SCOTTISH drinks wholesaler Inverarity Morton has appointed former long-standing rival Brian Calder to its board.

Mr Calder, who joins as non-executive director, has been drafted in carry out a full audit of the Thornliebank-based business, with a remit to improve its product offering and operational productivity.

Until now he has effectively spent the bulk of his career in opposition to Inverarity Morton, which was formed by William Morton’s takeover of wine merchant Inverarity Vaults in 2011.

Mr Calder worked for Irvine-based wholesaler Wallaces Express nearly 40 years, joining full-time in 1975 and going on to lead a management buyout with Chris Cosh in 2003.

He remained managing director of Wallaces until its outright acquisition by C&C Group, owner of Tennent Caledonian Breweries, in early 2014, before going on to lead the Tennent's business for 15 months until June 2015.

Stephen Russell, managing director of Inverarity Morton, said singled out Mr Calder’s background in the drinks wholesaling sector as a big attraction for the firm.

“Brian is an incredibly astute businessman and knows the trade, knows the marketplace inside out,

“He made a very bold, but canny, decision to completely reshape the company [Wallaces Express] and then steered it over a relatively short time to become the most successful wholesaler in Scotland. At the time of the C&C acquisition, Wallaces had a turnover of £90m and employed over 300 people.

“We have asked him to come in and conduct a full audit of the business, looking into every nook and cranny from the product range to systems and policies.”