Scottish Financial Review

The Institute of Directors has repeated its warnings about “ultra-accommodative monetary policy” after the monetary policy committee of the Bank of England, the UK’s central bank,…

About 600 lorries will be allowed to cross the Forth Road Bridge — northbound only — between 11pm and 4am in a trial run starting Thursday night, subject…

Newly independent Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank (CYBG) might quickly become involved in consolidation deals in the banking sector. “Like others out there, we would be viewed…

Perth-based Stagecoach and Aberdeen-based FirstGroup have been shortlisted to compete for the next South Western rail franchise in June 2017. Stagecoach has operated the network under…

Glasgow-based digital marketing agency Equator has acquired a controlling interest in Glasgow and London brand agency 999 Design Group as part of a “major growth strategy.” 999…

Bridge of Allan-based Graham’s The Family Dairy has signed a deal to exclusively supply milk and whipping cream to all of Starbucks’ 68 stores in Scotland. “Starbucks share our…

Perth-based energy giant SSE said it is likely to close three of the four units at its coal-fired power station at Fiddler’s Ferry, Cheshire, from April 1…

Green Highland Renewables said it will soon start work on a new hydro scheme at Loch Eilde Mor in the hills above Kinlochleven — just one…

Shares of Johnston Press, owner of regional newspapers including The Scotsman and Yorkshire Post, rose 13% after it said it expects the deficit in the company’s…

Scottish rural land prices fell in the second half of 2015 as low prices for crops and commodities took their toll, according a survey by the Royal Institution…

National Australia Bank (NAB) said on Wednesday the final price for the initial public offering (IPO) of shares in Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank (CYBG) is £1.80…

JLL Scotland said that on the instructions of Aberdeen Asset Management, it has listed Exchange Place at the heart of the Edinburgh financial district for sale…

Glasgow-based Fairfax Whisky has officially launched its whisky investment service — with an emphasis on casks — to become the latest specialist firm to offer such…

National Australia Bank (NAB) said the IPO of its Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank (CYBG) — which had been planned to go ahead Tuesday — has been delayed…

The London stock market listing of shares in Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank (CYBG) has been priced at £1.80 a share, valuing CYBG at roughly £1.6 billion, according to…

Glasgow-based Scottish Friendly, Scotland’s largest financial mutual, said it achieved record-breaking sales in 2015 of £25.5 million compared to £21.6 million in 2014. The 18% increase was driven by sales…

Edinburgh-based Bowleven, the Africa focused oil and gas exploration firm, said it will not pursue the proposed acquisition of stakes in gas projects in Tanzania from Aminex. Bowleven…

Catch limits are to be enforced for key shellfish species to prevent and deter unlicensed fishermen from selling their catch illegally, the Scottish Government said. Members…

Royal Bank of Scotland said that physicist James Clerk Maxwell, scientist Mary Somerville and civil engineer Thomas Telford have been shortlisted to appear on its new polymer…

Aberdeen Asset Management said its chief investment officer Anne Richards (pictured) will leave the company later this year to become chief executive of M&G Investments, the UK and…

TV operator Sky said on Friday that Aberdeen Asset Management chief executive Martin Gilbert has been appointed its deputy chairman — and that James Murdoch, son of media…

Ellon, Aberdeenshire-based craft beer company BrewDog has said bigger companies are interested in buying the Scottish firm but that BrewDog “is not for sale.” BrewDog co-founder James…

Shares of Cumbernauld-based soft drinks maker A.G. Barr rose about 2% after it said its performance improved in the second half of the year and that revenue…

More than half a million passengers have used the new Borders Railway between Edinburgh and Tweedbank near Melrose in its first four-and-a-half months of service, the Scottish Government…

Shares in Aberdeen-based bus and rail giant FirstGroup fell more than 9% after it said revenues in its third quarter fell by 9.5% due in part to UK flooding and a…

UK finance minister George Osborne confirmed on Thursday the UK government will delay the sale of its remaining stake in Lloyds Banking Group, owner of Halifax, Bank…

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said on Thursday they have decided to start investigations into certain former HBOS senior…

Scotland’s total exports to international markets and the rest of UK in 2014 — excluding oil and gas — rose £570 million to an estimated £76 billion,…

PwC has hired former Scottish Secretary Michael Moore to strengthen its business team that advises on devolution issues across the UK. Moore (pictured) will advise PwC’s “Devo Delivery…

