Howies Restaurants Limited

What Howies Restaurants Limited does

Howies Restaurants Limited (operating as Inverhow Ltd.) is a family-owned restaurant group headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, founded in 1990 by David Howie Scott. The company operates three central Edinburgh venues: Howies Waterloo Place (a flagship Georgian restaurant at the foot of Calton Hill with 90-cover main dining and a 30-seat private dining room), Howies Victoria Street (a restaurant in the historic Old Town near Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile), and Scotts Kitchen (an all-day dining venue on Victoria Terrace offering breakfast through drinks from 9am-5pm). All three venues serve seasonal Scottish cuisine cooked to order, emphasizing locally-sourced produce from named Scottish suppliers including Highland venison, Belhaven Smokery salmon, Shaw's butchers, East Lothian lobsters, Shetland mussels, and Ian Mellis cheese.

The group's revenue model is transaction-based across three streams: dine-in food and beverage sales across the three restaurants (lunch from £19.95, early dining £24.95/£25.95 Sun-Thu), events and catering through the Events by Howies division launched in 2022 (private dining, weddings, corporate events, and offsite catering at client venues for 10-100+ guests), and ancillary gift voucher sales through the Stampede gifting platform. The events arm includes a strategic catering partnership at Riddle's Court, a 16th-century heritage venue capable of hosting up to 90 guests for standing receptions. Distribution operates through direct walk-in service, online reservations via Stampede, and inbound event enquiries via dedicated website forms.

The business is privately held with no external investors, funding rounds, or parent company involvement. The founder David Howie Scott remains at the helm, now joined by his son Louis in a second-generation succession. The group employs 22 people and has been recognized through TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Award 2020 (all three venues), Visit Britain, Squaremeal, and EasyJet Traveller features. The underlying technology stack is standard restaurant operations infrastructure, with no AI/ML capabilities disclosed, no patents or trademarks filed, and no app-based consumer product.

Name

Howies Restaurants Limited

Legal name

Inverhow Ltd.

Website

https://howies.uk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Howies Restaurants Limited is a family-owned Edinburgh restaurant group operating three venues—Howies Waterloo, Howies Victoria, and Scotts Kitchen—plus an events catering division, serving seasonal Scottish cuisine to tourists, locals, and corporate event clients since 1990.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant Dining Services

NAICS

Caterers (72232), Food Service Contractors (722310)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Catering (Off-Premise) (HSACAGAA)

Keywords

• Scottish seasonal cuisine
• Restaurant dining services
• Events catering
• Private dining venues
• Wedding catering Edinburgh

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant dining services: Revenue from food and beverage sales across three Edinburgh restaurant venues - Howies Waterloo, Howies Victoria, and Scotts Kitchen. All venues are open 7 days a week, serving seasonal Scottish cuisine with lunch, dinner, and all-day dining options.
2. Events and catering services: Revenue from private dining room hire, event catering, wedding catering, and offsite catering services. Includes venue hire at Scotts Kitchen (with minimum spend instead of hire fee), Riddle's Court partnerships, and corporate event services.
3. Gift voucher sales: Online gift voucher sales through Stampede gifting platform, available for various amounts and experiences including lunches and dinners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Howies Restaurants Limited is a family-run independent restaurant group operating three dine-in venues in Edinburgh (Howies Waterloo, Howies Victoria, Scotts Kitchen) serving seasonal Scottish cuisine for lunch, dinner, and all-day dining. The group also runs Events by Howies, providing bespoke catering, private dining, weddings, and offsite events services across Edinburgh. Revenue is generated from food and beverage sales at the restaurants, private event and venue hire, offsite catering, gift vouchers, and corporate event contracts.

