Scottish Rugby and Elior extend partnership

Scottish Rugby’s partnership with Elior, an international leader in the contract catering and related services sector, has been in place since 2009. The new five year extension to the existing agreement through to 2031 will see the partnership run to 22 years since first inception, and includes a seven figure contribution from Elior to the refurbishment.

To align with the vision and values of Scottish Rugby, Elior now operates at BT Murrayfield under the Scottish Rugby Hospitality brand, better representing the service provided together with the Scottish Rugby team.

Scottish Rugby’s Chief Operating Officer, Dominic McKay said: “The extension of our contract and relationship with Elior is great for Scottish Rugby and Scottish Rugby Hospitality. This long-term relationship has allowed us to redevelop the suites and ensure that we can carry on offering a consistent high-quality service to our customers and will take the matchday and visitors experience at BT Murrayfield to a whole new level.

“BT Murrayfield is approaching its Centenary Anniversary and I am delighted that thanks to our on-going work with our commercial partners such as Elior, we can keep investing and developing our venue to both provide an unforgettable experience for fans, sponsors and guests, alongside its significant contribution to our overall revenues, which are reinvested into rugby in Scotland.”

The 1925 Suites have had a significant refit to ensure a more dynamic area for hosting guests and has improved the flexibility in hosting groups of different sizes and in wider variety of possible presentation formats.

The suites, which will now be known as the Scotland Suites, have been renamed to honour Scottish Rugby’s history.

The Moncreiff Suite honours Francis Moncreiff who was selected to represent Scotland, and captained the side, in the first ever international rugby union game against England in 1871 at Raeburn Place, home of Edinburgh Academicals.

The Macpherson Suite is named after George Philip Stewart Macpherson CBE, the captain of the monumental 1925 team that played for the first time at BT Murrayfield, defeating England 14-11 and secured the Grand Slam in the process.

The Cap & Thistle, which will be used by the Scottish Rugby Business Club on match days, highlights two items very much entwined in Scottish Rugby history.

Refurbishment of the suites has also allowed for the two main function rooms, the Presidents and the Thistle Suite to have new bars installed to enhance the match day and non-match day experience for guests.

Finally, the Centenary Club is named as such to acknowledge the imminent 100th anniversary of BT Murrayfield due in 2025.

Elior UK’s Managing Director, Kenny Finlayson, said: “Our relationship goes well beyond that of the traditional client and supplier – the entire Elior team feels part of the Scottish Rugby family. We’ve worked in partnership to deliver a first class offer based on customer experience.

An extensive tender process in 2015/2016 led to the award of a ten-year contract which enabled Elior to deliver all match day and non-match day hospitality, conference & banqueting and catering services at BT Murrayfield Stadium.

The majority of the profit generated from all activities in the Elior partnership is invested back into the game of rugby through a contracted profit share arrangement.

All suites within BT Murrayfield are available for external bookings via the Scottish Rugby Hospitality website.