A York railway company forced to backtrack over its new name, Northern Spirit Ltd, because it was discovered that a Scottish businessman owned it, is said to have agreed an undisclosed sum to buy out the company title.

And today Iain MacKenzie, 24, who registered his own Northern Spirit Ltd whisky tasting consultancy on April 9, was celebrating the agreement "with a few drams".

The Edinburgh businessman was not prepared to talk about exactly how much he was offered by Regional Railways North East, but confirmed that the total was less than £10,000.

"The decision not to disclose how much is mine and not the railways'," he said. "Be assured that I've come up smiling."

Railway company spokesman Howard Keal today refused to comment on a name-buying deal.

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