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Edinburgh Football Fashion Brand Targets Growth



Edinburgh-based football apparel brand Universal Language has credited Business Gateway support with reshaping its commercial foundations as it prepares for its busiest period of trading since launching in December 2024.


Founded by school friends Chris Aitchison and Pete Burt, the brand produces high-quality, fan-focused clothing inspired by Scottish football culture. Chris brings commercial and marketing expertise built across years running his own agency, while Pete spent more than eight years as a designer in professional football, working for Hibernian and Tottenham Hotspur before returning to Edinburgh to build something made with a clear focus on the fans.


The idea first came to Chris while looking for a Hearts gift for his father. Searching online for football memorabilia, he couldn't find anything of suitable quality or true sense of the club and its culture. Seeing the gap, Chris brought it to Pete, and the pair set out to build a brand around what they felt was missing: products that celebrated a club's identity properly, rather than just its badge.


All products are designed in Edinburgh and printed or embroidered in the UK using sustainably produced garments. The range balances a permanent core collection with limited edition drops, allowing the brand to mark specific moments, clubs and cultural references while keeping its best-loved designs in circulation.


Current collections focus on Hearts, Hibernian and an expanding Scotland national team range, with plans to grow into further clubs and collaborations. The brand has also recently taken its products on the road with the opening of a special of pop-up shop, timed to coincide with the World Cup.


Since launching, Universal Language has reached more than 3,000 customers, sold 5,000 products and generated 1.5 million monthly social media views. The brand has also raised more than £2,500 for MND Scotland, its charity partner, through sales of an official Marius Zaliukas tribute t-shirt.


The Edinburgh Business Gateway team has worked closely with Chris and Pete to assess and restructure the business, reviewing its brand communication strategy and aligning every element behind a single commercial goal. The Business Gateway team extended that support to include specialist IP guidance, with an arranged session involving the Intellectual Property Office helping clarify trademark and copyright processes. Universal Language has since moved to trademark its brand and copyright its designs, protecting its assets as it looks ahead to the next stages of growth.


Pitch preparation sessions followed, opening connections with the potential to create new opportunities for the business, while Chris has also attended several Business Gateway workshops to expand the team’s knowledge in a range of key areas.


Julie Batten, Business Gateway adviser, said:

“Universal Language is a strong example of what happens when a genuine idea is backed by sound business thinking. Chris and Pete came to us with real momentum and connection to their audience. Our role was to help them build the right structure around it, from strategy to brand protection, so the business can grow on solid ground.”

Chris Aitchison, co-founder of Universal Language said:

“The support from Business Gateway came at exactly the right time. Sitting down and properly reviewing the strategy gave us a solid foundation and the confidence to continue growing the business, knowing we are headed in the right direction."

“The IP guidance has been equally important. As the brand grows, protecting what we've created matters more and more. We're genuinely grateful for the help getting that right.”

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  • Feb 17, 2025
  • 3 min read

Atlassian Williams Racing’s 2025 challenger, the FW47, has made its on-track debut, successfully completing 200km at the Silverstone circuit. Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz shared driving duties, experiencing this year’s car for the first time.


The day began with a special live broadcast, streamed globally, where the team unveiled the FW47 and celebrated the team’s new title partnership with Atlassian. Williams welcomed partners, media and 47 loyal Williams fans from across the globe, who were selected from more than 17,000 competition entrants.


Atlassian appeared on the car for the first time in a one-off bespoke design, with the official 2025 race livery set to be revealed on 18th February at the F1 75 Live Launch at London’s O2 Arena. The partnership deal is the biggest in Williams’ 48-year history and demonstrates another vote of confidence for the team’s mission to return to the front of the grid.


Carlos Sainz took to the track at 10:05am, putting in his first lap in the FW47 livestreamed to the world. Despite typical cold and windy February conditions at Silverstone, Carlos successfully completed all his planned laps with no issues, before Alex took to the wheel for the session after lunch, enjoying some brief afternoon sun.


James Vowles, Team Principal: “The first run of the FW47 is the result of tens of thousands of hours of work and a moment of immense pride that symbolises the progress we are making at Atlassian Williams Racing. We rolled out the car at the precise moment we said we would, on live television, with a formidable new driver line-up and a fantastic new title partner in Atlassian. There is a lot to look forward to in 2025 and I can’t wait to go racing next month.”


Dave Robson, Chief Engineer: “Today we launched the FW47 at Silverstone and had the opportunity to shakedown the new car and to check that the systems are behaving as intended."


"Carlos and Alex shared the driving through the day, and between them were able to complete the permitted 200km without issue. The car ran well and, having completed a few careful laps to check that everything was working correctly, we were able to push the car hard and confirm that there were no major problems. Inevitably, we found a few very minor issues, but these will be quickly resolved before we arrive in Bahrain, and they didn’t affect the running today."


"In the cold conditions, and using the Pirelli promotional tyres, it is impossible to assess the performance of the FW47, however, the telemetry and driver feedback suggests that the basic characteristics of the car are very close to expectation and there are no immediate handling concerns."


"We now have a few days to use the experience from today to finalise our testing plan for Bahrain. Now that we are confident that the car will run well, we are in a great position to maximise our time in Bahrain and to ensure that we arrive in Melbourne ready to start the 2025 season strongly.”

Carlos Sainz: “The first 100 kilometres in the FW47 are done and it has been a smooth day. We managed to complete all the run plan without any issues, and I got my first proper feeling for the car. It was a bold statement from Williams to show the first lap of this new car to our partners, the media, and our fans, and it went very well. Good job to everyone back at Grove – now we're ready for the season to start."


Alex Albon: “I'm really happy. Normally this weather makes the car feel good, and it did today. We won't know for sure what the car is like until Bahrain, but the car was reliable, and we put on a great show for our partners and fans, so I hope everyone enjoyed that. Roll on Bahrain!”

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