Scottish Financial Review

The Scottish Government said it plans to make changes to a number of devolved taxes to “raise additional revenue to support Scotland’s NHS and other…

Glasgow-based media firm STV Group plc on Thursday said it expects its total advertising revenue to be slightly down from a record year in 2021, with…

The UK central bank, the Bank of England, raised its key interest rate to 3.5% from 3% on Thursday, its ninth rate rise in a row….

SSEN Transmission said it welcomes UK regulator Ofgem’s approval of the need “for the strategic electricity transmission reinforcements required” to deliver the UK Government’s 50GW…

Giant trade association Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) has appointed David Whitehouse as its new chief executive, starting on January 1, 2023. OEUK represents 400 companies involved in producing…

US law firm Milbank told Reuters in a statement that it will acquire the London private equity practice of Scottish corporate law firm Dickson Minto early…

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) announced the injection of an additional £24.6 million of funding to Scotland’s universities “to protect the nation’s research base and…

Scotland’s registered social landlords (RSLs) plan to develop more than 30,000 new homes and invest £1.7 billion in existing homes over the next five years,…

Edinburgh-based ready meals firm Parsley Box Group plc said its shareholders have approved its proposal to cancel its ordinary shares trading on the AIM stock market…

Edinburgh clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company Fitabeo Therapeutics has spun-out from the University of Strathclyde and said it plans “to address some of society’s most pressing…

UK inflation fell more sharply than expected in November after hitting a 41-year high high in October. The annual rate of consumer price inflation (CPI)…

The Chief Statistician for Scotland has released figures on the 2022 Scottish harvest that show it was a record year for cereal yields, boosted by…

A new report from Barclays Corporate Banking reveals that goods with a total value of almost £3.5 billion are stuck in Scottish manufacturers’ warehouses awaiting completion…

The latest labour market statistics from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that Scotland’s estimated employment rate rose over the August to October 2022 quarter…

Edinburgh-based Green Bioactives Ltd (GBL), a developer of plant-derived natural products, announced it has successfully completed a £2.6 million seed financing round. GBL was founded in 2020…

The Scottish private sector reported a deepening contraction in private sector output during November, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland Purchasing Managers’ Index…

The outlook for Scotland’s budget in 2023-24 has been made more challenging due to factors wholly outwith the control of the Scottish Government, according to…

Microsoft is to take a 4% equity stake in London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) as part of a 10-year commercial deal to migrate the exchange operator’s data…

Shares of Elgin-based Springfield Properties, which is building a number of new communities throughout Scotland, fell as much as 15% on Monday after it published…

By Mark McSherry — Former Baillie Gifford fund manager James Anderson has made a gift of $100 million to Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International…

One of Joan Eardley’s last finished paintings of Glasgow street children has sold for £200,200 – an auction record for a work by the artist, the…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn plc announced the completion of the second £150 million phase of its £300 million share repurchase programme undertaken during 2022. “Over the…

Glasgow-based mobile power giant Aggreko plc — bought in 2021 by private equity firms TDR Capital LLP and I Squared Capital — said on Friday it…

ITV on Thursday announced an “enhanced strategic partnership” with STV, extending content sharing and advertising arrangements between the two television broadcasters. STV’s streaming service, STV…

Glasgow-based global intellectual property law firm Murgitroyd Group announce the acquisition of specialist UK-based IP firm Turnbull Lynch Intellectual Property (TLIP). Its fourth acquisition inside two years, the…

Aberdeen-based mechanical engineering group EnerMech announced it has acquired Stork Australia and New Zealand for an undisclosed sum as part of its strategic plan “to add…

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft of Germany has confirmed that it acquired a majority stake in Scottish event promoter Regular Music through its UK subsidiary Kilimanjaro…

Shares of Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant John Wood Group rose as much as 8% on Thursday after former Elliot Management activist fund manager…

Defined Benefit (DB) pension scheme members in the UK could benefit from a 5% uplift in their pension benefit if the corporate sponsor defers buy-out…

Hiring activity fell across Scotland again in November amid candidate shortages, greater economic uncertainty and strong cost pressures, according to the latest Royal Bank of…

An advert for BrewDog has been banned by the the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a “tongue-in-cheek” claim that its fruit-flavoured beers constitute “one of…

Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz plc said its revenues increased 37% to £49.4 million in the six months ended September 30, 2022, and it made profit before tax…

Perth-based transport giant Stagecoach, now owned by German asset manager DWS, said its revenue rose almost 16% to £669.6 million and adjusted profit before taxation rose…

By Mark McSherry — Baillie Gifford’s £2.3 billion Monks Investment Trust plc said it made a loss on investments of £164.1 million in a “disappointing” six months…

By Mark McSherry — Martin Gilbert’s AssetCo has announced plans to bring together its four active equity asset management subsidiaries under its River and Mercantile brand….