Product overview

Howies Restaurants Limited operates as a family-owned restaurant group with three distinct venue brands in Edinburgh: Howies Waterloo Place (flagship Georgian restaurant), Howies Victoria Street (Old Town location), and Scotts Kitchen (all-day dining on Victoria Terrace). The group also runs Events by Howies, a comprehensive events and catering service that manages private dining across their venues and provides offsite catering throughout Edinburgh and beyond. Riddle's Court serves as a heritage venue partner for weddings and formal events. The group offers a unified dining experience centered on seasonal Scottish cuisine, complemented by online table booking and gift voucher systems for customer convenience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Howies Waterloo Place Flagship restaurant situated in a Georgian hall at the foot of Calton Hill. Open 7 days for lunch, dinner, and private dining for up to 30 in the private dining room. Features al fresco dining in warmer months.
• Howies Victoria Street Restaurant located in Edinburgh's historic Old Town on Victoria Street, minutes from Edinburgh Castle and the Royal Mile. Open 7 days for lunch and dinner. Featured in EasyJet Traveller and named Best Scottish Restaurant near the Royal Mile by Edinburgh Est.
• Scotts Kitchen All-day dining venue situated above Howies Victoria on Victoria Terrace. Open from 9am-5pm, 7 days a week. Offers breakfast, brunch, lunch, cocktails, coffee and canapés. Available for private events with no hire fee (minimum spend required). Capacity up to 55 people for events.
• Events by Howies Bespoke events and offsite catering service launched in 2022. Offers private dining, weddings, corporate launches, and receptions at Howies venues, partner venues (Riddle's Court), and client-specified locations across Edinburgh. Offsite catering capacities from 10-100+ seated guests in offices, galleries, private homes, marquees, and castles.
• Gift Vouchers Online gift voucher system allowing customers to purchase monetary gifts for dining experiences at Howies. Available for various amounts, suitable for gifting lunches, dinners, or contributions towards events. Sold through the Stampede gifting platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rated highly by customers on Trip Advisor, winning Travellers Choice Award 2020 for all three venues
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Riddle's CourtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Howies serves as one of the catering partners at Riddle's Court, a 16th-century heritage venue in Edinburgh. This iconic venue with beautifully high ceilings is ideal for formal events including weddings, corporate launches, and receptions. Capacities include theatre style up to 80 guests, seated dining up to 80 guests, standing reception up to 90 guests, and boardroom style up to 46 guests.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Dishoom: UK independent restaurant group with multiple UK city sites, strong events/private-hire business, and a focused 'one cuisine done exceptionally well' positioning. Comparable as a multi-site independent with events arm and disciplined brand, though different cuisine and not Edinburgh-based.

Direct peers

• Ondine: Edinburgh Old Town seafood restaurant near the Royal Mile. Comparable city-centre Edinburgh fine-dining positioning, tourism-driven footfall, and premium Scottish seafood sourcing.
• The Kitchin: Tom Kitchin's Michelin-starred Edinburgh restaurant serving modern Scottish cuisine. Direct comparable: same Edinburgh city-centre positioning, Scottish-produce-led menu, fine-dining price point, and similar events/private-dining offering.
• The Witchery by the Castle: Iconic heritage fine-dining venue at the gates of Edinburgh Castle. Highly comparable to Howies Waterloo's Georgian heritage setting, premium positioning, and dependence on Edinburgh tourism and private events.
• Timberyard: Family-run Edinburgh restaurant focused on seasonal, locally-sourced produce with strong events and private-dining business. Closely comparable to Howies on independent ownership, Scottish-produce ethos, and events vertical.
• Cafe Royal: Long-established Edinburgh dining room and bar in a heritage West End setting. Comparable multi-decade Edinburgh heritage venue with bar, dining, and events/private-hire functions.
• The Edinburgh Larder Bistro: Independent Edinburgh bistro emphasising local Scottish produce and informal all-day dining. Closely comparable to Scotts Kitchen's all-day casual format and local-sourcing positioning.
• The Scran & Scallie: Tom Kitchin's Edinburgh gastropub in Stockbridge serving modern Scottish food. Comparable family-run Scottish-produce concept at a more accessible price point than fine-dining peers.

Broad incumbents

• Hawksmoor: UK-wide steakhouse and bar group with strong private-dining and events business. Comparable in scale of multi-site independent dining, depth of events offering, and reliance on heritage-style venues in major UK cities.
• Browns Brasserie & Bar: UK brasserie chain with an Edinburgh site offering all-day dining, private dining and cocktails. Comparable broad-market all-day dining operator competing for the same Edinburgh tourist, corporate and private-event spend as Howies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HowiesScotland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/howies-restaurants-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/howiesrestaurant

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Howies Restaurants Limited