RBS has let us down

I was appalled to read that RBS has announced the appointment of Johnston Carmichael, chartered accountants and business advisers, as the independent reviewer who will decide whether the Comrie RBS branch will remain open after September.

As a customer of many years’ standing I find it wholly unacceptable that RBS continues to treat its customers in a cavalier fashion, as evidenced at the recent AGM when the bank’s directors ignored customers’ questions outside the meeting.

In respect of forthcoming meetings with Johnston Carmichael, I wish to speak personally to their representatives on a oneto-one basis and express my extreme displeasure at the possibility of the closure of the Comrie RBS branch.

To my mind this will be more effective than having a collated approach, as proposed by Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, where individual issues will tend to be smoothed over and where the true level of disquiet will not necessarily be in evidence.

The cost of keeping the branch open in Comrie for, say, a period of five years would pale in comparison with the public money spent in keeping the bank afloat in recent years, not to mention the costs of pensions and bonuses paid to past and present executive management. Robert Wood, Comrie 240-year history and one through which I am very privileged to lead.

We have an excellent team here who are absolutely passionate about the future potential of The Glenturret as Scotland’s only remaining hand-crafted whisky and in keeping the history of our beautiful distillery alive for many generations to come.

While we’ll be very sad to bid farewell to The Famous Grouse brand and our colleagues at Edrington once the distillery transfers to a new owner, The Glenturret Distillery will continue to be an integral part of the Crieff and Perthshire community, as it has been throughout its 240-year history.

We know that The Glenturret welcomed over one million visitors before it eventually opened as The Famous Grouse Experience in 2002 and its status as one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries makes it a significant draw for tourists from all over the world.

My team are now gearing up for what we expect will be our busiest summer yet. Footfall to the distillery increased by 4 per cent last year and industry trends forecast a marked increase in demand for whiskyrelated visitor attractions, with ASVA’s (Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions) latest figures showing a jump of 16.2 per cent.

For almost 40 years Glenturret has been one of Scotland’s favourite whisky visitor attractions and this is expected to continue under new ownership.

Adding to this, the exciting growth in the hand-crafted movement in the UK has fuelled a growing increase in demand for authentically produced drinks, of which The Glenturret is by far the most established in the whisky market, with some 240 years of heritage to its name.

I’d like to extend an invitation to our neighbours and friends to join us this summer in raising a dram to both Scotland’s favourite blend and Scotland’s oldest malt before we start Glenturret’s next exciting chapter. John Laurie, General manager, Glenturret Distillery