Fraser of Allander: Growth returns to Scots economy
Growth will return to the Scottish economy in 2017 “with tentative signs of a more positive outlook for Scotland’s oil and gas sector and improving…
June 2017
Shortage of new Edinburgh offices pushes up rents
A severe shortage of new office development in Edinburgh has led to a steep rise in rents on refurbished offices, according to Savills. Rents on…
Revenue up to £668m at Macallan owner Edrington
Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington — owner of Scotch whisky brands The Macallan, Highland Park, Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark — said on Thursday that its core revenues rose…
Wood Group shares fall amid ‘cautious’ outlook
Shares of Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group fell about 3% after it said its 2017 first half performance was “weaker than anticipated” and…
Scottish Equity Partners in Tilbury wind farm deal
Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) said it funded the acquisition of the 9.2MW onshore wind farm at the Port of Tilbury in London from SSE. SEP…
Bespoke acquires Roxburghe Hotel and Golf Course
Roxburghe Estates said it agreed terms for Bespoke Hotels to acquire its Roxburghe Hotel and Golf Course near Kelso in the Scottish Borders. Roxburgh Estates operates…
Stagecoach shares hit 7-year low as profits slump
UPDATE 2 – Shares of Perth-based rail and bus giant Stagecoach Group touched a seven-year low, falling as much as 10%, after it said statutory profit…
EU fines Google €2.42bn for ‘abuse of dominance’
The European Commission said it fined Alphabet unit Google a record €2.42 billion for abusing its dominance as a search engine by “giving illegal advantage”…
Scots fish farming now a £620m, 12,000-job industry
Fish and shellfish farming now contributes £620 million to the Scottish national economy every year, according to according to a new study commissioned by the…
£50m work to start on A96 Aberdeen-Huntly road
Transport Scotland announced the intention to award a contract worth up to £50 million to carry out route option assessment and detailed design work for…
Computershare creates 300 jobs in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is to be the home of a new technology centre created by Australian financial services company Computershare which will create 300 jobs. Computershare secured…
EnQuest starts Kraken in latest North Sea boost
Shares of North Sea oil exploration firm EnQuest rose at least 7% after it confirmed that first oil from the important Kraken development east of…
RBS to cut 443 jobs, move roles to India
Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed it that plans to cut 443 UK jobs dealing with business loans and that many of the roles will move…
iomart confirms talks to buy Germany’s PlusServer
Glasgow-based cloud computing firm iomart confirmed on Friday that it is one of a number of parties in early stage discussions regarding the potential acquisition of…
Limited partnerships forced to reveal ownership
The UK Government’s Department for Business said on Friday that new laws from Monday, June 26 will force Scottish limited partnerships to disclose ownership and…
New group to grow Scots £236m fruit, veg sector
The Scottish Government has announced plans to accelerate the growth of Scotland’s fruit and vegetables sector with the launch of a new industry group. The…
Audit Scotland warns on colleges’ financial health
The financial health of Scotland’s colleges has deteriorated, with overall income falling and the colleges’ underlying deficit increasing to £8 million, according to Audit Scotland’s annual…
FirstGroup, Stagecoach vie for HS2 high speed rail
Aberdeen-based FirstGroup and Perth-based Stagecoach are among the groups shortlisted in the bidding to run the new West Coast Partnership (WCP) rail franchise, which will…
Multi-million investment at Grangemouth port
The Port of Grangemouth, Scotland’s largest container facility, said it is ordering a new multi-million pound ship-to-shore crane from Liebherr as part of a major…
Lothian Buses profit £11.9m on £146m revenue
Lothian Buses said in its annual report that its revenue rose £4 million to £146 million in 2016, with profit up from £6.4 million to £11.9 million….
New enterprise agency for South of Scotland
The Scottish Government said a new enterprise agency will be created to meet the economic needs of communities in the South of Scotland. It said…
Regulator clears Standard Life-Aberdeen merger
Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management said the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it has cleared the £11 billion merger of the Scottish investment giants….
