Dunn Interiors, winner of the 2007 bar refurbishment of the year award, has pulled off a major coup with the appointment of high profile hospitality sector specialist Angus Alston from Belhaven to spearhead its expansion drive throughout the UK pub trade.

Mr Alston was approached to join Belhaven as Buildings and Project Manager six years ago, since when he has played a key role in the rapid expansion of the estate from 150 to over 320 pubs, restaurants and hotels with overall responsibility for procuring and managing all the refurbishments and new developments, as well as overseeing all maintenance and estate matters.

Michael Dunn, managing director of Dunn's, said: "Angus has an extensive knowledge of all aspects of the licensed leisure industry, both in terms of the operational requirements of planning any bar, restaurant or hotel, through to the management skills for procuring any major development and, as such, brings with him a tremendous wealth of talent to Dunn's."

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Having originally trained and qualified as an interior designer in Glasgow, Mr Alston began his career in the licensed trade by relocating to London where he worked for a large practice specialising in licensed leisure and hotel developments before assisting the establishment of a subsidiary office for the same practice in Chester.

A year later he returned to Glasgow to work for Bass Taverns where he worked for six years as a Buildings/Project Manager carrying out all levels of refurbishments, including a rolling programme of such major brands as O’Neills, Vintage Inns and It’s a scream.

When the increasingly repetitive nature of brand roll outs did not prove sufficiently challenging creatively, Mr Alston joined Big Beat as its buildings and project manager where he was responsible for a number of major licensed leisure developments, including the Home nightclub in London and Home, Sydney.

From there Mr Alston then joined McCulloch Hotel Management to work for renowned hotelier Ken McCulloch and carried out prestigious projects at the Columbus Hotel, Monaco, as well as the initial concept and procurement stages of the Dakota Hotel brand.

Speaking of his move to Dunn Interiors, Mr Alston said: "In addition to significant project management experience, the creative aspect of my interior design background has given me a passion for always striving to create the best quality leisure environments – something I very much look forward to driving forward with Dunn's, a company renowned throughout the trade for its award-winning design solutions."

(GK/JM)