Mr Longmuir said that despite having many problems as a young man, he always had “a bit of an entrepreneurial spark”, collecting papers and making and selling pirated VHS copies of The Lion King. I remembered what I did.
His arrest for importing drugs into New Zealand was “a catalyst for change and a turning point in my life for the better”. He also found God and “decided to value my life and make it successful,” he said.
Regis Banqueting currently operates from a 6,000 square foot central production unit in Cumbernauld and employs approximately 200 people (70 full-time equivalents). The business caters for everything from small business lunches to large corporate events and has contracts with the University of Glasgow and Dundee United FC.
“We are an event-based catering company and do around 450 weddings a year,” Mr Longmuir said. “We catered for several venues at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2012 and the UCI Cycling World Championships last year. Our USP (unique selling point) is that we have the most , not that it's expensive or cheap, but that there's a good culture because all the staff are in-house.”
Mr Longmuir recalled how he was able to expand Regis Banqueting after securing a £5,000 loan from what was then known as the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT). When his company was founded, he said he had the opportunity to speak with then-Prince Charles at COP28. I was catering an event attended by Charles, Camilla, William and Kate.
Despite the challenges posed by coronavirus and the company losing 85% of its business, Regis Banqueted pivoted and donated thousands of meals to homeless and vulnerable people during the lockdown, and the crisis has caused the company to lose 85% of its business. “Captured the opportunity'' that was created.
