Scottish Financial Review

SSE plc, the Perth-based power giant, has raised its annual earnings expectations, helped by the strong performance of its flexible generation plant. Shares of SSE, the biggest listed…

The Scottish economy should see a return to calendar year growth in 2024 with Gross Value Added (GVA) rising by 1.6%, helped by a 2.3%…

Scottish Widows announced the launch of a new Global Environmental Solutions Fund it said will be “focused on directing pension investment into companies that provide…

Shares of Edinburgh-based Artisanal Spirits Company plc (ASC), owner of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), rose as much as 8% on Wednesday after it…

The £63 million Abrdn Smaller Companies Income Trust plc — which recently announced a strategic review to include “consideration of a combination of the company’s assets…

Edinburgh investment giant Abrdn has announced it will ask shareholders for permission to increase the amount of shares it can buy back from 10% of its…

Shares of A.G. Barr fell as much as 4% on Tuesday after the firm said adjusted profit before tax rose 13.3% to £43.5 million in year…

The chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) — the representative body for Scotland’s huge financial services industry — has said the relationship between the Scottish Government and…

The chief executive of John Wood Group, the Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant, admitted in the firm’s 2022 results announcement on Tuesday that “… we…

Humza Yousaf has won the fight to succeed Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party. Yousaf won the leadership election with 52.1%…

Shares of Scotgold Resources Limited, which owns the Cononish Gold and Silver Mine near Tyndrum, fell almost 70% on Monday after it said it is “in…

Amar Bhidé, the director who said he was removed by a vote of the board at the £13.4 billion Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, has revealed he…

Edinburgh-based oil and gas firm Capricorn Energy, where shareholders recently ousted the executive leadership and terminated a planned merger, has announced it “will need a substantially…

The UK central bank raised its benchmark lending rate on Thursday by a quarter point to 4.25%, the highest since 2008, and left the door…

The cryptocurrency-funded Links Golf Club — called an “online-based golf collective of over 5,400 members” — said it has entered into an “exclusivity agreement” to…

FinTech Scotland announced it has secured UK Government funding “to accelerate innovation in Scotland’s fintech cluster” and “advance research and innovation in financial regulation.” FinTech…

Professional Independent Wealth Advice (PIWA), a new advisory firm formed by ex-Abrdn advice director Neil Messenger, is to join the Sandringham Financial Partners network, part…

Baillie Gifford’s £630 million Shin Nippon investment trust has reported that its net asset value (NAV) per share declined by 1.2% and its share price fell 8.9%…

SSE plc announced it will provide a £100 million investment boost into what could become the UK’s biggest pumped hydro storage scheme in 40 years….

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, Baillie Gifford’s flagship fund, on Tuesday announced big changes to its board following claims last week by one departing director, Amar…

Hymans Robertson, the pensions and financial services consultancy, announced that Jon Hatchett has been appointed to lead the firm from April 1 as he steps…

JCB announced it has won its biggest ever deal in the UK after Perth-based rental firm Morris Leslie Plant Hire placed an order for £87.5…

Phoenix Group, owner of Standard Life, said it has provided a £210 million investment to City Property Glasgow, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glasgow City…

Aberdeen-headquartered transport firm FirstGroup plc said it has agreed with the UK Department for Transport (DfT) to extend the current arrangements for the West Coast…

Edinburgh-based Level E Research announced that M&G plc has invested a minority stake in its latest seed funding round and that it is partnering with…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn confirmed it has made a decision to move out of its 6 St Andrew Square office in central Edinburgh in stages…

A director of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, Baillie Gifford’s flagship fund, has told Scottish Financial Review he was “removed” from the board of the £13.4…

By Mark McSherry The deadline by which Apollo Global Management is required to announce a firm intention to make a takeover offer for John Wood…

Overseas exports of Scottish food and drink reached the highest figure on record in 2022, new statistics from HMRC show. Scotland’s overseas food and drink…

West of Shetland oil and gas explorer Hurricane Energy said it agreed to be bought by London-based oil refining firm Prax Exploration & Production in a…

Abrdn’s Pan European Residential Property Fund (aPER) has completed the purchase of Roselawn, a multifamily/build-to-rent scheme in the South Dublin suburb of Blackrock, for €70 million….

