COLIN BEATTIE has joined the ranks of Davidson & Robertson as the new branch manager in their Castle Douglas office.

He has taken over the helm from D&R director Derek Bathgate, allowing him to focus on developing the company's Ayr office.

Brought up on a beef and sheep farm, Mr Beattie has a wealth of agricultural experience working on landlord/tenant issues, valuations, sales, compensation claims and IACS.

He has worked with agricultural clients across Dumfries and Galloway and Cumbria for almost 20 years, previously based in Longtown with C&D Rural, making the move to D & R to develop new opportunities and a more varied role.

Commenting on his new appointment he said: “As Scotland’s oldest land agency, D&R has a well established reputation and has built up trust with clients for years. It is one of the reasons I joined the team.

“My new role also gives me the chance to develop the Castle Douglas business further across South West Scotland and Northern England," he explained. "I’m already involved in a lot more valuation work and looking at potential new instructions for the spring, which is a great way to start 2020.”

Managing Director of D & R, Martin Hall, said “We have been going from strength to strength in South West Scotland, so it was essential that we have dedicated branch managers for our Ayr and Castle Douglas offices. Colin’s appointment came at the right time – freeing Derek Bathgate to develop the Ayr business and providing Castle Douglas with a strong platform for growth.

“Colin has years of experience in agriculture and will be an asset for new and existing clients in the south of Scotland and the north of Cumbria too," he continued. "We’ve already seen good demand for our services in Cumbria when our Cockermouth office opened in 2014, so we’re looking forward to growing in the north of the county too.”