Edinburgh-based pub group Quiet Man Taverns has appointed William Thomson as its first group executive head chef.
Mr Thomson has joined from Barony Castle in Peebles, where he spent five years as head chef.
Quiet Man Taverns, which owns the Scotsman Lounge in Cockburn Street and the Kilted Pig in Colinton, recently opened The Perch restaurant, located on the site which formerly housed The Dogs in Hanover Street.
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Mr Thomson, 48, from East Calder, West Lothian, will be in charge of the group’s nine-strong team of chefs, six of whom are based at The Perch.
A former winner of Visit Scotland’s Taste Our Best award and Food Standards Scotland’s Eat Safe award, which promotes excellence in food hygiene and food safety management, Mr Thomson previously worked at Rufflets Country House in St Andrews, the Caledonian Hotel and spent five years on the QE2.
From designing The Perch’s kitchen to hiring his own staff and sourcing the best of local Scottish produce, Mr Thomson, above, says the new role ticked all the boxes.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for me and it’s great to be back in Edinburgh,” he said.
Daniel McNally, who owns Quiet Man Taverns with his brother Finn, said: "We were looking for someone with the experience to take the food forward at The Perch and The Kilted Pig and Willie fitted the criteria well.
"He’s done everything from fine dining to pub food and we felt he was the right man to lead our new venture."
Cineworld welcomed a record number of film goers last year, even as the blazing hot summer and the World Cup hit sales in the UK.
The cinema chain said that 308 million people visited its outlets in 2018, a 2.6 per cent increase and a record number.
But this was mainly driven by the US, where sales jumped 8.6% following its takeover of Regal Entertainment for £2.7 billion.
In the UK, total sales were down 0.6% on a constant currency basis, with box office revenue falling 1.5%.
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Ed Monk, associate director at Fidelity Personal Investing, said: "It's been a transformative year for Cineworld following the purchase of the much larger US chain Regal. Today's trading update shows the importance of that deal.
"In the UK, 2018 was disrupted by a long, hot summer and an attention-stealing World Cup run for England."
Shares were down over 4% at 264.8p in midday trade.
The strength of the US market, which now accounts for 70% of Cineworld's income, was driven by the success of films such as Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Incredibles 2, Cineworld explained.
During 2018, Cineworld opened 13 new sites, with six each in the UK and US and one in Romania. It now operates across 790 locations with 9,518 screens.
Looking at 2019, Cineworld said it is well positioned with a strong film slate for the year including Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4, Spider-Man: Far from Home and the latest Star Wars.
Shares in Finsbury Food Group tumbled after half year revenue took a knock due to bakery closures south of the Border.
For the six months ended December 31, the company expects to record a 3.5% fall in total group revenue to £152.3 million from £157.8m in the year ago period, which benefited from trading of bakeries that are now closed.
Finsbury closed its loss-making Grain D'Or bakery in London, which made bread and pastries for supermarkets and employed 250 people, in October 2017.
The company's core UK bakery arm saw like-for-like sales up 1.7%, while overseas sales dropped by 8% on the prior year. Shares were trading down over 10% at 83p.
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