'A source of wonder': Meet the ex-KPMG chief behind the Barras market and Barrowland Ballroom

“What do you think about what I’ve done here, folks?” he asks.

It is a question borne not from self-doubt, but curiosity. What would those who came before him make of him?

For over a century, the McIvers have been the driving force behind the historic Glasgow market and its adjoining Barrowland Ballroom, a lauded live venue that has served as a rite of passage for generations of music fans.

Now, at an age when most of his peers are coasting into retirement, Mr McArthur, who was raised and made his name in Canada, has picked up the reins of a company that has weathered many a storm to become not just a resounding business success story, but a bona fide Scottish institution.

For him, success will be ensuring that proud status is never in doubt. “If I was looking down from up there for the 200th anniversary of the Barras,” he says pointing upwards, to the stars on the Barrowland’s barrel-shaped ceiling. “Or,” he adds, smiling, “maybe looking up from down there, I would be very pleased if this place is still a living institution”. A pause. “If it’s just a museum, then I would be very saddened.”

A family tradition

In his first ever interview since taking on the role of managing director, Mr McArthur has invited The Scotsmaninto the inner sanctum of the Barras to learn more about his vision for the future of the business, and to reflect on its long and storied history. He is not a figure with a public profile, but recognises that is among several things that need to change incrementally to safeguard old traditions and foster new ones.

After qualifying as a chartered accountant and spending more than four decades working as a senior business consultant for KPMG, advising a range of white collar executives on strategic planning, risk management and good governance, Mr McArthur may seem like an unlikely new principal of a bustling marketplace-cum-entertainment venue where, it was often said, you could buy everything you need, from a needle to an anchor.

Where once his natural audience was blue chip CEOs and higher education leaders, he is now ensconced in a uniquely Glaswegian venture beloved by bands and music aficionados the world over. He also oversees a market where the roll call of would-be entrepreneurs over the decades includes hallowed names such as Lucky Knickers Josie, Prince Abadou, and The Man with 100 Watches.

It is tempting, therefore, to ask the obvious question at the outset - how did someone like Mr McArthur end up at the Barras? But as anyone who has perused its sprawling stalls on any given weekend will attest, sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Cut through the Canadian accent and it is clear this nook of Glasgow’s east end runs through Mr McArthur’s veins.

As the great grandson of Maggie McIver, the ‘Barras Queen’ who founded the market with her husband, and later built the famous Barrowland Ballroom, the stories and traditions are part of his family. Mr McArthur describes them as “deeply personal” and “woven into the fabric” of his upbringing and identity.

“As a child, visiting the Barras was a source of joy and wonder,” he recalls. “In the 1960s, and 1970s the market was bustling. Crowds packed the lanes, and I was captivated by the energy of traders pitching their wares. I cherished simple pleasures: a morning roll and sausage, a steak pie at lunch, lending a hand with small tasks, and often being treated to something special from a stallholder.”

Those regular visits were a way of strengthening “a bridge between continents, family and heritage”, Mr McArthur says. And even if he didn’t know it at the time, the experiences also helped prepare him for his current challenge. As the fourth generation to helm the family business, Margaret McIver Ltd, the new managing director has big plans.

‘You never say never’

On a Monday afternoon, when the hubbub of the weekend trade has given way to an uncharacteristic silence, Mr McArthur takes us on a tour of the market’s innumerable crannies and wynds. He wants to ensure its every space in the warren off the Gallowgate is “fully utilised” and is making steady progress to reinvent parcels of land in and around the existing buildings that have long lain dormant.

Many are being used by food trucks, or given over to seasonal events, complete with a moveable stage. One section is due to be renamed Maggie’s Way in honour of the working-class woman who started it all, and lived by the mantra “Work hard and keep the heid”.

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Mr McArthur said it was “possible” the market could grow to open beyond weekends. But he is mindful that any such expansion could impinge on its existing football on Saturdays and Sundays, stressing his approach will be one of cautious optimism. “We open longer around Christmas time, but trying to do that 365 days, well, I have my doubts - but you never say never,” he insists.

It is a place that endured a gradual and inexorable decline in the years before the pandemic, but its resurgence is evident in the form of the cluster of new traders and, in particular, the abundance of food offerings that have sprung up.

Gone are the days when the choice of Barras scran was confined to peas and vinegar. It is now one of Glasgow’s thriving foodie hot-spots, serving authentic Colombian empanadas and Neapolitan style pizza through to soy-free crumbles and crispy wontons.

A key area of growth is encouraging satellite businesses to prosper. In Mr McArthur’s view, there is no such thing as competition between nearby firms or even adjacent market stall traders. Instead, he takes the view that a rising tide lifts all boats. “We see businesses now that are attached to ours and are open to the street,” he explains. “I’d love to see them open seven days a week, and then you have opportunities.”

In the Barrowland Ballroom, meanwhile, Mr McArthur is mindful of the need to stay in touch with shifting musical tastes and implement subtle changes. The iconic ceiling has been given a spruce up, but nothing has been done to alter the acoustics that make the venue a favourite of so many artists and bands.

“It’s like a violin,” reasons Mr McArthur. “It just resonates music, and it’d change if you tinkered too much.”

