Kilmarnock FC owner Billy Bowie to create 30-plus jobs after bank deal

Billy Bowie – the owner of Kilmarnock FC – is aiming to create more than 30 jobs in Ayrshire after netting a funding package from HSBC UK.

Bowie's business ventures comprise The Park Hotel and Billy Bowie Special Projects. Picture: contributed.

The entrepreneur has secured the seven-figure funding deal to support the growth of his business ventures – The Park Hotel and Billy Bowie Special Projects, with the latter described as one of Ayrshire’s largest firms.

Bowie is modernising facilities and opening a new outdoor bar and restaurant at his four-star hotel in Kilmarnock, creating up to 20 new posts.

The work to The Park Hotel, claimed to be the first football stadium and hotel complex in Scotland at the football team’s Rugby Park home, also includes developing two function suites that will be completed in the autumn.

Meanwhile, an asset finance facility is being used by Billy Bowie Special Projects to buy six specialised vacuum tankers from Sweden and Denmark that will create 12 jobs by the end of 2019.

The specialist vehicles are used to remove dry materials, such as fine dust and hazard sludges, and move them to treatment plants. The aim is for the new vehicles to meet rising demand from the construction, utilities and petrochemical industries.

Bowie said: “Both the hotel and our special projects businesses have been growing in response to increasing demand, and I’m looking forward to adding to creating new jobs for the local community. HSBC UK bought into our growth plans and the bank’s support and advice has been instrumental to allowing both businesses to grow sustainably.”

Grant Bett, relationship director at HSBC UK, said: "We look forward to seeing the positive impact [his plans for expansion] will have on the community with the creation of new jobs.”