A leading UK construction company has been named as the preferred bidder for the build of the new £100m Macallan distillery and visitor centre.

With over 1,600 staff, Robertson Group operates across the whole of the UK with a strong presence throughout Scotland and the North of England.

Planning permission was granted by Moray Council and development is scheduled to begin October this year on the existing Macallan estate at Easter Elchies, near Craigellachie, Scotland with the facilities being opened to the public in spring 2017.

London-based Architects Rogers, Stirk, Harbour and Partners won against a shortlist that is believed to have included Foster & Partners, Herzog & de Meuron and David Adjaye, and have created a scheme that aims to increase capacity of the distillery from 9.5m to 15m bottles per year with Forsyths of Rothes supplying the new distillation equipment.

Commenting on the decision to appoint Robertson Group, executive chairman Bill Robertson said: “We are delighted and honoured to have been selected by The Macallan to build their new world-class iconic distillery and visitor centre.”

“As a local business we have worked in the whisky industry for many, many years and fully understand the aspirations of the sector.”