Aberdeen Asset Management said it had net outflows of £9.1 billion in the last three months of 2015 and it named director Simon Troughton to…

Royal Bank of Scotland said it will make a £3.6 billion provision to cover pension payments, litigation over mortgage-backed securities and issues connected to payment protection insurance (PPI). RBS also unveiled…

Former UK Treasury Minister Danny Alexander is being tipped to take up a senior role at the new Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank — viewed by many…

Scotland’s financial services industry needs to actively recruit more women from international markets to improve its gender diversity, according to a prominent recruitment firm. In its 2016…

Bank of England deputy governor Andrew Bailey has been appointed the new chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s top financial markets regulator. Bailey (pictured)…

Rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead said staying in the EU is ‘absolutely crucial’ for farming as new statistics show total income from farming in Scotland declined in…

Shares in Aberdeen-based oil and gas engineering firm Plexus Holdings fell more than 40% on Monday morning after it said a slowdown in planned activity by its customers…

Productivity growth in Scotland significantly outperformed the UK between 2007 and 2014 as Scottish output continued to catch up with UK levels, the Scottish Government said. Output…

Edinburgh has overtaken Aberdeen as the most expensive Scottish city in which to rent a property, with the capital’s average monthly let rising 5.7% over the…

A £209 million EU funding programme to strengthen cross-border business links — in sectors like conservation — between western Scotland, Northern Ireland and the border…

The number of domestic tourist visits to Scotland from within Great Britain rose 9% to about 12.9 million in the year to the end of September,…

The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said on Thursday that preliminary enquiries under a “disciplinary scheme” will be made into KPMG’s work as auditors of HBOS just before the bank’s collapse….

The deficits of Scottish company pensions “remain stubbornly persistent at around £4.2 billion” according to the latest Hymans Robertson’s annual Scottish Pension Index report. Deficits have…

Perth-base transport giant Stagecoach Group said digital entrepreneur James Bilefield will join the company as a non-executive director from February 1.“James has an international track record of successfully…

The UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Wednesday launched their New Bank Start-up Unit aimed at encouraging new “challenger banks” to…

Latest figures show the highest employment level for Scotland since records began in 1992, taking the number of Scots in work to 2,631,000, according to…

Scotland’s environment minister Aileen McLeod has unveiled new measures from April 1 to regulate the killing of wild salmon in Scotland in order to protect stocks. Among the…

The University of Glasgow sustains more than £1.5 billion of output in Scotland, according to a survey commissioned by the University.  The economic report showed that…

The 2015 Open Golf Championship at St Andrews brought £140 million of economic benefit to Scotland, according to an independent economic impact assessment commissioned by the R&A. The £140…

Perth-based transport giant Stagecoach Group has appointed Tim Shoveller (pictured) as managing director of the group’s UK rail division. The division includes South West Trains, East Midlands Trains,…

National Australia Bank (NAB) on Monday announced a proposed, wide price range of between £1.75 and £2.35 per share for the initial public offering (IPO) of its…

The average selling price of a house in Edinburgh increased by 7.1% in the last quarter of 2015 compared to the same period of 2014,…

Royal Bank of Scotland said it has committed £1 billion of capital to build up its involvement in the purpose-built private rented sector (PRS) housing industry…

Nearly two thirds of Scottish construction businesses are still reporting difficulties in recruitment because of a continued shortage of skilled workers. The Scottish Chambers of Commerce…

Dundee-based investment trust company Alliance Trust said it appointed veteran Scottish financier and businessman Robert Smith, Lord Smith of Kelvin, as its new chairman. Alliance Trust,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Oil and gas giant BP is to cut its North Sea workforce by 20% by 2017 — about 600 jobs — as part of a global…

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….

Chief financial officer Peter Bole (pictured) is to leave Edinburgh-based Tesco Bank to do the same job at cross-town rival Virgin Money — and pick up a…

Economists at Royal Bank of Scotland have warned clients in a note to “sell everything except high quality bonds” and that stocks could fall by…

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….

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…

Edinburgh-based fund manager Standard Life Investments said on Monday it will be a “principal partner” for the British & Irish Lions rugby tour to New Zealand…

Wind power in Scotland had a record year in 2015, generating enough power to supply the electrical needs of 97% of Scottish households, according to WWF…

A suspected case of avian influenza has been identified in chickens on a farm in Dunfermline, Fife, the Scottish Government said. The chickens will be…

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…

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…

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….