A 155-year-old Renfrewshire business, which worked on the fit-out of the Virgin Hotel in Edinburgh, has been named Scottish Building Contractor of the Year.

Specialist fit-out contractor Thomas Johnstone picked up the accolade at the Construction Awards of Excellence, organised by the National Federation of Builders, with “excellence and exceptional quality” on projects flagged.

Thomas Johnstone, which marks its 155th anniversary this year, worked on the construction and fit-out of the luxury Virgin Hotel in Edinburgh.

The contractor said: “The hotel is the brand’s first to open outside the USA and involved the refurbishment and restoration of a mix of listed buildings on a tight site within the UNESCO Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site.”

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David Haddow, joint managing director, said: “We are honoured to have been recognised within the industry with this national award. TJL (Thomas Johnstone Ltd) is dedicated to delivering excellence in every project we undertake and seeing our team’s efforts acknowledged by the judging panel, especially during this historic year for our company, is gratifying.

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“The Virgin Hotel in Edinburgh is our largest project completed to date and is a testament to our team’s unwavering quality and diligence shown during the construction and fit-out of this new luxury hotel.”

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Mr Haddow added that the company now looked forward to “continuing to deliver excellence to its clients and contributing to the growth and success of the construction sector as a whole”.

The firm was founded in Glasgow in 1868 and has since grown into a £70 million-plus annual turnover business.

Thomas Johnstone had been shortlisted in the category along with Alfred Flett, Orkney Builder (Contractors), and Scott & Brown (Builders).