By Mark McSherry — Abrdn announced it has provided £98 million of private placement debt to EnBW, one of the largest utility companies in Germany and…

Aberdeen-based North Star said it has secured a £140 million financing package to support the next phase of its offshore wind growth plan as it looks…

Arizona-based Mangata Networks, a satellite-enabled cloud services company, announced it has chosen Scotland as the location for its research and development activities as well as…

By Mark McSherry — Phoenix Group Holdings plc announced on Tuesday that it expects to deliver £1.2 billion of incremental new business long-term cash generation in…

Glasgow-based cloud computing firm Iomart Group said on Tuesday it expects revenues for the year ending March 31, 2023, will be ahead of the firm’s…

The £453 million Aberdeen New India Investment Trust said its net asset value increased 5.9%, in total return terms, in the “turbulent” six months to September 30,…

A.G. Barr, the Cumbernauld-based maker of Irn-Bru, Rubicon energy drinks and Funkin cocktail mixers, announced the acquisition of Leeds-based Boost Drinks, an established branded drinks business,…

Abrdn confirmed on Friday that Ralph Bassett, its head of US equities, is leaving the firm. “We can confirm that Ralph Bassett has decided to…

Celtic plc announced the appointment of its former CEO Peter Lawwell, 63, as its new non-executive chairman and a director of the company. Celtic’s principal shareholder…

Screen Scotland announced it has purchased the intellectual property (IP) of the Edinburgh International Film Festival from FRP Advisory, administrators of the Centre for the…

By Mark McSherry — Abrdn and the John Lewis Partnership have announced a joint venture to build 1,000 new homes in three build-to-rent schemes in London…

The Scottish Government spent £49.2 billion against a budget of £51.2 billion in 2021-22. “The total outturn underspend of £1,988 million does not represent a…

Real estate adviser Savills said the number of office lettings to complete in Glasgow in the first three quarters of 2022 reached 84, the biggest…

Thurso-based battery cell developer AMTE Power plc has reported a loss after tax of £5.8 million for the year to June 30, 2022, which it…

FTSE Russell has confirmed that Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn and Glasgow-based global engineering and mining group Weir Group, two of Scotland’s biggest companies,  will return…

SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, said on Wednesday it has completed the sale of a 25% minority stake in its electricity transmission network business SSEN Transmission…

By Mark McSherry — The £275 million Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc reported that its net asset value (NAV) total return per share declined by 10.9%…

By Mark McSherry — Crown Estate Scotland’s 2021-22 annual report shows that the value of the Scottish Crown Estate has risen about 25% to £568.2 million. The report…

Shares of Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant John Wood Group fell as much as 12% on Tuesday as it held a capital markets day…

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it has published final rules for a redress scheme for former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme…

Edinburgh-based Circularity Capital announced it has continued to build its portfolio of European growth-stage businesses accelerating the circular economy with a £10 million investment in Advanced…

Glasgow-based sausage skin and food collagen products firm Devro said on Friday it has agreed to a takeover by German food manufacturing company Saria SE & Co…

By Mark McSherry — SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, confirmed on Friday it has reached agreement to sell a 25% minority stake in its electricity transmission network…

Macfarlane Group, the Glasgow-based packaging, design and distribution firm, said its sales revenue in the year-to-date is 11% ahead of the same period last year,…

Glasgow-based DeepMatter Group plc, the AIM-listed digital chemistry data and software company, has proposed to leave the stock market and become a private limited company to…

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board is emerging as a frontrunner to acquire a stake in SSE’s multibillion-pound electricity networks, according to a Bloomberg report. The…

Media investment firm National World Plc — publisher of The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post — announced on Wednesday that it now has “no intention…

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the Scottish government cannot hold a second referendum on independence without approval from the UK parliament. The judgment was…

Equity investment levels in Scotland’s smaller businesses continued to rise during the first half of 2022, according to new research published as part of the…

Over 2,000 North Sea wells involved in oil and gas extraction are to be decommissioned at a cost of around £20 billion over the next…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn and Glasgow-based global engineering and mining group Weir Group, two of Scotland’s biggest companies and employers, are currently strong contenders to return to…

Linlithgow-based telecoms testing and measurement firm Calnex Solutions plc said it grew revenues by 38% to £12.7 million and profit before tax by 34% to £3.1 million…

The £370 million Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust announced its net asset value per share (NAV) total return was -40.4% for the year to September 30,…

By Mark McSherry — Souter Investments, the private equity focussed family investment office of Stagecoach founder Brian Souter, has announced continued strong performance and growth in…

Shares of Virgin Money UK rose about 13% on Monday after it announced its annual results and extended its share buyback programme to repurchase up to…