Scottish Financial Review

Edinburgh-based investment giant Aberdeen Group plc announced that Ernst & Young LLP (EY) will succeed KPMG LLP as Aberdeen’s external auditor. “KPMG LLP will continue…

Begbies Traynor said it has overseen a £3.05 million deal to rescue The George Hotel, a historic 24-room boutique Scottish hotel in Inveraray on the…

Scotland’s SaxaVord Spaceport has announced the death of its pioneering CEO and founder Frank Strang after a short battle with cancer. He was 67. “Frank…

Inverness-based Aurora Energy Services said it has created a new strategic role in anticipation of a huge expansion of its onshore and offshore workforce. Leigh-Ann Robb…

The UK investment management industry recorded 10% growth in assets under management (AUM) to reach a new peak of £10 trillion in 2024, according to…

Total expenditure for Scotland in 2024-25 by the Scottish Government, UK Government and “all other parts of the public sector” was £117.6 billion, according to…

Glasgow-based Beeks Financial Cloud Group, a cloud computing and connectivity provider for financial markets, announced the launch of Market Edge Intelligence, which it considers to…

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), which owns Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows and Halifax, said on Tuesday it won a significant contract to provide banking services…

The Scottish Government said on Tuesday that estimates sourced from the ONS Labour Force Survey for April to June 2025, compared with the quarter before, indicate…

Scotland’s labour market “continued to show some resilience” as the second half of the year got underway, with job creation in the service sector partially…

By Mark McSherry The £780 million Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust plc said its share price and net asset value (NAV) returned 24.5% and 22.1% respectively…

Flexible working could provide a gateway back to work for more than 25,000 unemployed Scottish adults, according to figures from Flexibility Works. The Scottish Government…

More than a quarter of over 50s in the UK are now out of work — with two million of over 50s on out of…

Scotland’s economy “continues to show signs of improvement” as it enters the second half of 2025 – with increasing confidence across mid-market businesses, solid performances…

Perth-based SSE Renewables announced the appointment of Sandie Lengden as the new Project Director for Berwick Bank, which the firm believes will become the world’s largest single offshore…

Fund outflows from UK equities reached £964 million in June, according to the latest data published by the UK’s Investment Association (IA). These were the worst…

The UK central bank on Thursday cut interest rates to 4% from 4.25% after a tight 5-4 vote by the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Four of…

Alicante-based Banco Sabadell said on Wednesday its shareholders overwhelmingly approved the £2.65 billion sale of TSB bank to Banco Santander and the distribution of an…

Prime office rents have risen to record highs across Scotland’s key markets, primarily driven by the ongoing imbalance between supply and demand, according to Knight…

Space Scotland, the Edinburgh-based industry led body that represents Scotland’s fast-growing space sector, has appointed Natasha Nicholson as its new CEO. Nicholson returns to not-for-profit…

A high-end office complex in Dundee’s Technology Park has reopened after a £3 million refurbishment programme to make it one of the most environmentally efficient buildings in…

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, said it completed a £1.9 billion Bulk Purchase Annuity transaction with the Sedgwick Section of the MMC UK Pension…

The UK’s Advertising Standards Watchdog (ASA) has banned an advertising poster for Aberdeenshire’s BrewDog for implying that alcohol can “overcome boredom, loneliness or other problems.” The UK…

Aberdeen-based North Star said it has has secured multi-million-pound agreements to support German energy company RWE’s growing offshore wind farm portfolio with four hybrid-powered commissioning…

The UK’s National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the UK government is not on track to meet its “stability rule” with its…

Abrdn European Logistics Income plc, the fund which is in shareholder-approved managed wind-down, announced the completion of a further asset sale in Zeewolde, the Netherlands….

The UK has granted its first space launch licence to the Skyrora rocket company, based in Cumbernauld. The licence paves the way for the Scottish…

The combined farming and processing output for cattle, sheep and pigs in Scotland in 2024 is estimated to have risen by 2% from 2023, exceeding…

Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford said its board has concluded that all 32 funds in its UK-authorised range “delivered value to investors based on a holistic assessment…

Inverness-based Highland Fuels, which is employee-owned, said it has acquired Brechin-based Carnegie Fuels after “an extensive sale process.” As part of the transaction, Carnegie Fuels will…

Edinburgh-based Approov Limited, an innovator in mobile app and application programming interface (API) security, said on Monday it has successfully closed a £5 million Series…

A recent economic impact report on the James Hutton Institute by BiGGAR Economics states that in 2023-24, for every £1 of funding the Hutton received from the Scottish…

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) said it has published a new report that “marks another step forward in the development of a plan to steer…

Kate Forbes, the Scottish Government’s Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy & Gaelic, said on Monday she will not to seek re-election at the…

Edinburgh-based Craneware, a provider of software for the US healthcare market, announced late on Friday a proposed “reduction of capital” which it said is expected to create…

