Shotts ends 10-year sponsorship

Shotts & Dykehead is now officially once again Shotts & Dykehead, as one of the world’s most storied pipe bands has ended its 10-year sponsorship arrangement with Macnaughton Holdings, which owns the House of Edgar brand of Highland wear.

The band implemented the name “House of Edgar-Shotts & Dykehead” in 2003 when it was under the direction of Pipe-Major Robert Mathieson, whose kilt-hire and Highland gear business used the organization as a supplier.

The sponsorship deal – the terms of which have never been publicly disclosed – will official conclude at the end of April, according to Macnaughton Holdings representative Blair Macnaughton.

Since Mathieson’s resignation as pipe-major in August 2010, the band dropped from the prize list at most majors under the direction of Gavin Walker. In the fall of 2012 Walker resigned and several weeks later Ryan Canning was appointed leader.

In a statement, Macnaughton Holdings said, “The recent appointment of Ryan Canning as Pipe-Major has once again seen . . . Shotts returning to its musical best.”

In the same statement, Band Chairman Sandy Bell, commented, “We would like to thank the House of Edgar for its sponsorship and support since 2003. We have been proud to wear their uniforms and bear their name, and it has been nice to be associated with one of Scotland’s oldest family companies.”