Film fund generates £17.5m for Scots economy
The Scottish Government’s Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the Production Growth Fund has generated £17.5 million for the Scotland’s economy — returning £10 for every…
Cairn Energy wins licenses in Mexico round
Edinburgh-based oil and gas company Cairn Energy said it secured interests in two licences in the Mexico offshore bid round. The licences are located in the…
Dundee Michelin site gets £16.5m investment
The Dundee-based Michelin tyre facility is to get a £16.5 million investment that will support additional properties and new manufacturing equipment. The largest part of…
Better productivity ‘worth £25bn to Scots economy’
A new CBI Scotland report has claimed that improving productivity and unlocking growth across Scotland’s regions could be worth up to £25 billion to the…
Oil and gas industry ‘turning the corner’
Nearly 60% of businesses in the UK’s oil and gas industry expect to expand this year, while optimism has soared to 39% from 2% in…
Designs unveiled for new Princes Street pavilion
The final competing visions for Edinburgh’s Ross Pavilion, the £25 million new outdoor event space to replace the Ross Bandstand in West Princes Street Gardens, have been revealed…
Queensferry Crossing to open on August 30
The new Queensferry Crossing will open to traffic on August 30, 2017, the Scottish Government announced. The new bridge across the Forth will then close to…
HSBC to create 500 new jobs in Scotland
Banking giant HSBC said on Tuesday it is creating 500 new jobs in Scotland. HSBC will create new roles in its global risk business in…
US authorities move to block FanDuel merger
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Monday it has authorized legal action “to block the merger” of Edinburgh-headquartered FanDuel and Boston-based DraftKings, the two…
Go-ahead for £8.9m Renfrew manufacturing centre
The Scottish Government said on Monday that a specialist centre to develop new manufacturing processes for lightweight materials for the aerospace and automotive industries is…
Scottish Equity Partners finance for wind farm
Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) said it provided project finance to fund the construction of the €8.7 million, 4.6MW Curraghderrig wind farm in the Republic of…
Shareholders OK Standard Life-Aberdeen merger
Shareholders of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management both voted overwhelmingly to approve the £11 billion merger of the Scottish investment giants on Monday. About…
Motherwell’s MB Aerospace wins $1bn contract
Motherwell-based engineering firm MB Aerospace has signed a $1 billion contract to provide flight engine parts to Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corporation…
Scots food and drink Q1 exports up 11% to £1.2bn
Scotland’s food and drink exports increased by more than 11% to £1.2 billion in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period…
Massive pay rises for top two SSE executives
The chief executive and finance director of Perth-based energy giant SSE enjoyed massive rises in their total remuneration packages in the year to March 31, according…
Investors hold key to £11bn Stan Life-Aberdeen deal
Shareholders of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management will vote on Monday on the proposed £11 billion merger of the two Scottish investment giants. The transaction requires…
RBS welcomes Moody’s upgrade to investment grade
Credit rating agency Moody’s has upgraded its rating on Royal Bank of Scotland Group to investment grade, saying the move reflected the group’s “stronger standalone financial…
Investors OK £2.2bn Wood Group-Amec FW deal
Shareholders of Aberdeen-based oil and gas services company Wood Group and rival Amec Foster Wheeler have overwhelmingly approved Wood Group’s roughly £2.2 billion recommended all-share offer…
Blairgowrie’s Castle Water acquires Cobalt Water
Blairgowrie-based independent water retailer Castle Water said it acquired Ayr-based Cobalt Water, an independent retailer of water to business customers, for an undisclosed sum. Cobalt’s…
Glasgow’s Quiz fashion firm plans flotation
Glasgow-based “fast fashion” firm Quiz has announced its intention to float on the junior AIM market in July 2017. Sources said Quiz would seek to…
Audit Scotland slams govt. farm payment system
The Scottish Government’s IT programme set up to deliver financial support to farms and rural businesses has been slammed in a report by Audit Scotland. The…
90% of Scotland ‘has access to fibre broadband’
More than 750,000 Scottish homes and businesses can now connect to fibre broadband thanks to the £428 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband programme, the Scottish…
Aggreko buys Indonesia’s KBT for $33m
Glasgow-based Aggreko, the world’s largest temporary power firm, said it acquired KBT (Kerta Bumni Teknindo), an Indonesia-based power rental company for about $32.8 million. “KBT…
Scots unemployment falls to 4%, a 25 year low
The Scottish Government said Scotland’s unemployment rate has fallen to 4.0% to match the lowest rate in 25 years. Labour market statistics for February-April 2017 published…
Skeoch: Stan Life ‘would sell £16bn annuity business’
