intentionally misleading.”

Greenwashing can take many forms:

  1. Environmental Images

Using the colour green and ‘eco’ images to give a false impression for marketing

  1. Misleading Labels

Making claims without any supportive information

  1. Hidden Trade – Offs

Putting on an act of being environmentally friendly and sustainable but having a non-environmentally friendly trade-off. Such as using the word ‘recycled’ or ‘natural’ when it’s developed through exploitative conditions.

  1. Irrelevant Claims

Sometimes, you might come across labels that say they are free of certain chemicals. The substance might actually be banned by the law and is irrelevant to advertise as going green.

In January 2021 the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network implemented a screening of websites. For the first time the screening focused on ‘greenwashing’.  The results showed that in 42% of cases the claims were exaggerated, false or deceptive and could potentially qualify as unfair commercial practices under EU rules. And in 59% of cases the trader had not provided easily accessible evidence to support its claim.

In June 2021 the Government launched a new expert group, the “Green Technical Advisory Group (GTAG)” who will oversee the Government’s delivery of a “Green Taxonomy” – a framework setting standards for business expenditure that can be defined as environmentally sustainable.  The Green Taxonomy will help reduce greenwashing and make it easier for businesses and the general public to truly understand an organisations environmental impact.

Organisations should look beyond the obvious environmental claims and through their own due diligence ensure that they can be backed up effectively.  And for organisations who are guilty of green washing, they should consider how they can become more ethical in their claims as this will only lead to increased business in the future.

Organisations who are guilty of green washing, it’s not the end of the road for them if corrected now! They should consider how they can become more ethical in their claims as this will only lead to increased business and resilience in the future

For further support on how to avoid green washing contact:

Indika Edussuriya, Principal Sustainability Consultant

t: +44 (0)1276 697 715

e: uk.nowisthetime@sgs.com

Firm recognised for acting on some of the most complex work in UK private wealth and its commitment to service for individuals and families. 

Burges Salmon has been named as a finalist for the 2022 eprivateclient Excellence Awards.

The eprivateclient Excellence Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of firms across the UK and offshore legal, tax, fiduciary and advisory professions over the past year. Entry to the awards is by invitation-only and finalists are required to demonstrate a wide range of achievements, including not only technical expertise, but also their success in innovation, service delivery, client care, community and social impact, governance and environment.

The firm has been recognised in respect of having one of the best and largest dedicated Private Wealth teams in the UK and acting on some of the highest value and most complex succession, tax planning and trust restructuring work in private wealth.

By treating private wealth as a sector, the firm has expanded the core 40+ private client lawyers to a 65-strong Private Wealth team whose reputation is demonstrated by the industry events to which the team has contributed, including STEP and CIOT. The team has also delivered in-house training to thousands of delegates in the UK, Channel Islands, Switzerland, Monaco, Bermuda, Singapore and South Africa.

The Private Wealth team is recognised for its expertise and clients focus, and the news is a positive addition to its recent accomplishments which include winning “Private Client Legal Team of the Year” at the STEP Private Client Awards 2021/22, the fourth occasion since 2015/16.

This win also adds to a series of awards the firm has achieved this year, including being shortlisted in three categories at Chambers High Net Worth Awards 2022 and Burges Salmon’s Head of Private Wealth, Beatrice Puoti, being named in eprivateclient’s 50 Most Influential 2022.

Head of Private Wealth at Burges Salmon, Beatrice Puoti, comments: “This fantastic news is testament to our outstanding lawyers and expertise within the Private Wealth team, of which I am very proud. As a team, and as individuals, we are constantly striving to provide the best service for our clients and we are pleased to have that commitment acknowledged. We look forward to building on the strength and breadth of the team moving forward.”

The 2022 eprivateclient Excellence Awards will be taking place on Thursday 7 July.

 

Barclays has agreed a £3 million credit facility with Loretto, Scotland’s oldest boarding school, to accelerate its long-term strategic growth plans.

The substantial funding package will support the independent school’s growth ambitions, while also providing further access to working capital. Loretto has also transferred all of its day-to-day banking to Barclays.

Founded in 1827 and set in an 85-acre campus in Musselburgh, just outside Edinburgh, Loretto is one of Britain’s leading co-educational boarding and day schools, attracting pupils from both home and abroad. For pupils aged between three and 18 years the 600-pupil school has leading creative arts and sports facilities, including the renowned Loretto Golf Academy that attracts young golfers. The school has a staff to pupil ratio of 1:7, across both its junior and senior schools.

