News


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…


Stan Life strengthens social investing team

Edinburgh-based Standard Life Investments has strengthened its Environmental, Social and Corporate (ESG) team with the hiring of Marc Brammer and Sophie Rahm as responsible investment analysts….




Retailers ask for help on rates and tax

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has called on the Scottish Government to scrap the annual £62.4 million large business rates surcharge in a detailed submission ahead of…



Edrington appoints Hyde chief financial officer

Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington — owner of The Macallan, Highland Park and Famous Grouse — said it appointed Paul Hyde as its new chief financial officer. He succeeds Alex Short,  who…


Aegon buys Cofunds from Legal & General

Dutch insurance and investment giant Aegon, which has large UK operations in Edinburgh, said it would acquire Cofunds — an investment platform for financial advisers — from…


FirstGroup fails to win East Anglia franchise

Aberdeen-based bus and rail giant FirstGroup said it was disappointed not to have been awarded the East Anglia rail franchise after submitting “a compelling, deliverable, and…



Whisky distillery tourists spend £50m

Scotland’s whisky distilleries attracted as many tourists as Edinburgh Castle and St Paul’s Cathedral last year — and spending at distillery visitor centres was £50 million. New research…




Brown joins Scottish Building Society board

Scottish Building Society said it has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Aileen Brown in the newly-created role of finance director. Brown joins…


Sturgeon in Berlin for post-Brexit vote talks

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon travelled to Berlin on Tuesday for talks with the German Government, discussing the EU referendum result and the next steps for the…


Glasgow subway to reopen nine days late

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) said the Glasgow subway will reopen nine days later than planned on Wednesday, August 10 following a major modernisation programme. SPT said essential renewal…


Aggreko buys US climate control firm Dryco

Glasgow-based mobile power firm Aggreko said it agreed to buy Illinois-based industrial climate control equipment firm Dryco. Aggreko said Dryco specializes in moisture control, drying, heating, and…




Demand falls for Scottish goods and services

Demand for Scottish goods and services in July deteriorated at the fastest pace for nearly four years, according to the latest Bank of Scotland/Markit purchasing managers’…






BrewDog launches $50m US crowdfunding

Fast growing Aberdeenshire craft beer company BrewDog has announced a $50 million crowdfunding round in the United States, marking the fifth stage of its “Equity for Punks” investment programme….


FanDuel happy as NY legalizes fantasy sports

Fantasy sports operator FanDuel — based in Edinburgh and Manhattan — welcomed the news that Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed legislation to legalize interactive fantasy sports in New York…


Devro 6-month revenue flat at £113m

Shares of Glasgow-based sausage skin and collagen products company Devro fell 7% after it said revenue for the six months to June 30 was unchanged…



Aggreko 6-month revenue falls 12% to £685m

Shares of Glasgow-based international mobile power firm Aggreko fell 13% after it said its pre-tax profit fell 31% to £71 million and revenue slid 12% to £685 million in…




Microsoft sells $19.75bn of debt

Microsoft has sold $19.75 billion of bonds in one of the biggest sales ever of company debt securities and said it may use some of the proceeds to…


Barr revenue down 2.9% to £125m

Cumbernauld-based soft drinks maker A.G. Barr said it anticipates revenue in the six months to July 30 will be £125 million, down 2.9% year on year, amid…





Tough grade for RBS in European stress test

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was one of the worst performing banks in stress tests carried out by the European Banking Authority (EBA). Under the imaginary stress conditions,…



Ofgem investigates SSE on pre-payment meters

Gas and electricity regulator Ofgem said it has launched an investigation into SSE’s pre-payment meter (PPM) processes. The investigation is being launched following concerns about SSE’s…







Stanton to succeed Cochrane at Weir Group

Glasgow-based engineering firm Weir Group said Keith Cochrane will step down as chief executive after 10 years on the board. Finance director Jon Stanton will succeed Cochrane on October…


Glasgow Uni signs China optoelectronics deal

The University of Glasgow has signed a partnership agreement with a major state-owned enterprise company in China to develop an international optoelectronics industry base in the…


GSK invests £110m at Montrose site

British healthcare firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to invest £110 million in its Montrose site to develop a new, state-of-the-art facility for the manufacture of respiratory active ingredients. The Montrose plant manufactures…


Concern that RBS may charge firms for deposits

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said news that Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and its NatWest subsidiary might consider charging business customers to deposit money would be…



Edinburgh Trams to run every five minutes

Edinburgh Trams are to run every five minutes during morning and evening rush hours to respond to higher demand. The tram line is 14km long and runs from Edinburgh…



Macfarlane to buy Nelsons for £6.75m

Glasgow-based packaging firm Macfarlane Group said it agreed to buy Leicester-based Nelsons for Cartons and Packaging Limited for up to £6.75 million. The deal is backed by a placing…


Edrington revenues £574m amid ‘tough trading’

Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington said revenues for the year to March 31 were flat at £574.6 million amid a “challenging environment” where results were hit by “political and economic…



Superglass agrees to £8.7m takover by Russian

Stirling based insulation firm Superglass said it is recommending that its shareholders accept a £8.7 million cash takeover offer from Cyprus incorporated investment vehicle Inflection. Sergey Kolesnikov, the sole…