‘Oasis put £250,000 in our tills, but we still didn’t make a profit’
Plus: Botanics' Palm House restoration complete; and Hearts riding high
Pubs report record-breaking August - but no profits
It wasn’t just at Murrayfield Stadium that Oasis were packing them in this summer.
The band are being credited for a string of city bars attracting record takings in August. Much of the city centre was buzzing as the sell-out concerts drew bigger than usual crowds to the New Town and West End during the festival season.
Despite estimating the Murrayfield gigs were responsible for nearly an extra £250,000 in their tills, Edinburgh-based Signature Pub Group said it had still been forced to increase prices in order to break even.
The company is the latest to warn of a crisis in the hospitality industry as rising costs squeeze profits and are blamed for venue closures.
‘Soul-destroying’: Louise Maclean, director of sales and marketing at Signature Pubs, whose venues include Cold Town House, The Black Bull, Badger & Co and The Auld Hundred, told The Herald: “We have had a record-breaking August. Eight of our venues have physically never taken as much in sales... What is soul-destroying is the P&L [profit and loss account]. The profitability is so woeful.”
‘Triple whammy’: McLean said a “triple whammy” of increased employer national insurance contributions, a fall in the threshold when payments kick in and increase in the living wage in April wiped out the company’s profits. “Overnight, our labour costs increased by £1.7 million. We don’t make that in profit, so we have no choice but to pass that on to the customer, otherwise we are a loss-making business.”
Wages up: Signature told the Inquirer recently that starter salaries for fulltime staff had risen to around £28,000 due to competition to secure staff.
Calls for support: The hospitality trade are campaigning for extended business rates relief in Scotland to match that enjoyed by their counterparts south of the border. Bars and restaurants in England are expected to benefit from lower business rates from April, 2026.
‘Big squeeze’: Research from the Federation of Small Businesses suggest 9 out of 10 small businesses in Scotland have experienced rising costs in the last year, largely due to increases in utility bills, tax and labour costs, with hospitality among the hardest hit sectors.
What happens next? The Scottish Budget in January will decide whether rates relief is extended for the hospitality trade in Scotland.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
CRYPTO HEIST: A prisoner has been accused of plotting a bid to steal £17 million in cryptocurrency from behind bars at HM Prison Edinburgh. Robert Barr, 28, denies being involved in planning a series of robberies targeting individuals known to have large quantities of the digital currency.
‘FAITHFUL’ FRANKENSTEIN: Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is continuing to pick up rave reviews ahead of its release on Netflix on 7 November. One reviewer describes the film shot partly on location in the Capital as “the most faithful adaptation in history”, placing Jacob Elordi’s creature at the centre of the story. You can watch the official trailer here. Is that an Old Town close we spot?
CHARITY BUS STOLEN: The Dnipro Kids charity minibus used to transport Ukrainian orphans in Edinburgh has been stolen. The 17-seat Ford Transit with blue and yellow stripes and the charity logo was taken from the Joppa area. The charity is hoping the thieves have a change of heart after realising where it has been stolen from or someone spots the minibus and reports it.
REBEL REBEL: The newly independent Lothians MSP Foysol Choudhury has wasted no time in asserting his independence. He voted against Labour’s call for a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools and an end to fire service cuts, siding with the SNP position in both Scottish Parliament votes. Choudhury is sitting as an independent after being suspended by Labour, pending a party investigation into a complaint of sexual harassment.
CALTON HILL ACTION: The city council has agreed to explore what measures it can take to protect Calton Hill. The move comes after warnings about the impact of growing numbers of visitors on the city centre park.
TONNES OF WEEDS: Twentyfive tonnes of weeds, litter and other dumped items have been removed from the Morningside area by the city council clean-up teams. The teams are moving on to Sighthill, Broomhouse, Saughton, South Gyle, and Longstone in October.
