Burness Paull gets into Top Gear

Burness Paull has underscored its commitment to the Highlands region by signing up as a corporate sponsor of the North Coast 500 (NC500), a scenic route through the Scottish Highlands that featured in yesterday’s edition of Top Gear and can be seen on BBC iPlayer.

Touted as Scotland’s answer to Route 66, the NC500 is a 500-mile circular route on the north coast of Scotland that starts and ends at Inverness Castle and crosses through the old Highland counties of Inverness-shire, Ross and Cromarty, Sutherland and Caithness.

Though centred on the route itself, the NC500 project is an economic initiative that has been put together to raise awareness of the North Highlands as a top visitor destination. The route not only showcases the region’s natural beauty, but the diversity and quality of its food, drink, accommodation and culture too.

As a corporate partner Burness Paull will support this exciting initiative and develop the strong relationships that it has in the North.

Burness Paull chairman Philip Rodney (pictured) said: “As a self admittedly obsessed petrolhead, I am really excited about the firm’s involvement with Scotland’s answer to Route 66. Featuring NC500 on Top Gear will ensure that it becomes a magnetic destination for global tourism. Tourism accounts for 3% of Scottish economic output and supports 170,000 jobs. A substantial part of the industry is centred in the Highlands.

In addition, it’s a hub for the food and drink sector. The food and drink businesses of the north of Scotland are veteran exporters and our sponsorship of NC500 will allow us to exploit the overseas interest that NC500 brings to the area for the benefit of these clients and their premium products, in terms of both exporting and investment opportunities. As a region, it’s very important for the firm.“

Burness Paull has long-standing relationships with businesses and organisations across the Highlands and Islands and counts the likes of Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Baxters Food Group and Glen Grant Distillery among its clients.

Last month the firm teamed up with North Highlands Initiative, the Scottish Council for Development and Industry and the Inverness Chamber of Commerce to host an event for businesses in Inverness and the Highlands to discuss the opportunities presented by the recently announced £315m Inverness City Region Deal.