News

Stan Life leads vote against Sports Direct board

More than half of the independent shareholders of controversial retailer Sports Direct voted against re-electing Keith Hellawell as chairman at a stormy annual general meeting. Edinburgh-based fund…


Average Edinburgh house price up 7.7% to £242k

The average selling price for houses in east central Scotland increased 6.2% to £224,782 over the last three months compared to the same period last year, according to latest report by…


Edinburgh University ranked 19th in world

The University of Edinburgh has placed 19th in the QS World University Rankings 2016/17, just ahead of Columbia University and King’s College London. The ranking…


£500m support for private sector firms

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday unveiled a new £500 million package of financial support for private sector business investment as she set out plans…


Craneware revenue up 11% to $49.8m

Edinburgh-based Craneware, a software firm that specializes in the US healthcare market, said its revenue increased 11% to $49.8 million and profit before tax increased by 10% to…


Bayer in advanced $65bn talks to buy Monsanto

German chemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer said late on Monday it is in “advanced negotiations” to buy the world’s largest seed company Monsanto for more than $65 billion. A…





Sturgeon pushes for single market ‘coalition’

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is pushing for a coalition of like-minded UK government ministers to put pressure on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to preserve Britain’s access…



Japan warns firms could leave UK over Brexit

Japan’s government has delivered a stark warning to the UK government that Japanese companies — especially financial and pharmaceutical firms — could leave the UK unless…


Food and drink turnover hits record £14.4bn

The annual turnover for Scotland’s food and drink industry reached a record £14.4 billion in 2014, the latest figures show. The Scottish Government said the numbers…





Edinburgh Business School hires ‘Mrs Moneypenny’

Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh Business School has appointed international businesswoman, human resource specialist and journalist Heather McGregor to its top post. McGregor is perhaps best known…



Standard Life: China growth could slow to 2%

Edinburgh-based global fund manager Standard Life Investments (SLI), which manages assets of about £270 billion, has warned that growth in China could fall as low as…




Action plan to revitalise £200m sheep sector

A 24-point action plan aimed at revitalising Scotland’s £200 million-a-year sheep sector has been unveiled by a group of industry experts. The recommendations are contained in the…



Decommissioning plan for Orkney port

Orkney Islands Council has given a demolition company the opportunity to investigate the potential of Lyness near Scapa Flow as a potential as a base for North Sea…






10% home purchase tax ‘hurting housing market’

Scotland’s 10% tax on home purchases of more than £325,000 — a rate that applies to purchases over £925,000 in England — is having a detrimental effect in “the middle to higher…


FanDuel saga to be told in book and movie

The story of the meteoric rise of Edinburgh and Manhattan-based fantasy sports operator FanDuel and its controversial rivalry with DraftKings is set to be told in…





Russell appointed Scotland’s Brexit minister

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Michael Russell has been appointed as the Scottish government’s new minister with responsibility for Brexit negotiations with the UK government….




Aggreko to provide Gold Coast Games power

Glasgow-based mobile power firm Aggreko said it won the bid to provide temporary power for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018). The contract includes power for…


Acquisitions help Macfarlane sales to £81.5m

Glasgow-based packaging firm Macfarlane Group said revenue in the six months to June 30 rose 3.7% to £81.5 million and profit before tax rose 8.1% to just over £2 million…


Scotland’s £33m sports performance centre open

Oriam, Scotland’s new £33 million world-class sports performance centre, is ready to open its doors on Monday August 29. The performance centre is located at Heriot-Watt University on the…




£333m Aberdeen Conference Centre go-ahead

Henry Boot Developments said it concluded unconditional agreements with Aberdeen City Council for its new £333 million Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre (AECC). Boot has appointed Stirling-based…



Statoil buys 70% of North Sea field

Shares of Jersey Oil & Gas soared about 18% after Norwegian multinational Statoil agreed to acquire 70% of a licence in the Outer Moray Firth from Jersey and its…



FanDuel back in business in New York

Fantasy sports operator FanDuel — based in Edinburgh and Manhattan — said the New York Gaming Commission approved the firm’s temporary operating license in New York. “We want to…




PwC to hire 1,000 cyber security specialists

PwC said its UK Risk Assurance practice will recruit more than 1,000 technology specialists over the next four years to meet “increasing client demand for digital, regulatory…



Pfizer to buy Medivation in $14bn deal

Pfizer said it agreed to acquire cancer drug firm Medivation for about $14 billion in a move to boost its oncology portfolio. Medivation is best known for…


RBS to charge trading clients to hold cash

Up to 70 investment banking customers of Royal Bank of Scotland will have to pay to hold deposits with RBS from Monday when it will become the first UK bank…



Record 30,400 students gain university place

The Scottish Government said a record number of Scottish students have secured a place at university and that successful applications by students from the country’s most deprived areas…



Royal London assets up 11% to £93.8bn

Royal London — which includes the former Scottish Life and Scottish Provident businesses — said its new life and pensions business was up by 39% to…


Rugby: Townsend to succeed Cotter

Scottish Rugby has confirmed that Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend will replace Vern Cotter as Scotland head coach at the end of the 2016/17…


Employment rose 51,000 in last quarter

Employment in Scotland rose by 51,000 to 2,629,000 in the last quarter — the largest quarterly rise on record — according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics…


RBS cancels $300m Infosys contract

The Royal Bank of Scotland has terminated a $300 million contract with Indian technology firm Infosys following the announcement last week that RBS will no longer pursue its…


Investment for Inverness life sciences firm

Inverness-based LifeScan Scotland — owned by Johnson & Johnson — is to embark on an £8.7 million investment to innovate the research, development and manufacturing capabilities…



$63m makes Calvin Harris highest-paid DJ

Scotland’s Calvin Harris is the highest-paid DJ in the world with earnings of $63 million, according to Forbes. Forbes said Dumfries-born Harris was the biggest earner in Electronic…


Keltbray buys assets of Bathgate’s Dunne Group

Keltbray Group said it has acquired some of the assets Bathgate-based construction firm Dunne Group — which went into administration in July — from the administrators. The purchase…


Moody’s cuts Johnston Press deep into junk

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the bond (debt) ratings of media firm Johnston Press, owner of The Scotsman, the i newspaper and the Yorkshire Post, deeper into…


Burness turnover £53m, but Brexit bites profit

Leading Scots law firm Burness Paull said turnover for the financial year ending July 31 rose 3.9% to £53.3 million –but profit fell 3.4% to £22.6 million as post-Brexit uncertainty…


Cairn shares up amid Senegal discovery

Shares of Edinburgh-based global oil and gas explorer Cairn Energy rose 4.5% after it said an appraisal of its “world-class” discovery off the coast of Senegal had significantly increased so-called “2C”…




Wood Group wins $700m Kazakh contract

Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group said it won a $700 million contract to provide services to Tengizchevroil (TCO) at the Tengiz Field in Kazakhstan….


Glasgow coffee firm Algie bought by Tchibo

Glasgow-based coffee roaster Matthew Algie said it has been acquired by family-owned German coffee and food service business Tchibo for an undisclosed sum. Tchibo cited…