Case Study

Beancross — A Landmark in Scottish Hospitality Design

“Working with Don and the IDEAS team changed everything. Beancross became far more than a hospitality venue — it became a landmark.
Don’s creativity, vision and attention to detail were on another level.
He pushed us, inspired us.
We couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”
— Kevin Finn, Finn Inns

The Client
Finn Inns / Beancross
Grangemouth, Scotland
The Challenge
Transform an former farm buiding and empty field at a strategically located site in Grangemouth into a destination hospitality venue that would redefine expectations for restaurant, bar, and boutique hotel design in Scotland.
The ambition: create a gateway to the Scottish Lowlands — a place that would not only attract visitors but set a new design and experience benchmark for the leisure sector.
The Journey
Kevin Finn had already been a long-standing IDEAS client when he and Don Jack first walked Beancross Farm together. In that moment, both instantly recognised its potential. The location was perfect; what it needed was vision — and substantial investment.
To secure that investment, the first step was to build a watertight business case. Drawing on Don’s experience with major UK property developers, IDEAS produced an opportunity document of exceptional depth and detail. Nothing was left to chance.
This wasn’t a proposal; it was a catalyst. A document designed, as Kevin joked, “to burn a hole in the desks of its recipients.”
Kevin and Don rehearsed the presentation until it was word-perfect.
Meanwhile, Don began conceptualising the interiors the old-fashioned way — felt-tip markers, hand-drawn ideas, and the kind of highly original thinking that would become synonymous with which he had become synonomous. Never before had the Scottish leisure industry seen such inventiveness in spatial branding.
“If you can walk through it, Don can design it,” Kevin would later say.
The early concepts were ambitious:
A blend of high-end art gallery sophistication
Rural Scottish charm
A clarity of brand expression rarely seen outside London or New York
The ideas pushed boundaries — and budgets.
At the first design meeting, Don famously told contractors:
“I want a polished stainless-steel balustrade that looks like we fired a reverse shrink gun at that barbed wire fence over there.”
They laughed: “No chance!”
Then, of course, it became a reality.
What We Delivered
Strategy & Insight
Full opportunity and investment case development
Market positioning strategy for a destination hospitality venue
Brand-led experience planning
Pre-launch marketing, PR strategy, audience and media preparation
Business growth planning for future phases (including the Millennium Hotel expansion)
Creative & Delivery
Full interior design direction
Creative leadership across architects, contractors and external consultants
Build-phase brand stewardship
Pre-marketing, PR campaigns and customer expectation building
Boutique hotel interiors and one of the UK’s most impressive show suite venues
Event experience development including theatre, music, and performance
Long-term brand guardianship
Impact
When Beancross opened, the response was extraordinary.
The public loved it.
The Scottish leisure industry was captivated.
VisitScotland praised it.
A pre-disposed audience — already warmed through IDEAS’ PR and pre-marketing — turned out in force.
The success sparked Phase Two: the now-famous Millennium Hotel expansion, giving Don space to flex his additional talents as entertainer, producer, and showman. The hotel rooms and show suite became talking points in their own right — masterclasses in how high design and hospitality theatre could blend seamlessly.
Beancross didn’t just launch strong; it endured.
Finn Inns invested in the highest-quality materials, bespoke fittings, and meticulous craftsmanship — and IDEAS shaped an interior so timeless and intelligently planned that, 25 years later, it still hadn’t require refurbishment.
More than a project, it became a beloved place — a venue woven into the community, a setting for life events, memories, and return visits for generations.
A Legacy
Beancross stands as one of IDEAS’ most ambitious, multifaceted, and rewarding long-term projects — a testament to what can happen when vision, creativity, and trust converge.
It proves a simple truth:
Exceptional design isn’t a cost — it’s an investment that repays itself for decades.