From Fringe Role To Key PR Position For Holyrood Partnership New Recruit

Kirsty Taylor: Award winning

Scottish PR agency Holyrood Partnership has enhanced its team with the appointment of former journalist Kirsty Taylor.

Kirsty, 25, joined the Holyrood Partnership after a stint working in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s press and marketing team, where she helped international arts companies promote their work.

She added: “The face of journalism and media relations is changing like never before, and as someone with a print reporter’s CV I knew it was more important than ever to keep my skills ahead of the game.

“I was incredibly impressed with the vision for using online and video journalism in Holyrood Partnership’s PR work, while not losing sight of traditional media strategies to help their clients.”

Scott Douglas, co-founder of the Scottish PR agency said: “Kirsty is a real catch. She sailed into a job with us.”

Read the full version of this story at the Holyrood Partnership website

Scots Firm Says PCI Compliance Essential for E-Commerce Confidence

Multimedia firm Channel 6 has urged all web-based businesses across Scotland to ensure they meet new security regulations for online transactions.

The e-commerce specialist has worked to meet new card security requirements which came into force this month, but says many other online retailers could be caught out because of lack of awareness about the changes.

The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council was founded by Visa, MasterCard and American Express to crack down on payment card fraud. 

Larger retailers have long had to meet rigorous PCI standards, but smaller online retailers have only been obliged to comply since October 1.

Under the new rules, merchants processing fewer than 20,000 e-commerce card transactions a year could now face a block on payments or risk substantial fines if they do not meet the new requirements.

Experts at Channel 6, one of Scotland’s leading developers of e-commerce websites, have advised online retailers the measures are a good way of securing customer confidence and business reputation. 

The full release is available from the Holyrood Partnership PR in Edinburgh.

New Quality Standard Award for Eagle Couriers

Eagle Couriers wins new quality standard

Scotland’s leading independent courier firm has cemented its levels of excellence after having a highly sought-after quality standard upgraded.

Eagle Couriers has become the first courier firm in Scotland to be given the prestigious ISO 9001:2008 level following a surveillance visit by industry inspectors.

The company is Scotland’s biggest independent courier, employing more than 100 people with bases in Edinburgh, Bathgate and Glasgow, and works with a range of high-profile companies and organisations across the country. 13 years ago it earned its first prestigious ISO 9001 certificate in recognition of its impressive working practices and standards.

The ISO award is a mark of excellence which reassures clients – including the BBC, communications giant BT and the Scottish Government - that Eagle Couriers operates at the highest levels.

You can read the full story at the Holyrood Partnership website.

September Sales Stats Highlight Edinburgh’s Property Revival

Warners reveals latest property sales stats in Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s property market is showing more encouraging signs of recovery, according to new statistics revealed by the Capital’s leading solicitor estate agent.

Warners has released figures showing that the number of property sales it completed in September has risen by more than a third, compared to the same month in 2008.

According to the data, a total of 67 properties were sold through the firm in September – worth a total value of £12.2 million. In contrast, the firm only sold 47 homes worth a total of £7.6 million in the city during the same period in 2008.

Scott Brown, estate agency partner at Warners, said: “We’ve been seeing promising signs of recovery in the property market for some time now. There’s a lot more confidence among buyers and, as a result, we’ve seen house prices and the number of property sales rising in recent months.

Read the full story at the Holyrood Partnership PR in Scotland website.

New Office Move for Property Maintenance Experts

Property maintenance expert One Call Home Assist

Property maintenance expert One Call Home Assist

has stepped up its ambitious UK expansion plans by moving into new headquarters.

The firm, which provides unique fixed-price maintenance contracts to help homeowners and landlords save thousands of pounds in repair bills, has taken its first step to growing the business across the country by investing £200,000 in re-branding and relocating to new premises in Edinburgh.

The investment comes after a successful first five months for the firm, which was set up earlier this year as a low-cost alternative to costly maintenance contracts such as those offered by the likes of British Gas and Homeserve.

One Call Home Assist’s emergency and maintenance contracts, which cover all maintenance issues, emergency call-outs and annual certification work, have already been hugely popular after the service was piloted with landlords and property owners in the Lothians and Fife. 

Read the full story at the Holyrood Partnership PR in Scotland website.

