Business in Leith – then and now

Leith, a separate burgh from the capital until 1920, is one of the most distinctive and vibrant areas of Edinburgh. What it’s best known for can depend on who you ask, but it’s undeniable that it has a proud maritime history – and quite a few Michelin stars.

As a port for centuries, it is steeped in trade. It even had its own bank, The Leith Banking Company, which opened its doors in 1793, and was largely for Leith’s many merchants.

Although the bank and its merchants are long gone, business continues to thrive.

Leith still has its own chamber of commerce, which was originally established in 1841 by royal charter and is nowadays part of the Edinburgh chamber of commerce (ECC).

Commenting on its goals, ECC head of membership, Richard Ellis says: “The Leith chamber of commerce exists to help build an interconnected and thriving local business community, by fostering cooperation and communication.

“Our aim is to deliver relevant events and information that will help widen the local business network and increase the number of available opportunities for companies with an interest in the vibrant area of Leith.”

All ECC members automatically also become members of the Leith chamber on joining, so they are eligible to attend Leith events as well as Edinburgh get-togethers. Four Leith-based events are planned for 2025.

Leith today is home to a wide range of businesses, with some of the best known including the Royal Yacht Britannia, which recently revealed plans for a new visitor centre; and the Port of Leith Distillery, the first vertical distillery to be built in the UK. 

One of Leith’s other most recognisable businesses is the Malmaison Hotel on Tower Place. The building was first opened by Lord Rosebery, UK prime minister between 1894-5, in 1885, but not as a hotel. It was originally a home for sailors and could accommodate over 100 seafarers.  The building then lay empty for a while until hotelier Ken McCulloch transformed it, creating the first of the Malmaison hotels.

Nowadays, the hotel welcomes visitors to Leith and businesses seeking stylish event and meeting spaces, as well as diners and afternoon-tea enthusiasts. It offers wine-tasting and cocktail-making classes, and can also arrange a murder-mystery dinner, for a night out with a difference. Local business people looking for a quick lunch before getting back to work, might like to know that the hotel offers a three-course ‘express’ lunch, served in 30 minutes, which costs just £19.50 per person. Sponsored

Small-business life in Leith

Leith is also home to numerous small businesses, including one of its newest – the Pain Care Clinic. It was launched in the autumn of 2024, by Amanda Oswald, who has 17 years’ experience of practising myofascial release (MFR), a complementary therapy to treat chronic pain: 

“MFR works with the fascia, the main connective tissue in the body, which wraps around and through muscles, nerves, bones, blood vessels and organs,” explains Amanda:

“When it is working normally, fascia moves freely. However, when restrictions form, these can lead to pain and other symptoms, that also appear elsewhere in the body – so the pain you feel in your hand may well be coming from restrictions in your neck, for example.

“Myofascial restrictions are commonly caused by accidents and injuries; surgery; scar tissue; repetitive movements (such as work or exercise); posture; stress; or, for most of us, some combination of these.  MFR is a gentle hands-on therapy that helps to progressively release these restrictions and return the body to more normal pain-free

movement.”

She adds: “MFR is particularly effective at helping chronic pain conditions such as TMJ (temporomandibular joint dysfunction); jaw pain, headaches and migraines; frozen shoulder; back pain; chronic pelvic pain; repetitive strain injury (RSI); scar tissue; plantar fasciitis; and fibromyalgia.”

As well as providing treatment in the clinic at 121 Giles Street, Amanda also provides simple, self-help exercises for clients to practise at home.Sponsored

Over on Great Junction Street, there’s another small business supporting the health of its clients, but in a different way. Gerry Forristal, a buyer-behaviour and value-articulation consultant, specialises in sales-process design, sales training and pricing strategy. His skills lie in helping businesses locally and across the UK to improve profitability, growth and customer loyalty, by refining how they communicate the value of their business and the structure of their sales approach. Sponsored

There are many reasons why Gerry has chosen Leith as his base, as he explains: “I previously lived on the Shore for nearly nine years, and I've just moved back to the area, having missed Leith's vibrancy and diversity of people, food and businesses. 

“Leith feels 'real', grounded and authentic in a way that's increasingly rare in city neighbourhoods. There's a genuine sense of community here.” 

Live here   

With so much to offer, it’s no surprise that Leith is a popular place to live.  ESPC’s most recent house-price report reveals that between December 2024 and February this year, two-bedroom flats in the area continued to “fly off the market”, taking a median time of just 15 days to sell.

Some of the Leith properties on the market at the moment include a three-bedroom/two-bathroom ground-floor apartment in the converted C-listed St Ninian’s Church, on Commercial Street, close to The Shore, for offers over £395,000.  

There’s also a two-bedroom/two-bathroom ground-floor flat on Duncan Place, with a communal garden, close to Leith Links, on the market at offers over £395,000 and a two-bedroom/two-bathroom flat on Mill Lane, right in the heart of Leith, with private residents’ parking, priced at offers over £300,000.

Summing up the attraction of the area for businesses and residents, Amanda concludes: “Leith is a vibrant area which supports many small businesses such as mine.

“I love the fact that it is close to the Shore, with its cafes and shops. It’s also great for transport links to the city for my clients, and I can walk to and from work along the Water of Leith which is a real treat.”