AYR narrowly lost out in the running to be crowned the high street of the year in its ‘Rising Star’ category last week.

The South Ayrshire town was nominated in the top four high streets in Scotland in the Great British High Street (GBHS) awards but lost out penultimately to Newport-on-Tay who scooped first prize.

The Rising Star High Street category recognises the nation’s most ambitious high streets - those who are taking the lead and working together to revive, adapt, and diversify. These are the high streets who have initiatives planned for their community in the next 12 months.

Ayr’s category was decided by votes from the general public, as well as by a select team of expert judges. Author and television presenter Simon Reeve was the ambassador for GBHS and travelled the UK to identify the unsung heroes who make British high streets special.

Partner for this category was SumUp, a financial technology company who back the areas’ high streets, were offering a free seminar for merchants on each winning high street as part of their role as Gold Partner for the competition. They were also providing point of sale software for chip and pin and contactless payments.

Marc-Alexander Christ, Co-Founder of SumUp, comments: “Our work in supporting the Great British High Streets is far from done. As a London fintech, the British high street is close to our hearts, and we’re delighted to be a partner for the GBHS Awards 2018 in this important recognition of those merchants making a difference to their local area.

“The shortlisted high streets – have proven their ambition, dedication, and support for local business - and SumUp is all about empowering businesses to take payments as convenient as possible.”