Three new bars have also refreshed the offerings for thirsty punters, with each of them - Sam’s Bar, Kitty’s Bar and Victor’s Bar - named after prominent members of the McIver clan. In Mr McArthur’s view, celebrating that rich heritage is an integral part of the future. “The bars look like they’ve been here for years,” he says. “They respect the traditions.”

‘Everyone thought he was nuts’

Those names mean more to Mr McArthur than most. Although he and his sister emigrated to Canada with their parents when was on the cusp of primary school age in the early 1960s, the lure of Scotland has been constant. His mother instilled in him a deep connection to the family business and its legacy, and nearly every summer he returned home.

In his formative years, he stayed with his grandmother, Kitty Cairns, Maggie’s daughter, who took him into the market at weekends to bear witness to its rough hewn charm and myriad social rituals. They would blether with traders and purchase the likes of anoraks, sweaters and other household items, some of which remain in his possession to this day.

When she passed away, the ties remained unbroken. Mr McArthur stayed with his uncle, Victor Cairns, the-then managing director, who helped write a new chapter for the ballroom by ushering in popular bands, and hit upon the idea of a vast neon sign that has become a part of Glaswegian iconography.

“Everyone thought he was nuts to put up a sign that was bigger than the Coca-Cola one in Piccadilly Circus, but time has shown he wasn’t nuts,” Mr McAthur says. “Victor never went to university to study marketing or branding, but he had been to Las Vegas, and saw how it worked.”

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By then, Mr McArthur was embarking on his own career in Toronto, yet he became a director of Margaret McIver Ltd in 1988, discussing the business regularly and in detail with Victor. Having upped his commitment, he says he feels a level of responsibility to his predecessor as managing director and his other forebears. He and his sister are among the company’s major shareholders, but when it comes to the day-to-day running of the family-owned venture, it is he who calls the shots.

“It’s a family-owned business and I don’t think that’s a secret, we’re not lords or knights or that sort of thing,” he explains. “But I don’t think it makes a difference in knowing who owns or operates what. What makes a difference is having a space that remains home to two of Glasgow’s largest icons, and places where people from all walks of life can come and get some level of enjoyment.”

Concerns over planning issues

Mr McArthur knows that helping those icons to prosper into a second century and beyond will depend on other external forces. For all the regeneration that has taken in place in swathes of Glasgow’s east end in recent years, he bemoans the disconnect between the Barras and the city centre, pointing out the 15-minute daunder west to Argyle Street - historically one of the city’s main thoroughfares - is punctuated by gap sites and urban voids.

“The most important thing in any kind of urban development is staying, playing and paying,” he reasons. “What paying means is having a place both for retail and jobs, and if you want to grow this area, you have to come block by block along the street.

“The regeneration of places to stay is critical, and that will expand the footprint, and working with other businesses becomes important, so the neighbourhood becomes a destination. You need a place where you can buy something, eat something and be entertained. You come in for one of those and eventually you do all three.”

Asked if Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government were providing enough support to help the Barras realise its full potential, Mr McArthur said he was unsure if there was a “real vision” for the east end. He also expressed frustration with the city planning officials. “We wanted to finish off our sign outside the ballroom by putting an LED projection up,” he recalls. “I found the planning process in Glasgow something which slows rather than enables.

Read more: Stars celebrate rebirth and revival of Barrowland Ballroom 40 years on

“There was no consultation with ourselves, and the individual involved had no concept of what it was, no experience in lighting, and the easy thing was once they had run out of time was just to reject it. If you really want vibrancy and key assets, you need to have a strong, easy planning process, and you need to enable these things fast.”

‘This is bigger than what my great grandmother imagined’

Time will tell if the improved connectivity and planning processes come to pass. But for now Mr McArthur and his tight-knit team are gearing up for the end of the year, a traditionally busy time for both the market and the Barrowland Ballroom.

He is looking forward to experiencing more of what he describes as “magic moments” in and around the Barras - “it could be two dogs in a pram being pushed along, or a little kid eying up a fresh, hot doughnut, things you see and go ‘oh, my God, that’s just fantastic’” - and pursuing another his favourite sayings, known as the three P’s.

“It’s about having passion, being proficient at what you do, and being profitable,” he explains. “If you fail to reinvest and keep it relevant, it will become a relic, and a relic has no life, it’s dead. When I think of this business, we provide screens or canvases, we’re the background. It’s the people who come - the traders, and artists, the fans - who create the vibrantness.

“This is bigger than what my great-grandmother could have imagined - maybe she did imagine it, but it’s kind of remarkable that this is on my lap. And you can’t just be a custodian, that won’t work. You have to push a little harder in slightly different directions.”

And what, I wonder, would his great-grandmother make of him coming back across the Atlantic to become the flagbearer of the McIver family business? Mr McArthur sits back in his chair and smiles.

“I think she would probably say ‘why are you doing it?’,” he replies. “But I think she’d agree with the outcome. She died in the year I was born, and she was very friendly with all of the traders, and listened to them.

“Today. Listening is different. It’s the internet, it’s social media, it’s speaking engagements. The main thing is she would care about the market being relevant to people today, and the Barrowland being used and enjoyed by so many people.”