Heineken: Edinburgh Caledonian Brewery to close

THE historic Caledonian Brewery on Edinburgh’s Slateford Road is to close down, putting 30 jobs at risk and signalling the demise of the last major brewery in the city.

The decision announced by Dutch owner Heineken this week looks set to end more than 150 years of brewing tradition at Caledonian, which was established by George Lorimer and Robert Clark in 1869.

The Herald examines the state of the hotels sector ahead of summer.

SPECIAL SERIES: THE Scottish tourism industry is braced for a difficult first full summer coming out of coronavirus with major staffing problems, rising costs and fewer bookings than expected creating a challenging backdrop this year.

PART ONE: ‘Bleak’ summer ahead for Scottish tourism as 300 hotels on market

PART TWO: Family to sell hotel after 67 years ‘with very heavy heart’

PART THREE: Hotel opening hit as building material costs double

THE historic Tongue Hotel has been bought by Highland Coast Hotels from David and Lorraine Hook.

Highland Coast Hotels also owns the Kylesku Hotel, and the Newton Lodge in Unapool, the Royal Golf Hotel in Dornoch, and the Royal Marine Hotel in Brora.

Built in the mid-1800s when it was owned by the Duke of Sutherland, the 19-bedroom Tongue Hotel is a former sporting lodge in the village of Tongue. It overlooks the Kyle of Tongue, Ben Loyal, and the Viking-built Castle Varrich.

CALNEX chief executive Tommy Cook said the company has suffered “a lot of pain” accessing vital supplies of semiconductors in recent months, though so far there has been no tangible damage to business.

Calnex chief executive Tommy Cook said the company has been working closely with its suppliers to source the components it needs. Picture: Peter Devlin.

His comments came as the Linlithgow-based company posted a double-digit increase in annual revenues and profits as demand remains high for its telecommunications testing equipment.