Edinburgh-based upmarket home builder Cala Group (Holdings) Ltd said its profit before tax — before exceptional items — fell 30% to £78.2 million in 2024 from £112.3…

Scottish businesses are showing tentative signs of recovery, despite “tremendous uncertainty” in business confidence and economic outlook for the remainder of 2025, according to the…

Global Energy Group (GEG) has reached an agreement for the sale of three of its group companies — including The Port of Nigg in the…

One of the world’s largest offshore wind farms — in the outer Firth of Forth off the East Lothian coast — has been granted consent by…

Scottish accountancy firm Wbg has appointed storied banker and investor Benny Higgins, the former boss of Tesco Bank, as its new chairman. Currently chairman of…

Weir Group, the Glasgow-based global mining and engineering FTSE 100 firm, said that for continuing operations, its orders rose 8% to £1.304 billion in the…

Scotland’s onshore GDP contracted by 0.2% in May 2025, according to statistics announced by the Chief Statistician. In the three months to May, Scotland’s onshore…

Leading figures from some of the world’s biggest financial, tech and energy organisations are to gather in Scotland for a new festival focused on the…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Aberdeen Group published first-half results on Wednesday, showing assets under management and administration (AUMA) of £517.6 billion, up from £511.4 billion at…

The Scottish Government said First Minister John Swinney met US President Donald Trump in Aberdeenshire on Tuesday and urged Trump to consider “economic protections” for Scotland’s…

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said it met or exceeded 18 of its 20 key targets during the 2024/25 financial year. Overall, HIE said it approved…

Suntory Beverage & Food Great Britain and Ireland (SBF GB&I) has announced an investment of £920,000 over the next five years to continue its blackcurrant…

Scottish law firm Burness Paull said its turnover for the year ended March 31, 2025, was £93.5 million, up from £60.1 million in 2023/24, and…

A.G. Barr, the Cumbernauld-based owner of Irn-Bru, Rubicon energy drinks, Boost Drinks and Funkin cocktail mixers, said it acquired a 50.1% equity stake in “functional…

Troubled Aberdeen engineering firm John Wood Group said on Monday its board is continuing to work with Dubai-based Sidara on pre-conditions to a possible takeover offer…

Shares of Glasgow-based media firm STV Group plc fell more than 20% on Monday after the company said its expectations for full year revenue and…

Scotch whisky giant William Grant & Sons has reported a 6.5% decline in turnover to £1.834 billion, with profit before tax down 30% to £388…

NatWest Group — the bank formerly known as RBS — on Friday announced a £750 million share buyback and said its first-half operating profit before tax…

Troubled Aberdeen-based engineering giant John Wood Group plc said on Friday its subsidiary JWG Investments Limited has reached an agreement to sell its 50% interest in…

Bank of Scotland plc, owned by Lloyds Banking Group, has reported profit before tax for the first half of 2025 of £680 million, up from…

Iomart Group plc, the Glasgow-based secure cloud services firm, said on Thursday its search for a new CEO “will commence later in the year” following a…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Aberdeen announced that it has to date raised £233 million for its Abrdn Private Credit SCSp RAIF- Global Fund Finance Fund launch —…

NatWest Group — the bank formerly known as RBS — has announced a new, five-year collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Accenture to accelerate the…

Coutts & Co, the private bank of NatWest Group, has announced the appointment of prominent Scottish fund manager Anne Richards as its next chair. “As…

Law firm Blackadders LLP said Neil Robb, Partner and Head of Commercial Real Estate, has been appointed chairman. Blackadders LLP is a national law firm…

Edinburgh-based oil and gas firm Capricorn Energy said its receivables position remained “relatively flat” from year end 2024 at $172 million as of June 30, 2025, after expected…

UK government borrowing in the three months to June 2025 was £57.8 billion — £7.5 billion more than in the same three-month period of 2024 and…

Scottish-headquartered UK law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn has reported a 10% increase in turnover to £78.3 million and a 20% rise in net profits to £36.1…

NatWest, the banking group formerly known as RBS, has launched new lending of up to £500 million entirely ringfenced for the building of social rent…

Edinburgh-based startup SWURF — a platform for remote workers — has landed a six-figure investment and appointed three seasoned industry leaders to its board, signalling a…

Iomart Group plc, the Glasgow-based secure cloud services firm, announced on Friday a date to publish its delayed full year results as it searches for a…

Artisanal Spirits Company plc, owner of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), Single Cask Nation (SCN) & J.G. Thomson, published a trading update for the six months ended…

Scotland’s financial services industry has the potential to increase the sector’s gross value added (GVA) contribution by up to 21% by 2028, according to new…

SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, said hot weather conditions in the UK across April and May resulted in a 4% decrease in output…

Johnnie Walker and Guinness giant Diageo announced on Wednesday that Debra Crew has stepped down as its chief executive officer and as a board Director after…