News

Scots output lags UK, grows only 0.1%

Scotland’s economy continued to expand in the third quarter of last year — just — but lagged behind the growth rate of the UK, according to…


RBS ‘sell everything’ expert faces bet challenge

Outspoken Australian economist Stephen Koukoulas — known as The Kouk — has challenged Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) markets expert Andrew Roberts to a bet of A$10,000 to prove Roberts was wrong when…


Menzies chief resigns; two MDs appointed

Edinburgh-based aviation logistics and news distribution company John Menzies said on Wednesday its chief executive Jeremy Stafford had resigned for personal reasons after 15 months in the job. Menzies…


Stan Life ‘increasingly negative’ on China

Edinburgh-based global fund manager Standard Life Investments said its longer-term outlook on China “has become increasingly negative” and that it fears China might not carry out corporate…



Hamburg hedge fund Aquila buys Scots forests

Hamburg-based hedge fund Aquila Capital has bought 3,100 hectares of forest — about 12 square miles — in three locations in Scotland for its institutional investors….




New investment values Skyscanner at $1.6bn

Edinburgh-based travel search firm Skyscanner has announced five new partners who will invest £128 million ($192 million) between them for an undisclosed share in the company….


Busiest year ever for Edinburgh Airport

A 19% year-on-year rise in international passengers in December helped Edinburgh Airport enjoy its busiest year ever in 2015 with more than 11 million passengers. Edinburgh Airport…





Aberdeen buys Liverpool’s Albert Dock for £43m

Aberdeen Asset Management has bought Liverpool’s Albert Dock development ‎– a UNESCO world heritage site that is home to the Tate Liverpool and The Beatles Story — on behalf of…


Stan Life opposes Shell’s $50bn bid for BG

Edinburgh-based Standard Life Investments, a major shareholder in Royal Dutch Shell, said on Friday it would vote against Shell’s $50 billion bid to buy BG Group. David…


‘£700m storm damage to Scots economy’

The storms of December and January have already caused up to £700 million of damage to the Scottish economy, according to insurance experts at consultants PwC….


Wood Group wins Brazil contract

Aberdeen-based energy services giant Wood Group has won a new contract with PetroRio to deliver services to the Polvo A platform in the southern Campos basin, about 100…



Glasgow Uni commissions £40m research hub

The University of Glasgow has commissioned international architecture and design firm HOK and engineering consultants WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff to develop a new £40 million research hub dedicated to…


China rout drags down global stocks

Stock markets fell around the world on Monday following a rout in Chinese shares after weak manufacturing data in the world’s second-largest economy sparked fears of…


No Glasgow-Carlisle trains until February

Virgin Trains said its service between Glasgow and Carlisle has been suspended due to viaduct damage caused by Storm Frank and will not reopen until February…




£3bn Scots housing plan on target

The Scottish Government said around £690 million will be invested in housing in 2016-17 as part of a £3 billion plan to deliver 50,000 affordable homes…



Glasgow-based Minoan boosted by Crete news

Shares of Glasgow-based travel firm Minoan Group rose about 8% after it said the presidential decree required for a joint venture resort it is planning on the Greek…


IndigoVision in profit, but sales disappoint

Edinburgh-based security camera company IndigoVision said its sales were lower than it expected in the second half of this year, mainly due to the delay of a project…


Mega deals push M&A to record $5 trillion

Sixty-nine merger and acquisition (M&A) deals worth $10 billion or more this year have helped propel global M&A volume to a record $5.03 trillion, according…


Scots female employment rate 2nd best in EU

Scotland’s female employment rate is the second best of all 28 European Union countries, according to Eurostat figures covering July 2014 to June 2015. “Earlier this year I…



Renewables now largest electricity generator

Renewable energy is now the biggest contributor to electricity generation in Scotland and has reached a record 38% of total output — higher than nuclear (33%) and fossil fuels (28%) for…


Military men to run Edinburgh transport

Three of the top jobs in Edinburgh transport have been filled — two of them by former military men — as the capital city’s integrated bus-and-tram transport leaders seek…



Purvis to chair digital skills academy

Polly Purvis, chief executive of digital technologies trade body ScotlandIS, has been appointed the first chair of CodeClan, Scotland’s first digital skills academy. CodeClan opened in September…


£475m of train improvements at ScotRail

ScotRail has announced a £475 million train improvement programme it said will deliver new trains, thousands of extra seats, at-seat power points and better wifi. When the seven-year programme…



