Departing Green Freeport boss Calum Macpherson says ‘it's been quite an intense three years’

Leading what most observers and almost every single politician concerned with the Highlands thought was a project that would transform the economic fortunes of the Highlands cannot have been easy.

But as CEO Calum Macpherson won Business Leader of the Year at the Highland Business Awards - something he cites as a personal highlight and he still seems surprised that he won.

Mostly his reputation will rest on securing the difficult early stages of the freeport, when its future was far from guaranteed.

• Departing freeport boss says Ming Yang tabled ‘the best offer anybody's ever had for manufacturing here’ Given all that, why did he choose to step down? In the second part of our interview, he reveals that it was first of all the right juncture for the freeport for him to move on.

And, secondly, that it is time for a less high profile job and three he secured an interesting position in the private sector.

Mr Macpherson revealed that he will be moving to Whiterow Properties which is concerned with construction, mostly of industrial buildings rather than residential housing.

Yet to hear him speak housing construction might have sounded like a better fit because he is clearly passionate and highly animated about the state of the Highland housing market and difficulties young Highlanders face getting a home.

So, you're moving on.

It's quite a big step.

What prompted the decision? Because obviously people have been talking about this in the context of other things, and this is probably a good moment to clarify all of that.

“So the journey for freeport is a 25-year project.

Over the life of this project there's going to be many people who lead it, in the same way that when I started three years ago other people, like Joanne Allday and other people had kind of carried it up to that point.

“In the last few years we've managed to get all the statutory legislation in place.

We've got all the governance in place, the board established, the financials established, the levy structure from the landlords which pays for the freeport.

We've managed to get our strategic plan in place.

“And I guess after those three years as we move now I feel like we are moving on from the establishment phase very much into the operational phase so I think it's quite right that somebody else kind of takes it on.

“I enjoy building things and making things, but I also had an opportunity to go back into the private sector and start working with people in a sector that I knew before.

So it just seemed a bit serendipitous – very much everything's been established now and we're into delivery mode.

“It's been quite an intense three years, to be honest with you as well many, many nights away from home, lots of travelling so an old timer like me has to sort of think a little bit about all that travelling as well.

So they were the main reasons.” Now, next steps, do you fancy revealing where you're going to go? “I'm going to work for a property company called Whiterow Properties Limited.

It is owned by Sandy Adams, whose family are shareholders in the AIM listed Springfield Group.

“But I won't be doing direct house development myself.

They're looking at doing some more industrial sheds and things out by the airport business park.

You know, they've looked at doing things maybe near Tore roundabout, trying to sort of do a bit more development there.

“So yeah, it'll be a bit maybe lower profile, more practical end of doing some more of that stuff.

Local as well, I mean, I've had jobs in the past where I spend every week going down the A9 or further afield.

I had staff in Manchester and Leeds and Sheffield and Newcastle.

“I've been that soldier.

So I'm very pleased that I'm going to have a job that keeps me in the Highlands or Moray.

I'm looking forward to not having to go down to London maybe every month.” But nothing to do with Haventus, Ming Yang, any of these things whatsoever? “No, in fact, for the record, I actually handed in my notice a good few weeks before the Ming Yang decision even came out because I've got a three month notice period.

So people can do the math.

I'd actually handed in my notice before that and probably would have spoken a bit more publicly about me moving on.” Despite the disappointment he insists that the freeport – despite how welcome Ming Yang would have been – was not predicated on one deal and he highlights the work that has been done so far.

“We're one of the newest freeports in the UK.

But I would say we're probably either third or fourth top in terms of investment so far.

So, we're still way ahead of where people thought we had a right to be.

“And that's thanks to investment from....