New lease of life for outdoor sports store next to Pentland Hills near Edinburgh following buyout

A climbing, snowsports and camping business on the outskirts of Edinburgh is set for a relaunch after being bought out by a trio of outdoor sports enthusiasts.

Martin Quinn, Jonathon Fountain and Kris Easter, outside the site of the store on the southern outskirts of Edinburgh next to the City Bypass.

Long-serving employees Jonathon Fountain, Kris Easter and Martin Quinn have taken on Craigdon Mountain Sports’ store at the Pentland Outdoor Centre. They have worked at the Fairmilehead outlet since it launched in 2015, and have now taken over at the helm of the business which supplies walking, snowsports and climbing clothing and equipment, along with tents and camping accessories. The trio stepped in after the previous owners, who founded the chain more than 25 years ago, decided to sell up earlier this year.

The capital store is closed for refurbishment and is set to re-launch in November. The shop, which employs ten people, will feature some 3,000 square feet of retail space on the lower ground floor of the distinctive timber-fronted building, with Sainsbury’s taking space on the ground floor and a Cobbs café on the upper level.

Fountain said: “It’s great to have the opportunity to purchase the business, the three of us started here together and we are passionate about continuing to serve our incredible, loyal customer base. We all love outdoors sports - I am a skier, Kris is a climber and hillwalker and Martin loves most outdoor sports and I think that is why so many customers come back to us and recommend their friends, they know that we have a wealth of practical knowledge of our products that you just can’t get online or from a bigger chain which is much more impersonal.

“We found that demand for outdoor clothing and equipment soared during and in the wake of the pandemic as people realised how much they benefitted from hitting the great outdoors. Lots of people wanted to try something new and found they loved it and have stuck with it.”

Easter added: “We will initially be concentrating on building our customer base in Edinburgh as you couldn’t have a better location for the store than at the foot of the Pentland Hills and just a mile from Midlothian Snowsports Centre at Hillend. Further down the line we hope to open new stores in other locations.”