Scottish Financial Review

The Scottish Salmon Company said its 2016 revenue was £110 million, up from £100.4 million in 2015, as strong market prices boosted the firm despite the salmon…

Royal Bank of Scotland said it made an attributable loss in 2016 of £6.95 billion which included litigation and conduct costs of £5.87 billion and restructuring costs of £2.1 billion….

Edinburgh-based investment, pensions and insurance giant Standard Life said its operating profit before tax rose 9% to £723 million in 2016 and assets under administration rose by 16% to…

Underlying profit at Scottish Widows fell 13% to £837 million in 2016 as the company felt the effect of “recent reforms on activity within the pensions market.” As parent Lloyds…

Glasgow-based packaging firm Macfarlane Group pledged to continue looking for takeover deals as it revealed that recent acquisitions helped its 2016 sales rise 6% to £179.8 million and profit before tax…

Shares of Glasgow-based engineering giant Weir Group fell after it said its 2016 profit before tax fell 22% to £170 million and revenue slipped 2% to £1.84 billion amid…

The BBC said on Wednesday it will make the “biggest single investment in broadcast content in Scotland in more than 20 years.” It said that from…

The World Bank said in a new paper that economic policy uncertainty in Europe and the United States is contributing to a decline in world trade…

The Scottish government’s finance secretary Derek Mackay has responded to fierce criticism of the country’s business rates regime by announcing that “9,500 more businesses across…

Kentucky-based spirits and wine group Brown-Forman said it appointed Rachel Barrie as whisky maker for its Scotch whisky portfolio which includes the single malts BenRiach, The GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh distilleries,…

Shares of Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group fell around 8% on Tuesday after it said 2016 revenue fell 15.7% to $4.93 billion, profit…

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG said late on Monday that it notified Royal Bank of Scotland that it has withdrawn its preliminary non-binding proposal for,…

The UK production boss of Norwegian multinational Statoil said “large discoveries can still be made” in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). Statoil (UK) is the operator of the massive Mariner…

Scotch whisky exports were up 4% in value in 2016 to just over £4 billion and up 4.8% by volume to 1.2 billion bottles, the…

Edinburgh-based TV advertising analytics firm TVSquared said it raised another $6.5 million “as the demand for TV measurement and optimization grows within the $202 billion TV ad…

Unilever and Kraft Heinz announced in a joint statement on Sunday that Kraft Heinz “has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of…

ShareSoc, the UK Individual Shareholders Society, warned of “major problems” for Dundee-based investment firm Alliance Trust if shareholders do not support the firm’s board in its radical plans to outsource its equity portfolio…

Royal Bank of Scotland said EU competition officials are considering an alternative plan that would replace the requirement for RBS to sell about 300 of its branches under…

UK-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever — owner of brands including Dove, Flora, Hellmans, PG Tips, Knorr and Persil — rejected a potential offer of around $143 billion from The Kraft…

Student accommodation developer Unite Group plc said it would sell 13 properties comprising 4,175 beds to a Brookfield-managed fund for £295 million, with Unite’s share of the deal…

The CEO of Edinburgh-based investment and insurance firm Aegon UK said financial adviser platforms need to become more like Amazon and “invest in the user experience.”…

Glasgow City Council has voted to approve planning permission in principle for the University of Glasgow’s £1 billion campus masterplan to transform the west end of the…

Upmarket home builder Cala Group said in a trading update it remained on course to deliver another record year of revenues and profits in 2017, despite its average…

Edinburgh-based oil exploration company Cairn Energy has emerged as a frontrunner to buy North Sea oil and gas assets put up for sale by Denmark’s Dong Energy, according…

The value of Scottish food and drink exports to Japan has surged to almost £100 million, strongly supported by Scotch whisky, external affairs secretary Fiona…

Unemployment in Scotland rose by 6,000 over the October to December 2016 quarter to 135,000, but the jobless level was down 27,000 on the same quarter…

Edinburgh-based Krotos, producer of audio products for the entertainment industry, said it secured angel investment in a deal led by Leslie Benzies, former president of Grand Theft Auto…

Perth-based transport giant Stagecoach Group said it sold its interest in the Twin America LLC joint venture for an undisclosed sum. Twin America was a joint venture between…

State-owned Scottish ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) said that in 2016 it exceeded five million passengers for the first time since 1997 — helped by the first full year…

The finance ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the UK Government has failed to provide the devolved administrations with necessary information or clarity…

The most recent Wealth & Assets Survey (WAS) for Great Britain showed that aggregate total wealth of private households in Scotland increased to £856.6 billion…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has urged MEPS to vote in favour of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The SWA said CETA…

Glasgow-based regenerative medicine firm Collagen Solutions announced a conditional placing and open offer of shares to raise up to £8 million and said it received a conditional…

Melrose-based angel investment group Tweed Renaissance Investors (TRI Capital) appointed Jamie Andrew as its new chairman following the retirement of Rob Dick. Andrew said: “TRI Cap has…

A new fintech hub backed by the UK and Scottish governments and based at Royal Bank of Scotland’s headquarters at Gogarburn, Edinburgh, will open to entrepreneurs…

