New Lidl is Glasgow's largest | Hospitality debt could hit £1.2bn

Scotland’s national chef and nearby resident Gary Maclean toured the store, which has a sales area of 1,433 sqm, in advance of it officially opening its doors at Robroyston Retail Park.

Mr Maclean said: “The new store has a fantastic range of quality fresh fruit & veg, and a brilliant meat and dairy selection from Scottish farmers, which is a must for our household.” 

Lidl GB’s regional head of property, Gordon Rafferty, said: “We would like to thank all those who have played a part in bringing this new Lidl store to Robroyston. It is great for us to be able to create more jobs and investment opportunities in the area, and we can’t wait to start serving our multi-award winning products to the local community.”

READ MORE: Lidl hails record Christmas

As part of Lidl’s Feed It Back initiative, in partnership with Neighbourly, the new store will provide surplus food and customer donations to local charities Glasgow Community Food Initiative, who deliver meal services to vulnerable members, and North Glasgow Community Food Initiative for their community food hubs.

The firm said it is also operating a range of social distancing measures to help maintain a safe store environment for both colleagues and customers.

Lidl also said it has experienced continued growth in Scotland with products currently sourced from more than 60 Scottish suppliers and ranging from quality fruit and vegetables, to dairy and bakery lines.

Grant help is 'not enough'. Picture: Getty Images.

Hospitality debt could be at £1.2bn

Scotland’s tourism sector has warned it’s in a “far more desperate state” than the first lockdown amid warnings extra support amounts to “virtually nothing” per business.

READ MORE: A plea for support to be increased and sped up comes as companies in the Scottish Hospitality Group have taken on more than £16 million of debt since the start of the lockdown in order to stay afloat.

Campbell Fraser, chief executive of SoConnect

Technology firm on acquisition alert

SoConnect, a provider of telecom, internet and IT managed services to the SME market, is looking for further growth opportunities after completing its second acquisition in little more than a year.

READ MORE: The St Boswells firm has taken over the operations of Edinburgh’s IT Centric in a deal that adds approximately 80 SMEs to its customer base, taking the total to more than 500 clients across the UK. The combined group has a headcount of 38 staff, with revenues expected to top £5 million in the year to March 2022.

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