One team: Marie Macklin and Darren Ridge

The Halo regeneration project in Kilmarnock has teamed up with Onecom, a provider of business-to-business telecommunications for the roll-out of the initiative across the UK.

Halo is being developed on the site of the historic Johnnie Walker whisky bottling plant and is geared towards developing skills for the future workforce.

Marie Macklin, founder and executive chairman of The Halo Group, said Belfast-based Onecom’s support has been crucial in also establishing a Halo base in Northern Ireland.

“This partnership demonstrates the benefits of our multi-site approach to developing The Halo concept,” she said.

Darren Ridge, chief executive at Onecom, said: “To describe The Halo Scotland as ‘exciting’ is very much an understatement. Regeneration projects such as these are bold, brave and very necessary in these straitened times.”

The development is one of four Halo projects planned for the UK. Following Belfast, there are sites in Wales and the North West of England,.

Halo Scotland is forecast to contribute £120m of GDP to the Scottish economy annually, create 1,400+ direct jobs and support 630 construction jobs.