First Minister Alex Salmond is to meet the proposed new owners of brewery giant Scottish & Newcastle to seek assurances over jobs, he said yesterday.

He told MSPs that a "question mark" hangs over the future of 100 staff at the Edinburgh head office after a £7.8bn bid by European brewers Carlsberg and Heineken was accepted last week, but that the majority remain secure.

Salmond was under pressure from Sarah Boyack, Labour MSP for Central Edinburgh, to tackle the effect of the buy-out on jobs, and to challenge the new owners to retain the Scottish & Newcastle sponsorship of the arts, including the Museums of Scotland, the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Edinburgh International Festival.

Salmond responded at First Minister's Questions yesterday that a meeting has been agreed with the potential new owners and that the Scottish Government has a task force looking at this issue, headed by Enterprise Minister Jim Mather.

"Our initial analysis which is supported by industry commentators suggests that the substantial majority of jobs in Scotland look secure under the new circumstances," he told MSPs.

"However, there would have to be a serious question mark in terms of the continuing functions of the group headquarters in Edinburgh, which in terms of employment number around 100.

"These are highly-skilled jobs and very important not just to Edinburgh, but to Scotland as a whole," he said.