The UK Debt Management Office (DMO) said it is planning to sell £241 billion of gilts in the current financial year — more than the £233 billion…

British finance minister Jeremy Hunt set out his budget on Wednesday in an effort to pull the UK economy out of its run of stagnant…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has slammed the decision by the UK Chancellor to raise duty on Scotch Whisky by 10.1% in one of the…

The board of Abrdn Latin American Income Fund Limited announced that proposals will be put forward for the company to be placed into “summary winding…

The 2021-22 audit of Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (Holdings) Limited has highlighted “doubts over ferries’ costs, the future of Ferguson Marine shipyard and unacceptable bonus…

NatWest Group — formerly called RBS — said it is “increasing customer protection against crypto-criminals” after £329 million was lost by consumers last year. NatWest…

John Wood Group, the Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant, announced on Tuesday it has completed the sale of its offshore labour supply operations in…

Glasgow-based Smart Metering Systems plc (SMS) reported that its 2022 revenue rose 25% to £135.5 million and underlying profit before taxation was up 34% to…

Scotland’s official unemployment rate fell to a record low of 3.1% between November and January, according to new figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics…

By Mark McSherry Global financial shares lost about $465 billion in stock market value in two days as investors cut exposure to lenders following Silicon…

A Survation poll carried out for the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) shows that a third of voters are less likely to support the Conservatives if…

The Scottish private sector registered the first rise in private sector activity for seven months in February, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland…

Phoenix Group Holdings plc, the closed life and pension fund consolidator that owns the “old” Standard Life Assurance, said it expects to benefit from further…

Elgin-based Springfield Properties, which is building a number of new communities throughout Scotland, announced the resignation of Michelle Motion as chief financial officer and a…

As HSBC Holdings plc announced that its UK ring-fenced subsidiary HSBC UK Bank plc will acquire Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited (SVB UK) for £1,…

HSBC Holdings plc announced that its UK ring-fenced subsidiary HSBC UK Bank plc is acquiring Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited (SVB UK) for £1. The…

By Mark McSherry The UK government said on Sunday it is “working at pace on a solution to avoid or minimise damage to some of…

Aberdeen-headquartered transport giant FirstGroup plc said recent First Bus passenger volumes have increased to 83% of 2020 equivalent levels, with commercial and concessionary volumes at…

The number of Atlantic salmon caught by rod in the River Tweed catchment rose by more than 800 last year, despite extremely low water levels…

Alliance Trust plc, the £3.1 billion Dundee investment trust company which uses external fund managers Willis Towers Watson (WTW), announced that its 2022 total shareholder return…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn plc announced that, in line with succession planning announced on December 23, 2022, chief financial officer Stephanie Bruce “has agreed with…

Trade body Salmon Scotland has said Scotland’s fish farms have delivered a £3.3 billion boost to the country’s economy over the last decade. Over the…

Alba, the new Scottish bank dedicated to small and medium sized business lending, said it has been granted a banking licence by the UK Prudential…

Royal London said its 2022 operating profit before tax increased 58% to £210 million as adverse market impacts on its asset management revenues “were more…

Bank of Scotland plc — owned by Lloyds Banking Group — has reported that its 2022 statutory profit before tax fell to £1.137 billion from…

Hawick-based Emtelle Group said it has signed an agreement to build and establish one of the world’s largest factories for the manufacture of fibre optic ducting and…

Glasgow-based media firm STV Group plc said its 2022 revenue fell 5% to £137.8 million “as a result of marginally lower TAR (total advertising revenue) and timing…

Shares of Linlithgow-based telecoms testing and measurement firm Calnex Solutions plc fell about 33% after it published a “strong” update on the company’s trading performance for the…

Investment into Scottish commercial property reached £2.088 billion in 2022, down from £2.2 billion in 2021 following a quiet third and fourth quarter, according to the latest…

John Wood Group, the Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant, said on Tuesday it received a fourth takeover proposal from private equity firm Apollo Global Management…

Scottish marketing and communications agency BIG Partnership has reported a strong start to 2023 with a raft of new client wins and an expansion of its…

Edinburgh-based Craneware, a provider of software for the US healthcare market, said its revenues for the six months ended December 31, 2022, increased 6% to $84.7 million…

Macfarlane Group, the Glasgow-based packaging, design and distribution firm, announced the acquisition of A.E. Sutton Limited, trading as Suttons Performance Packaging, a specialist protective packaging…

Martin Gilbert’s fast-growing asset manager AssetCo said it agreed to acquire Ocean Dial Asset Management Limited from Avendus Capital Asset Management (UK) Limited for £4.125 million…

Scotland will need to “carefully manage” the decline in its massive oil and gas industry alongside the growth of the new low carbon sector to…

Equinor UK Limited said it has signed an agreement to acquire Suncor Energy UK Limited for $850 million. The transaction includes a non-operated interest in…

The average selling price of residential property across Edinburgh, Lothians, Fife and the Borders rose 2.2% year-on-year to £277,326 in the December 2022-February 2023 quarter,…

Abrdn’s £1.8 billion Murray International Trust reported that its net asset value (NAV) posted a total return of +8.8% for 2022 compared with a total return for…

Thurso-based AMTE Power, a developer of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells for specialist markets, announced the delivery of its first Ultra Prime cells to its customer…