Scottish Financial Review

Aberdeen-based energy services giant Wood Group said Jann Brown — former chief financial officer of Cairn Energy and president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland…

The value of residential property sales in Scotland rose 8.2% to more than £16.5 billion in 2015, according to Registers of Scotland (RoS). A total…

Edinburgh-based aviation logistics and news distribution company John Menzies said on Tuesday its reported pre-tax profit fell to £18.2 million in 2015 from £25.7 million the year before amid a turbulent…

Scotland’s leading visitor attractions saw an increase in visitor numbers of 5.48% in 2015, above the UK average of 3.2% and London’s increase of 1.6%,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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,…

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%…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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%…

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…

The Scottish Government has unveiled a package of measures including a new £50 million infrastructure fund to help speed up construction of thousands of homes. A flexible grant…

ScottishPower said it would be possible to double the capacity of its Cruachan Pumped Storage hydro plant near Oban — with investment of £300 million to £400 million —…

The UK’s Institute of Directors (IoD) has called for a new target for households and business to have access to speeds of 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) by…

World number two tennis player Andy Murray has made his first 2016 investments in start-up businesses on the crowdfunding platform Seedrs. Murray identified the five…

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will say in a keynote speech on Monday that she wants the EU referendum vote to result in an overwhelming victory, across all parts…

Greenock-based packaging firm British Polythene Industries (BPI) said its operating profit rose 7% to £28.6 million in 2015 helped by the return to profit of its North American operations. BPI…

The Scottish Government said new management measures for Scotland’s commercial crab and lobster stocks will be the focus of a new consultation just launched. The consultation proposals…

The Scottish Government said on Friday it will invest up to £63.8 million in Dundee’s Waterfront development as part of a package agreed by Deputy…

Two in five small Scottish companies have not decided how they will vote in the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, according to a…

Royal Bank of Scotland on Friday reported a 2015 loss of £1.98 billion, compared with a loss of £3.47 billion in 2014, as litigation and restructuring costs continued to…

Glasgow City Council said a proposed new £2.7 billion partnership for 30 years between the local authority and Wheatley Group, the country’s biggest social landlord, would…

The City of Edinburgh Council has made “considerable progress” towards balancing its books, according to the Accounts Commission. The local authority watchdog raised significant concerns in…

Glasgow-based packaging firm Macfarlane Group said its sales rose 10% in 2015 to £169.1 million and profit before tax soared 21% to £6.8 million as recent acquisitions and success…

Mel Young, founder of the Homeless World Cup and co-founder of The Big Issue in Scotland, has been promoted to be the new chair of sportscotland. Announcing…

Glasgow-based media company STV said 2015 revenue fell 3% to £116.5 million but pre-tax profit rose 10% to £19.1 million as an increase in “non-broadcast” earnings including…

Glasgow-based engineering firm Weir Group said its revenue fell 21% to £1.9 billion and profit before tax fell 46% to £220 million in the year…

Perth-based bus and rail giant Stagecoach said on Tuesday that Garry Watts intends to step down as the company’s deputy chairman and senior independent director on April…

Edinburgh-based Archangels, the business angel syndicate that specializes in early stage investing, said on Tuesday that total investment capital arranged by the syndicate since its inception…

Oil & Gas UK’s 2016 activity survey published on Tuesday said exploration remains at an all-time low “with no sign of improving” and that a collapse…

Aberdeen-based oil and gas services company Wood Group said on Tuesday it suffered a sharp decline in revenue and profit in 2015 as low oil prices and…

The Scottish Government said on Monday it made progress in talks with the Island Councils on proposals for a deal which aims to enhance local democracy…

Professor Sally Mapstone, the pro-vice-chancellor for education at the University of Oxford, is to be the next principal of the University of St Andrews. Mapstone, 58,…

Senior executives from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the world’s largest international public bank, are in Scotland this week to outline new financing opportunities for Scottish businesses and unveil…

Ten major UK cities outside of London including Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and Cardiff will join forces and fight to keep the UK in the EU, according to a…

Trade body ScotlandIS called on all political parties to focus on fostering growth in digital technologies as it launched its manifesto ahead of the Scottish…

The Forth Road Bridge is to fully reopen on Saturday at 11pm, the Scottish Government said. Transport minister Derek Mackay said repairs to the damaged main…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has called for a further 2% cut in excise duty in next month’s budget, stressing the industry’s importance to the Scottish…

Gerry Grimstone, chairman of Edinburgh-based investment, pensions and insurance giant Standard Life, said on Friday it would be “potentially damaging to the UK economy and therefore…

Aberdeen-based Wood Group PSN said it plans to reduce the rates paid to a third of its UK-based limited company contractors by an average of 9 per…

Edinburgh-based travel search engine Skyscanner said on Friday its revenue rose 28% to £120 million in 2015 as mobile platform bookings helped it continue its global growth. Skyscanner…

Edinburgh-based Standard Life said on Friday its operating profit before tax rose 9% to £665 million in 2015 — beating analysts’ forecasts of £616 million — as the investment, pensions…

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Thursday called for world leaders to take urgent action to tackle slowing growth. The OECD said…

Ellon, Aberdeenshire-based craft beer company BrewDog on Thursday announced “draft” 2015 business results, reporting a 52% increase in annual turnover to £45 million. The company said BrewDog is now the number one…

Scotland and the north of England have signed an agreement to work closer together to improve cross-border transport connections and boost the economies of both…

A new poll of Scottish Chambers of Commerce members shows 68% of them would vote for the UK to remain a member of the EU “if the…

Scottish league football is being screened in more than 100 countries for the first time after a number of new international broadcast deals were struck in territories around the…

Forth Ports said it plans to make the “largest investment in the history of the Port of Dundee” by investing more than £10 million to create a new…

Scotland’s employment rate increased to 74.8% in the third quarter of 2015 — outperforming the UK — and the Scottish employment level of 2.636 million was…

The Scottish Government has called for a decentralized BBC that transfers more decision-making on BBC Scotland north of the border and for the BBC “to deliver…

A new research and development (R&D) project aims to put Scotland at the forefront of the £7 billion global sensors and imaging systems market and deliver…

Aberdeen-based energy services giant Wood Group has signed a five year contract with Valero Energy that marks an important expansion for Wood into the UK petrochemical sector….

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela have agreed to freeze oil output at January levels as a first step in efforts to support oil prices that have fallen about 70%…

French energy giant EDF said it will extend the operational life of Torness nuclear plant in East Lothian, Scotland, by at least seven years to…

HSBC said on Monday that while Asia is at the heart of the banking group’s strategy, it had decided to remain headquartered in London after an “exhaustive” review. “Having our…

Dundee-based investment trust company Alliance Trust said on Monday that Katherine Garrett-Cox, CEO of its subsidiary Alliance Trust Investments (ATI), would stand down as chief executive of ATI on March…

Celtic plc said its revenue increased 0.3% to £31.4 million and profit before tax rose from £6.6 million to £11.7 million in the six months ended December 31, 2015. However,…

Johnston Press, owner of The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, said it has conditionally agreed to acquire the business and certain assets of the cut-price i…

The notorious former ‘executive wing’ at Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters in Gogarburn, Edinburgh — seen as a symbol of excess before the financial crisis and bail…

Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed Peter Flavel as chief executive of private banking, responsible for Coutts & Co and Adam & Company. Flavel (pictured) joins…