John M Munro Ltd was formed almost a century ago and its 75-strong workforce distributes its fresh, quality meat across all of Scotland. Today, a fifth generation of the Munro family helps oversee six shops, an abattoir and a cutting plant.

Now, with loans of £1m secured from Royal Bank of Scotland, the Highlands enterprise will begin a refurbishment project that includes a new extension of its premises, car parking and plant. This upgrade will allow John M Munro Ltd to meet new and changing customer tastes and demands.

Managing director Charlie Munro, whose great grandfather started the business in 1922, said: “As our customer base in Scotland’s central belt continued growing, we decided to completely revamp the layout of the existing building to allow us to streamline loading and order picking.

“There is now a greater customer demand for boneless beef and upgrading our facilities means we will have the sufficient space to provide a larger de-boning service in Dingwall.

“Throughout COVID, we have seen high street butchers begin to win back some of the customers originally lost to the big supermarkets. With people obeying lockdown rules at home, many have discovered a love for cooking and buying the freshest and best ingredients. With Royal Bank of Scotland’s financial support, we can continue to cater for our loyal customers and hopefully attract new ones.”

Lindsay Smith, relationship director at Royal Bank of Scotland in Inverness, added: “It has been a real pleasure to work with this long-established family business who have banked at Royal Bank of Scotland for many years and to support them with the funding needed. We wish Charlie and the team every success for the future and look forward to hearing how the redevelopment progresses.”