AA Award Gives La Favorita A Major Pizza The Action

LA Favorita Award

One of Scotland’s leading Italian restaurants has cooked up a storm by becoming the first pizzeria in Scotland to receive a prestigious One Star AA Rosette, joining the likes of top diners The Tower and The Witchery.

The award to La Favorita, based in Edinburgh’s Leith Walk and famed for having a traditional log-fired oven, comes after it scooped the title of Pizza Restaurant of the Year in the PAPA (Pizza Pasta and Italian Food Association) Awards.

The full release is available at the website of Holyrood Partnership PR in Edinburgh.

Scottish Couriers Invest In Greener, Safer Driving Skills

Eco driving for Eagle Couriers

Scotland’s leading independent courier firm has strengthened its green credentials by sending drivers on a special fuel-efficient driving course.

Eagle Couriers has arranged for three members of its team to go on the Government-run Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving (SAFED) course, in order to help further improve the firm’s environmentally-friendly work ethic.

The unique course involves a rigorous training schedule designed to make van and HGV drivers safer on the road and to improve the fuel efficiency of their driving. It is offered to companies who extensively use the country’s road network for their business.

Eagle Couriers has invested around £1000 to send its three members of staff on the course – a move it hopes will not only help promote environmentally-friendly driving and keep its staff safe on the road, but will also lead to long-term savings for the business.

Read the full story at the Holyrood Partnership website.

Act Now to Move Home Before Christmas and Avoid Stamp Duty

ELPG gives expert property advice in Edinburgh

Homebuyers need to act quickly if they want to move home before Christmas and avoid extra costs from the re-introduction of the Stamp Duty threshold, according to the Lothians’ leading property solicitors.

With the festive season just over two months away, the ELPG has said that time is running out for canny buyers to secure a property to ensure they can spend Christmas in their new home and steer clear of Stamp Duty burdens.

Steve Spence, senior partner at Neilsons, said: “It takes between five to six weeks to complete a mortgage application and make all of the necessary arrangements required to buy a new home. Therefore, time is running out if you want to ensure that you buy your new property this year and move in before Christmas.

“Likewise, if you have a property to sell, you really have to get it on the market now if you are looking to dovetail your sale transaction with a purchase. Winter is a busy time for the property market and, with buyers likely to be looking to make a quick sale, you should have your home on the market to take advantage of this demand.”

Read the full story at the Holyrood Partnership website.

Stamp Duty Decision Will Be A Winter Warmer For Property Market

Warners predicts a Stamp Duty winter warmer for Edinburgh's property market

The Government’s decision to repeal the Stamp Duty “holiday” on properties priced between £125,000-£175,000 may well spur a flurry of new property sales before the end of the year.

According to Edinburgh’s leading property solicitor Warners, many would-be homebuyers are likely flock into the market and try to secure a sale before December 31st in order to avoid paying Stamp Duty tax on their new home.

Househunters across the UK have been reaping the benefits of the Stamp Duty holiday since last year, when it was introduced by the government in an attempt to re-stimulate the lower end of the property market.

Under the move, the usual 1% Stamp Duty charge applicable on properties priced between £125,000 and £175,000 was waived, in order to encourage more first-time and low-end buyers to purchase a new home.

You can read the full story at the Holyrood Partnership website.

Campaign Leaders Step Up ‘Hedge Rage’ Fight

Scothedge campiagn hits Holyrood

Campaign group Scothedge is stepping up its fight to prevent the problem of divisive high hedge disputes in Scotland by highlighting the issue to MSPs across the country.

Scothedge – which represents hundreds of people who have had their lives blighted by thoughtless and sometimes malicious neighbours who grow outsized hedges, trees and shrubs – has presented a major dossier to every MSP in the Scottish Parliament in the hope of further promoting the issue of “hedge rage”.

The campaign group has sent MSPs a copy of its in-depth paper A Growing Problem, which highlights the issue of high hedges and the problems faced by victims throughout the country. Scothedge is now seeking to encourage MSPs all over Scotland to encourage their constituents to take the advantage of the Public Consultancy “High Hedges and other Nuisance Vegetation” and make their views known to the Scottish Government before the consultancy ends on 13th November.

Scothedge campaign leader Dr Colin Watson said: “We have been fighting for years against the problem of ‘vegetation tyranny’ caused by high hedges in Scotland and the effect it can have on victims’ lives.

Read the full story on the Holyrood Partnership PR in Scotland website.