Heritage Portfolio eyes English expansion with two new contracts

Heritage Portfolio executive director and founder Mark Miller is excited about the firms exspansion south of the Border. Picture: Contributed

The Edinburgh-based firm will provide catering at British Airways i360 on Brighton’s seafront, which will be the world’s tallest moving observation tower when it opens later this summer. The company has also secured an in-house catering agreement at Arley Hall & Gardens, the historic Jacobean-style mansion of Viscount Ashbrook.

Mark Miller, executive director and founder of Heritage Portfolio, said the firm is now looking to set up a hub in the north-west of England to service these and additional venues in the area.“We are very excited to be selected to work at two such superb attractions – British Airways i360 is already world-renowned, even before it opens, and the idyllic and charming Arley Hall & Gardens in Cheshire,” he said.

“At both venues we will be building local teams with the flexibility that such unique and special venues will need.”

The company will create new menus for both sites, led by executive development chef Brian Canale, a former Scottish chef of the year. Eleanor Harris, chief executive of British Airways i360, said the aim will be to create something special that “reflects the quality and uniqueness of our amazing attraction and venue”.

The team will manage catering for a 400-seat brasserie and event rooms hosting up to 500 at the base of i360, a 162-meter tower that is expected to attract up to 700,000 people annually. Fare will range from light bites to fine dining.

At Arley Hall & Gardens, Heritage Portfolio will manage all event bookings for weddings, private dinners and receptions. Plans are also in place to open a new garden café.

Created in 2002 through the merger of Heritage Hospitality and Portfolio Catering, Heritage Portfolio provides services to a range of historic homes, museums, art galleries and theatres. Clients include the likes of Hopetoun House, The Palace of Holyrood House, the Signet Library and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

The privately-owned company was acquired by Centerplate at the beginning of 2014 for an undisclosed sum, with Centerplate’s existing UK heritage and outdoor events business combined under the Heritage Portfolio brand.