Some pictures from this year’s BEN fundraising event, which took place at Edinburgh’s EICC on 5th November.

Diageo is set to report a 5% rise in annual profits to £2.9bn on Thursday, on sales of £10.1bn. Sales are expected to have remained tough in Europe, where Guinness sales fell 6% in the first half. UPDATE •Stronger second half performance with improved price/mix and operating margin expansion led to 5% organic growth of [...]

Di Maggio’s footprint in Scotland is a lot bigger now that Amarone in Edinburgh is serving up a slice of Italy in a former bank on Edinburgh’s St Andrews Square. The 215-cover bar/restaurant is vast in size, and dwarfs its sister restaurant in Glasgow. What also sets Edinburgh apart is its corner position and the [...]

Mark Baird, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Diageo Great Britain (GB), has been appointed Chair of the Fife Licensed Trade Association The role, which will last for two years, will involve championing the cause on the on-trade in Fife. Mark will be assisted by Martin Earls. Says Mark, “Not only does this give [...]

The day I visited Arran was glorious, and my visit to the new Douglas Hotel blew me away. The hotel, which re-opened in May after being closed for a few years, is only a stroll from the ferry terminal at Brodick. This building has been a hotel since the 1830’s, and in its heyday was [...]

Franck Arnold has been appointed general manager of The Balmoral in Edinburgh. Mr Arnold, who starts this month, takes over from Ivan Artolli who was recently promoted to director of operations for the group’s properties in the UK, Belgium and Eastern Europe. Mr Arnold joins The Balmoral from The Jefferson Hotel in Washington DC, where [...]

Natasha King has joined the DoubleTree by Hilton Dunblane as restaurant manager of The Kailyard by Nick Nairn. With more than seven years of experience within the industry, King joins the team having previously held a similar role at The One Restaurant in Glasgow’s Crowne Plaza hotel. She is now responsible for the running all [...]

With the hospitality industry one of many hit by the economic downtown, UK Point Of Sale (UK POS) is introducing a new range of point of sale to help encourage consumers to see the value in dining out despite the climate, in its new brochure, which is available from September. Including stylish wooden chalk boards [...]

The Houston Brewery is celebrating winning a gold medal at the Great British Beer Festival in London. The brewery’s 4.2% Houston Peter’s Well scooped GOLD in the Best Bitter category of the Champion Beer of Britain competition. Organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), the festival – held at Earls Court – is the [...]

Mark Goldinger tragically lost his battle with Glioblastoma last month. He was diagnosed with stage four of the condition in December last year, and is survived by wife Cathi, and his children Ben and Rebecca. Throughout his career Mark shunned the spotlight, despite being the creative force behind many of Glasgow’s most successful clubs – [...]