Wood Group buys Ohio-based Kelchner

Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group said it has acquired Springboro, Ohio-based Kelchner Inc, a privately-owned construction and energy field services company, for…



Aggreko pulls out of Rio Olympics

Glasgow-based temporary power supplier Aggreko said on Friday it has withdrawn from the bidding process for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games. Aggreko’s shares…



Graham’s The Family Dairy sales hit £86.5m

Bridge of Allan-based Graham’s The Family Dairy announced that its 2015 sales increased to £86.5 million from £85 million last year. Pre-tax profit rose to £1.6 million in…



RBS Gets Approaches For Williams & Glyn

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said on Wednesday it has received “a number of informal approaches” for its Williams & Glyn branch network. RBS said that while…



Confusion over Aggreko’s Rio Olympics Tender

Confusion surrounds the tender from Glasgow-based temporary power supplier Aggreko to provide generators to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next year. Reuters reported that a spokesman…


Sturgeon talks include possible Scots bonds

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has hinted that the Scottish government is moving closer to issuing Scottish debt — by selling bonds to institutional investors….


RBS chief outlines investment bank plans

Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan has outlined the company’s fast-moving plans to shrink its global investment banking operations as it moves to…


Edinburgh and Glasgow airports boom

Edinburgh Airport is on course for its busiest year ever and Glasgow Airport is on track to record its strongest year since 2008. Edinburgh had 794,792 passengers in November, a…


Deals help Wood Group weather storm

Shares of Aberdeen-based global energy services giant Wood Group rose almost 3% on Thursday after it published a strong trading update for the year to…


FirstGroup retains TransPennine franchise

Aberdeen-based transport giant FirstGroup has retained the TransPennine Express rail franchise until at least 2023. The franchise will play a key part in delivery of the UK Government’s…


Stagecoach cuts forecast after Paris attacks

Shares of Perth-based bus and train operator Stagecoach fell more than 13% after it said the terrorist attacks in Paris have discouraged people from traveling to major…


Darling joins Morgan Stanley board

Morgan Stanley said on Tuesday night that former UK finance minister Alistair Darling has been elected to its board of directors, effective January 1, 2016….


Gordon Brown joins Pimco advisory board

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to join four other “world-renowned experts on economic and political issues” on a new global advisory board at…


NAB details Clydesdale Bank demerger

National Australia Bank (NAB) has urged its shareholders to support a proposed demerger of its Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank (CYBG) at a special meeting on…





Forestry ‘now £1bn sector with 25,000 jobs’

Scotland’s forestry sector now contributes nearly £1 billion to the economy through forest management, timber processing and recreation and supports about 25,000 jobs, according to a…


Ineos sets up new North Sea business

Grangemouth refinery operator Ineos said it has set up a new oil and gas subsidiary to hunt for opportunities as it completed the purchase of the North Sea natural…


RBS survives central bank stress test

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Standard Chartered have survived the 2015 stress test set by the Bank of England, the UK’s central bank —…


Renminbi becomes IMF reserve currency

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has decided that the Chinese renminbi (RMB) should be considered a global “reserve” currency. The move means markets will now prepare for…


Aberdeen assets fall £40bn in past year

Fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management, which specializes in emerging markets and Asia, said its assets under management fell from roughly £324 billion to £284 billion in the…


Alliance Trust chair to leave

Dundee-based investment firm Alliance Trust, under pressure from US activist shareholder Elliott Advisors to restructure, said on Friday that its chair Karin Forseke (above) will leave her post on…


Menzies profit to be £2m less than expected

Edinburgh-based airport cargo handling and news distribution company John Menzies has warned shareholders it now expects full year earnings to be £2 million below previous expectations due partly…


‘Rates must go up’ — Aberdeen’s Young

Interest rates “must go up because they (artificially low rates) are distorting so much” said Hugh Young, managing director of Aberdeen Asset Management Asia. “I mean, it’s not…



HBOS report: execs could face action

The report into the collapse of HBOS has recommended that regulators should consider whether former bosses at the bank should be banned from the finance industry. The review also concluded…


$10trln asset management sector probed

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to investigate whether Britain’s $10 trillion (£6.6 trillion) asset management industry delivers value for money for investors. The FCA said…



$20bn Nthn Rock loans sold to Cerberus

The UK government has sold $20 billion (£13 billion) of former Northern Rock mortgages and loans to US private equity firm Cerberus in the largest ever…