Barclays worked alongside Loretto, and its bursars, to develop a bespoke digital banking solution that specifically fits the needs of the school’s growth ambitions. The credit facility will support Loretto in maintaining its existing infrastructure, while providing additional liquidity to continue to invest in state of the art educational tools and facilities. With a growing roll of pupils, the flexibility of the funding package will assist Loretto in continuing to provide a wide educational experience.

Barclays is also able to specifically cater for international parents of Loretto students by offering a receivables foreign exchange solution meaning school fees can be paid by parents at no extra cost to the school.

Dr Graham Hawley, Headmaster at Loretto School, said: “The funding package from Barclays will fuel our long-term strategic growth plans, and drive forward our commitment to our pupils of continuous development in all aspects of school life.

“The decision to bring in Barclays as our banking partner was largely due to Barclays’ shared enthusiasm to work with us to support the future development of the school but also their industry knowledge of the sector alongside their relationship service model, competitive terms and consistent delivery.”

Malcolm Crawford, Corporate Development Director for Barclays in Scotland, said: “Working with Loretto to deliver a funding solution to enable the school to manage its working capital needs, and provide stability, was an excellent opportunity for the team to support the school’s ambitious growth plans.

“Scotland has a world-leading independent education sector, and our team of dedicated industry experts understand and have insight into the unique demands of operating a business of this sorts. This funding package is evidence of our support for, and confidence in, this growing sector.”

Bonnie & Wild brings Highland dancing to St James Quarter as Scottish Marketplace launches its “White Heather Club” ceilidh nights

Polish up your brogues, dust off the sporran and gie yon bonnie dress a press because Scottish Highland dancing is coming to Edinburgh’s Bonnie & Wild.

Kicking off amid the excitement of the Edinburgh Festival, leading food and drink venue Bonnie & Wild is hosting a series of ceilidh nights that’ll have dancers whirling and twirling in popular dances such as the Dashing White Sergeant, Gay Gordons, and the much-loved Strip the Willow.

Inspired by the White Heather Club, the iconic BBC TV show of the 1960s, the Scottish country dances will take place on the last Thursday of every month at Bonnie & Wild, on Level 4 of the St James Quarter, Edinburgh.

The renowned musician Charlie Kirkpatrick and his band will perform at the launch night on Thursday, August 25th, with Charlie taking dancers through the moves of traditional dances, from the Highland Schottische to the Military Two-Step and other ceilidh favourites.

Charlie, a regular presence on the BBC show Take the Floor, said: “We’re all excited and looking forward to bringing a bit of Scottish country dancing and ceilidh culture to Bonnie & Wild. These dances are for anyone and everyone. Even if you don’t know the dances we’ll call the steps and make sure everyone enjoys themselves and has a good night!”

Charlie added: “Although critics mocked its kitsch tartanry, the White Heather Club was an iconic BBC show of the 1960s that broadcast ceilidh music and dancing into people’s living rooms and made household names of the likes of Jimmy Shand and Andy Stewart. Our own ambitions aren’t quite so lofty! We just want to see folk coming to Bonnie & Wild and having a great time.”

Kate Russell, General Manager, said: “I can’t wait for our White Heather Club ceilidh nights to kick off with Charlie Kirkpatrick and his band! We’re looking forward to welcoming locals keen for a hoolie as well as overseas visitors to Edinburgh wanting to experience the unique atmosphere only a traditional Scottish ceilidh can bring!”

Ms Russell added: “Like the best ceilidhs I’ve ever been to, entry to Bonnie & Wild’s White Heather Club is free, although dancers are of course welcome to use the Scottish Marketplace for a bite to eat from one or more of our fabulous concessions, or a drink from one of our three bars.”

Bonnie & Wild has fast made an impact on the Scottish food scene, with renowned chefs such as Gary Maclean, Tony Singh and Jimmy Lee all with their own food concessions, joined by the likes of award-winning burger eaterie El Perro Negro, and local favourites east PIZZAS, Joelato and Stack & Still.

With a firm focus on Scottish produce, the Food Hall also houses a boutique bottleshop run by Scottish drinks wholesaler Inverarity Morton, and is expecting to open its Scottish deli Soup & Caboodle in the next few weeks.

Ms Russell said: “Bonnie & Wild has one of the best food and drink offers in Scotland, but we’re much more than a food court. We’ve amazing collaborations going on, corporate events, private parties, book launches, bagpiping workshops, food tastings, plus regular live music every Friday with local musicians, DJs, and singer-songwriters, and now these White Heather Club dances every month.”

Ms Russell added: “We’ve all had a few hard years, and although things are far from easy for people, now that Bonnie & Wild has truly established itself with a stronger line-up than ever before we feel it’s time to celebrate, kick off our shoes and throw a party. What better way to do that than with some ceilidh dancing with family and friends.”