Chinese firm buys into Harris Tweed mill

A Chinese company has become a shareholder in a Harris Tweed Mill on Lewis.

The deal follows several months of discussion with the Shandong Ru Yi Technological Group, one of the world's largest textile companies.

Asia is already home to the biggest export market for Harris Tweed, with more than 40% of all cloth leaving the Western Isles going to Japan.

Last year, the industry celebrated its most productive year in recent times.

More than a million metres of tweed was produced by mills during 2012, the highest levels of cloth production for almost 15 years.