There were 85 businesses in Scotland with parent companies registered in Japan by November 2016, with a collective turnover of £1.5 billion and 6,250 employees at 210 sites, new…

The Co-operative Bank, rescued from near collapse by hedge funds in 2013, said it has put itself up for sale amid a neeed to build its capital and…

New order growth accelerated to a 20-month high at Scottish private sector companies in January, according to the latest Bank of Scotland Regional Purchasing Managers’…

The CEO of Aberdeen-based Faroe Petroleum said in an update the firm was “poised for a major growth phase” and it would pursue deals in its core…

Edinburgh-based tidal power company Atlantis Resources announce an agreement to partner Natural Energy Wire (NEW) to develop the Wyre tidal project to be built between…

The Trump administration represents a risk to international economic conditions and global sovereign credit fundamentals, Fitch Ratings said on Friday. “US policy predictability has diminished,…

A group of senior businessmen — including Angus Grossart and Brian Souter — are among investors seeking to join a lawsuit against Royal Bank of Scotland alleging they…

ScottishPower said it will increase its standard domestic gas and electricity prices from March 31, 2017 — but nearly two out of three homes supplied…

The University of Edinburgh said its total income for the year ended July 31, 2016 was £908 million — including exceptional items of £19 million —…

In what is being called the largest letting in Scotland since the EU referendum, the management, engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald has agreed terms to move…

Manchester United said its revenue rose 18% to £157.9 million in the three months to December 31, 2016, but its net debt jumped 27.1% to £409.3 million. It its outlook, the company…

Leicester-based wealth management firm Mattioli Woods said it acquired 49% of Edinburgh-based fund manager Amati Global Investors Limited from Amati Global Partners LLP for £3.33 million.   Mattioli Woods…

Edinburgh-based Bowleven, the Africa focused oil and gas exploration company, on Wednesday urged its shareholders to vote against all resolutions of Monaco-based activist shareholder Crown Ocean…

The overall annual turnover of the UK’s oilfield services (OFS) industry fell from £40.6 billion in 2014 to £35.7 billion in 2015, according to a new…

Lloyds Banking Group — which owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland — said it will undertake a review of all customer cases which may have…

British consumers pay more than one quarter of all the tax on spirits collected in Europe, mainly because of a UK domestic tax level far higher than the European…

Shares of Aberdeen-based bus and rail giant FirstGroup rose about 5% after it said its reported group revenue rose 12.8% in the quarter to December 31, helped by favourable currency translation…

Celtic plc said qualifying for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League helped it increase revenue by 94.7% to £61.2 million in the six months…

Edinburgh-based rented housing developer Sigma Capital Group said it acquired a further three sites in the West Midlands and North West of England to deliver 200…

Israel’s Delek Group said it offered to buy the 80% of Aberdeen-based oil and gas operator Ithaca Energy it doesn’t already own for about $524 million in cash….

Glasgow-based Smart Metering Systems (SMS) said total annualised recurring income increased by 20% to £41.3 million as at December 31, 2016. The company’s shares have soared about…

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said it ordered the Royal Bank of Scotland to pay an $85 million civil monetary penalty as part of a…

A report by real estate giants Savills said Glasgow had the building blocks in place to reaffirm its position as “Scotland’s powerhouse” to compete with the “Northern Powerhouses”…

Professor Peter Mathieson — currently president and vice-chancellor of the University of Hong Kong — has been appointed as the next principal and vice-chancellor of…

Johnston Press — owner of The Scotsman, the i newspaper and the Yorkshire Post  — said in a trading statement that although its revenue fell…

The UK’s central bank has increased its central expectation for UK growth in 2017 to 2% — up from its November forecast of 1.4% — and expects…

The Scottish Investment Trust (SIT) said it entered a share repurchase agreement to buy back the 11.88% stake in the company held by investment firm Aviva on…

ShareSoc, the UK Individual Shareholders Society, said it is consulting legal advisors following the decision by Royal Bank of Scotland not to take forward a proposed AGM…

Shares of Aberdeen Asset Management fell almost 5% after it said its assets under management fell about £9.4 billion to £302.7 billion in the three months…

Property consultants CKD Galbraith said the commercial farmland market in Scotland will remain robust throughout 2017 “given the healthy levels of interest witnessed in the previous 12 months.”…

Shares of Aberdeen-based oil and gas engineering services company Plexus Holdings fell around 20% on Wednesday afternoon after it warned in a trading update that its revenue for…

Perth-based energy giant SSE said in a trading statement it expected its capital investment programme for 2016-17 to be around £1.75 billion. SSE confirmed that for 2016-17 it…

Edinburgh-based fund management giant Standard Life Investments issued its Governance & Stewardship Annual Review for 2016 in which it revealed it voted its clients’ shares 430…

Edinburgh-based aviation logistics and news distribution firm John Menzies said it reached an agreement with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to complete the acquisition of Orlando, Florida-based aviation…

New data from the Scottish Tourism Economic Assessment Monitor (STEAM) revealed that tourism in the Scottish Borders and Midlothian has received a major boost since the…