COMMENT & OPINION HMRC is focusing on restaurants. Scots top


restaurant tax probe list


MORE Scottish restaurants are being investigated for tax evasion than elsewhere in the UK. A team set up by HMRC to investigate restaurants and takeaways has so far found more than 500 in the UK suspected of tax evasion – and 222 are in Scotland.


But Neil Whyte, tax partner at accountancy firm PKF, said the disproportionate number of investigations is “perhaps not as sinister as it sounds”.


“HMRC did not focus on the UK as a whole but chose Scotland and, specifically, Edinburgh as the initial focus for its investigations,” he said. “What is certain is that these investigations will not go away. HMRC has very high targets to reach for increasing tax collection and the restaurant sector is simply one of many which they are focusing on at present.”


A year of mixed fortunes for trade


Creativity, hard work and value key to survival. By Scott Wright M


ORE grim news reached us last week of high-


profile failures in the Scottish hospitality industry. The slide by the parent com- panies of The Scotsman hotel in Edinburgh and the Radisson Blu in Glasgow has book-ended a year to forget for the sector. Notwithstanding the fact the


development at The Scotsman appears to have little to do with the hotel itself, there was noth- ing surprising in the news that the economic conditions have claimed another two business- es connected to the industry. With the UK economy con-


tinuing to stagnate and talk of a ‘double dip’ recession in the air, these are hardly condi- tions for high-end hospitality concerns to thrive. At the same time, I know it’s unwise to generalise: there’s likely to have been a raft of circumstances particular to these businesses which caused the rot to set in, in addition to the challenges presented by the lack of cash in the economy. What’s more, there remains ample evidence of many hospi- tality organisations continuing to prosper amid the gloom. We profile one notable exam-


House of Darrach in Gartocharn is the latest outlet in Cawley Hotels’ portfolio.


ple in this issue, Cawley Hotels (see page 8). Not only has the family-run company success- fully branched into a whole new arena, with its House of Darrach bringing a restaurant, deli, art gallery and retail space under one roof, its core res- taurant business is continuing to motor along nicely. Indeed, Duck Bay Marina, the Loch Lomond-side hotel and restau- rant established by the Cawleys in the mid-1980s, achieved record sales last year. A quick glance through the list of the 2011 SLTN Awards winners and finalists provides


further evidence of com- mercial success in these most challenging of times, from thriving independent pubs and destination resorts in rural parts of the country to city centre bars. I was fortunate enough to visit one of our finalists, the Kimberley Tavern in Tollcross, Glasgow, last week, as part of a day spent with a Diageo business development execu- tive. Operators Iain and Katie McLaren have transformed the pub’s fortunes since taking over 14 months ago, their enthusiasm for life in the trade


It’s shaping up to be a vintage Christmas for entry- level wines, writes Guy Chatfield


THE trade at Christmas fascinates me as there always seems a modicum of surprise in some quarters that the fes- tive period falls in December (amaz- ingly... it’s the same every year!)


The common lament on the supply side of things is that the buying gets later and later. Obviously many businesses want to hedge bets – who needs the stock- holding headache in the new year af- ter an overzealous purchasing spree? This year I feel it will be even more acute: with every pound being a pris- oner, the trade will be reticent to part with any cash they don’t need to. Speaking to a customer last night,


however, I was told that, in a very flat market, there are still companies who are prepared to take their people on a night out, which is great. I’d wager that the parties he’s cater- ing for will not be cracking open the vintage Champagne, but the fact that they are still prepared to spend is a good thing. With the VFM (value for money)


strategy in most consumers’ minds, the trade need not lose out. You may not be able to offer the wines you have on your list as part of the party package, but there are plen- ty of liquids out there that are per- fectly palatable for the office shindigs. Buying functions in the merchants and wholesalers are girding their loins with entry-level Spanish and Italian wines you will probably never have seen before. If you need to go canny this year,


I say the best thing you could do is seek out the wines of southern Italy – Calabria, Puglia and Sicily. The climate there produces many


wonderful wines, from the hearty reds to zesty whites, and it’s a region I have tried to champion for a few years now; I think this will be the time it comes into its own.


As the cold weather sets in why not tuck in to a Primitivo (a close relative of American Zinfandel) or Negroamaro – both full bodied with warm jammy fruit in spades. If this is not your thing, whites like Cattarato or Fiano can be excellent wines by the glass or with food. The Wine Guy household will not be


any different from most for the 2011 Christmas dinner drinks. Gone are the days of vintage Claret and fine white Burgundies – this year, like a bloodhound, I’ll be sniffing out the best possible value from the inde- pendent specialist near me. All the very best to you and yours over the festive period – cheers!


November 24, 2011 - SLTN - 11


spurring them on to what seems to be great success. They’re positively brimming with ideas about how to im- prove the pub and the service it provides its community – sit- ting back and moaning about how hard life in the trade is just isn’t their style. My own, personal sojourns throughout the trade (ad- mittedly in the family-led, mid-market sector) have also provided a source of encour- agement recently, albeit on an anecdotal basis. I have certainly encountered a fair few bars and restaurants buzz- ing with drinkers and diners in recent weeks, though the bulk of those visits did occur over weekends. Readers will know this column is regularly used to talk up the trade, but the above examples show that this stance is no hollow platitude. Sure, some businesses are finding it difficult. But thanks to hard work, creativity and a commitment to giving con- sumers genuine value, others are doing very well indeed. Ventures such as those will al- ways have a place in the hearts of the Scottish public.


THE WINE GUY


The Cork Dork faCT:


The region of Champagne has six authorised grape varieties. When the vines of the three ‘minor’ varieties (Petit Meslier, Arbanne, and Pinot Blanc) die, they cannot be replanted.


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