Standard Life chief executive Keith Skeoch told Reuters in an interview that the Edinburgh financial giant would be willing to sell its £16.1 billion annuity portfolio after…
Edinburgh homes now selling within 15 days
The median selling time for properties in the Edinburgh area is down to 15 days “indicating a thriving market where buyers are willing to snap…
£1.75bn allocated for Scots affordable housing
The Scottish Government said more than £1.75 billion would be allocated to councils in a major commitment to stimulate investment in affordable housing. It said…
Charlotte Wright new CEO at Highlands and Islands
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) — which has a 2017-18 budget of £65.9 million, including £55.7 million from the Scottish Government — said it appointed…
iomart revenue up 17% to £89.6m; dividend up 90%
Glasgow-based cloud computing firm iomart said it would hike its dividend 90% after revenue rose 17% to £89.6 million and adjusted profit before tax grew 18% to…
Busiest May ever for Scotland’s largest airports
Solid growth in international flights helped Edinburgh and Glasgow airports to their busiest May ever last month. Edinburgh Airport said it had 1,231,712 passengers — a…
Holyrood Distillery in £5.5m fundraising drive
Edinburgh-based Holyrood Distillery has launched a £5.5 million fundraising campaign to help fund its ambition to create a distillery and visitor centre spanning almsot 12,000…
€2bn Ineos plan includes Grangemouth expansion
Ineos announced plans on Monday to build a new petrochemical production plant in mainland Europe and expand capacity at its existing plants in Grangemouth, Scotland and…
Hawick business incubator part of £10m plan
A business incubator centre in Hawick will help businesses in the Scottish Borders establish themselves thanks to a £3.6 million funding package. The Scottish Government…
Scots private sector growth, confidence rose in May
Growth momentum picked up in the Scottish private sector in May, with output increasing by the greatest degree since February, according to the latest Bank…
Weir Group to buy Singapore’s KOP for $114m
Glasgow-based engineering giant Weir Group said it agreed to acquire Singapore-headquartered oil and gas technology firm KOP Surface Products from Norwegian-listed Akastor ASA for about $114m…
Pickering’s Gin lands biggest export deal with Cunard
Edinburgh-based distillery Pickering’s Gin has created three new versions of its London Dry Gin for the Cunard cruise line — its biggest export order to date. The collaboration…
Scots business urges May to delay Brexit talks
UPDATE 2 — Brexit talks should be delayed until political stability is established in the United Kingdom, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in…
Menzies merger firm DX probed by police
UPDATE 2 — Courier firm DX Group, currently in the process of acquiring the distribution business of John Menzies in a reverse takeover, said on Friday it was notified by the…
Wood Group wins BAE submarines contract
Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group said it was awarded a new industrial services contract by BAE Systems Submarines. Effective immediately, the two-year contract…
Judge calls off RBS trial, leaves door open to rebels
A High Court judge in London on Wednesday called off the trial due to begin in the long-running investor lawsuit against Royal Bank of Scotland over its 2008…
Scotgold agrees first sales to jewellery industry
Scotgold Resources Ltd said it signed its first sales agreement with the Scottish jewellery industry involving two prominent Scottish jewellery manufacturers. The agreement covers the first refining batch — about…
Hyperloop One proposes 700mph travel for Scotland
Hyperloop One, a giant futuristic tube that plans to transport passengers and cargo at speeds of up to 700mph for long distances, has proposed nine routes connecting…
Demand for permanent Scots staff ‘highest in 14 years’
The latest IHS Markit Report on Jobs for Scotland signalled improving labour market conditions in Scotland, with sharp rises in worker placements, record growth in permanent…
FreeAgent revenue soars 41% following IPO
Edinburgh-based accounting software firm FreeAgent, which went public last year, said its revenue increased 41% to £8 million for the year ended March 31, but…
Aggreko CFO moves to Forth Ports in latest shake-up
Glasgow-based Aggreko, the world’s largest temporary power firm, said its chief financial officer Carole Cran resigned and will take up a new role as CFO of Forth…
BlackRock in £100m Scots social housing debt deal
UPDATE 1 — Wheatley Group, Scotland’s biggest social landlord, confirmed reports that it secured a £100 million debt investment deal with BlackRock Real Assets as it drives forward…
Revised Menzies-DX deal wins over big shareholder
UK courier firm DX Group on Monday announced revised terms for its agreement to acquire the distribution business of John Menzies in a reverse takeover — winning the support of DX’s largest shareholder. Gatemore…
Ian Ritchie appointed chairman at Tern
Tern Plc, an investment company specialising in Internet of Things, announced the appointment of Scottish technology industry veteran Ian Ritchie as its non-executive chairman with effect…