Thurso new chair of VisitScotland
John Thurso, former Liberal Democrat Westminster MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, has been appointed the new chair of VisitScotland. VisitScotland has a budget of around…
March 2016
Renewables ‘could bring £725m to islands’
The economies of Scotland’s islands could benefit by up to £725 million over the next 25 years from renewable energy projects, according to an independent report. The…
New £100m storm tunnel making progress
The £100 million Shieldhall Tunnel between Queen’s Park and Govan — the biggest investment in waste water infrastructure in Glasgow for more than a century…
£200m Glasgow Subway contracts awarded
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) on Friday awarded £200 million of contracts to the Swiss-Italian consortium of Stadler Bussnang AG and Ansaldo STS Consortium for the supply…
Alliance Trust to address gender diversity
New Alliance Trust chairman Robert Smith on Friday vowed to address the lack of gender diversity on the Dundee-based investment firm’s plc board as he delivered his first…
UK starts sale of Green Investment Bank
The UK Government has started the process to sell off its Edinburgh-based Green Investment Bank (GIB), with analysts predicting it could eventually fetch a total price tag of…
Aggreko profit falls amid commodities slump
Glasgow-based mobile power provider Aggreko said its 2015 revenue fell 3% to £1.56 billion and pre-tax profit fell 13% to £252 million as low commodity prices affected…
Council tax hike ‘gives £100m a year to schools’
Council tax paid by those in the four highest bands would rise by as much as £517 a year under a plan by the Scottish Government that would generate…
UK market for Scotch improves to 85m bottles
The UK market for Scotch Whisky is showing signs of improvement despite 76% tax — but the industry says more support is needed from the UK…
Scots commercial property deals hit £3.5bn
The value of Scotland’s commercial property sales is on course to reach a four year high of £3.5 billion, with Edinburgh and Glasgow leading the way,…
Virgin Money profit jumps 53% to £160.3m
Edinburgh-based Virgin Money said on Wednesday it delivered a strong performance in its first full financial year since listing, with underlying profit before tax increasing by 53%…
Tourism industry calls for cut in VAT
The four tourism ministers for the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have joined forces to ask the UK Treasury to consider a reduction of VAT for businesses…
£20m PhD funding for seven Scots universities
Seven Scottish universities are to benefit from £20.2 million of UK Government funding which will give more students the opportunity to study for a PhD and give research projects…
Wood Group wins $120m contract with Babcock
Aberdeen-based engineering giant Wood Group said its has been awarded a five year framework contract with a five year extension option, valued at $120 million,…
Alexander joins Pinsent Masons as adviser
Former UK Government minister Douglas Alexander has joined international law firm Pinsent Masons as a strategic adviser. Alexander lost his Westminster seat in Paisley and Renfrewshire…
Top tourism sites attract 27m visitors in 2015
The Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions (ASVA) said almost 27 million visits were made to 260 of its member sites in 2015, a rise of 3.4%…
Three RBS bosses buy shares in firm for £1m
Royal Bank of Scotland said its three top bosses spent almost £1 million buying shares in the company just three days after it reported a 2015 loss of £1.98 billion, its eighth…