A tourism organisation has been rocked by nearly half its board resigning suddenly just months after it was set up.
Seven of the 15 directors of Visit Moray Speyside quit over the weekend.
It is understood that weeks of internal disagreements surrounding the direction of the company led to the split.
Chairman Barry Scott was among those who stepped down from the company, which only started operating in April.
The other resignations were Gavin Templeton, Oliver Lyon, Alastair Ross, Kerry Mcinnes, Carlo Miele and Phil Rogers.
Visit Moray Speyside became only Scotland’s third tourism business improvement district (TBid) when it succeeded in a ballot of local industry firms last year.
It is understood that concerns had been raised about a potential shortfall in income in the company’s projected finances.
Due to the agency being a TBid it is funded by an annual levy paid by firms from the industry, which are already struggling to survive due to the effects of the coronavirus lockdown.
However, chief executive Laurie Piper – one of the eight remaining board members – explained a decrease in revenue had already been taken into account as part of financial projections.
Visit Moray Speyside was formed to succeed Moray Speyside Tourism, which was a subsidiary of Moray Chamber of Commerce.
One former board member said: “I think the TBid is the right way to go but I just got disillusioned with the way it was being run, I was blown away by it all.”
Last night Mr Piper said a new chairman would be appointed and discussions about new directors would be held at a pre-arranged board meeting tomorrow.
He added: “It is a pity that some of the directors have chosen to stand down. Given the amount of effort required to take any organisation forward in its early months, it is understandable that some of them felt they did not have the time or the resource to devote to the business.
“The board would like to thank the former directors for their contributions and wish them well for the future.
“These are unprecedented times for the tourism industry and over the past months Visit Moray Speyside has been working tirelessly to support our members across our region. These difficult times are likely to continue and the work of the TBid will be crucial to our region’s recovery.”