GIVING BACK: Renowned city restaurant group Vittoria is marking its 55th anniversary in the Capital by launching their “Giving Back” scheme – pledging £1000 per month to local good causes. The scheme has been launched by the owning Crolla family. The restaurant group, named after its eponymous eatery in Leith Walk, now employs more than 300 people across several sites in Edinburgh. Recipients of the £1000 funding will be chosen every month by a group-wide vote and could include schools, food banks and other charities. To be considered, email givingback@vittoriagroup.co.uk
POETRY AND MUSIC: Poet and sculptor Ian Hamilton Findlay will be celebrated in a packed programmed announced by the Push the Boat Out poetry festival for 20-23 November.
COALS TO NEWCASTLE? Welcome and good luck to the Auld Hag, the cafe and takeaway specialising in Scottish favourites such as square sausage rolls and Irn Bru, which is opening a pop-up shop in St Stephen Street, Stockbridge. The concept has proved popular in London, but will it prove as revolutionary in the capital of Scotland?
Pic of the week
THE BUSINESS
City Developer starts two major projects
An Edinburgh-based developer with roots in restoring heritage buildings is to revitalise two properties in Edinburgh and Glasgow as part of its growth plan – and they are being backed by a £5.3 million funding package.
Stratheding Properties has acquired a building in the Capital’s prestigious Church Hill district, which is plans to transform into six homes close to the city centre. And in Glasgow’s Carlton Place, the former Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice is being redeveloped into 99 high-spec flats.
Founded in 1983 by civil engineer Dr Humayun Reza, Strathedin remains a proud family-run business. Now joined by his daughter, an architect, and his son, who supports with the company’s finances, the Edinburgh-based firm has completed more than 15,000 projects across the UK from the Palmerston and Grosvenor Suites in Edinburgh to landmark renovations in London’s Marylebone.
The £5.3 million funding from Bank of Scotland was arranged as a five-year Property and Asset Loan, supporting both immediate projects and long-term growth. £3.55 million of the facility consolidated an existing loan, removing a fixed repayment date and enabling Strathedin to direct resources, along with the remaining funds, into delivering major developments and drive momentum across its portfolio.
TAX-FREE BOOST: Hospitality businesses from throughout the UK gathered at a meeting in Edinburgh heard that the restoration of tax-free shopping for overseas visitors to Scotland would generate £457 million a year in additional spending, creating 9000 jobs. The figures from the Association of International Retail says the previous UK Government decision to axe VAT relief for tourists has hit the luxury retail sector, and are campaigning for its reinstatement.
MEETINGS ON THE GO: Edinburgh traveltech startup SWURF, first featured by the Inquirer back in 2023, has agreed partnership deals with Edinburgh Airport and Yotel to install its new private tele-meeting pods at the two locations. Each soundproof, wifi-enabled pod measuring one metre squared, can be booked instantly for 30 minutes or longer through the SWURF platform.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
STAR WARS STARS: Star Wars stars Hayden Christensen and Rosario Dawson and former companion of The Doctor Billie Piper are the big name guests at Comic Con Scotland, at the Royal Highland Centre, on Saturday and Sunday.
PUMPKIN PARADISE: The Pumpkin Patch at the Balgonie Estate, near North Berwick, opens for the 2025 season on Saturday. There’s local food and drink, the return of the haunted trail and more than 60,000 pumpkins to choose from.
BLACK HOLE: Written by practising NHS critical care nurse Uma Nada-Rajah and directed by the Traverse’s artistic director Gareth Nicholls, Black Hole Sign takes a darkly satirical look at life in the under-siege National Health Service. The Tron and Traverse theatre companies production, in association with National Theatre of Scotland, premieres at the Traverse on Wednesday and runs until Saturday, 18 October. Black Hole Sign is part of the Traverse's £1 tickets project.
QUICK BITES
NEW OPENING: La Casa, the Mediterranean restaurant which has premises in Leith Walk and Dalry, has opened a third location in the city, at the site of the former Southpour pub in Newington.
COMMUNITY CAFÉ: A new café has opened in East Lothian, with an aim of working closely with community organisations. Ramshackles Café has opened at Bleachingfield Centre in Dunbar, a local community hub, and owner Richie Moore is determined to forge links with community organisations.