Scottish Financial Review

By Mark McSherry The £2 billion Edinburgh-based Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust plc (TEMIT) has announce four key initiatives which aim to increase demand for its…

The Adam Smith Institute (ASI), the free-market think tank, has said the UK state pension could go bust as early as 2035. The institute said it…

UPDATE 6 — The Borders Book Festival announced that after 2024 it will no longer be sponsored by Edinburgh investment giant Baillie Gifford, following intense…

The Highland Council has approved the onshore plans of the West of Orkney Windfarm – which is developing a major offshore wind project off Scotland’s…

SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, announced it is submitting an offshore planning consent application to Ireland’s planning authority An Bord Pleanála this week…

The £300 million transformation of Candleriggs Square in Glasgow’s Merchant City is continuing at pace following the completion of the second major building on the…

Chartered financial planning firm AAB Wealth announced the acquisition of Bishopbriggs-based Synergy Financial Planning. AAB Wealth said that following this latest acquisition, it will have assets under…

The first of two new £25 million ship-to-shore cranes have arrived at the Port of Greenock, providing a huge boost for freight trade and productivity….

Springfield Properties plc announced a strategic collaboration agreement with Barratt Developments for the development of the Durieshill site, creating a new village near Stirling. Springfield…

Edinburgh investment giant Abrdn said it has “accelerated the sustainability agenda across the group” with the creation of a powerful executive sustainability committee. Chief corporate affairs…

Claudia Cavalluzzo is leaving her role as executive director of Converge, the company creation programme for staff, students and recent graduates of all Scottish universities and…

The UK government has reduced its stake in NatWest to 22.5% as it accelerates its exit from the bank formerly known as RBS — after the…

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced it is investigating the anticipated acquisition by mutually-owned Nationwide Building Society of listed bank Virgin Money UK plc….

The Edinburgh International Book Festival and Scottish investment giant Baillie Gifford have ended their 20-year partnership, citing the threat of disruption from activists. Baillie Gifford partner…

Elgin-based house builder Springfield Properties plc said it has signed a new contract worth £6.3 million with the Wheatley Group for the delivery of affordable housing….

John Wood Group plc, the Aberdeen-based engineering and consulting giant, said on Wednesday it is evaluating “a fourth and final, unsolicited, preliminary and conditional” cash…

Scotland’s GDP grew by 0.7% in real terms during the first quarter of 2024, after falling 0.5% in the previous quarter. In the first quarter,…

The managers of Abrdn investment trusts around the world have outlined the challenges facing investors in 2024 as almost half the world’s population vote in general…

The Scottish Land Commission has published its response to the Call for Views on the Land Reform Bill issued by the Scottish Parliament’s Net Zero,…

Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), the rural business organisation, has claimed the Scottish Government’s Land Reform Bill is “gambling with the future of communities in…

Aberdeen-headquartered Ithaca Energy Plc announced a number of changes to its board and executive management team following last month’s announcement that it will buy nearly…

Export Development Canada (EDC) and NatWest have combined to provide long-term financing of £130 million for the 106MW Limekiln Wind Farm in Caithness, which is owned by…

UK energy regulator Ofgem announced that Caithness-based electricity generator Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) has agreed to make a payment of £33.14 million after admitting…

Mark Wild, CEO of Scotland Gas Networks and Southern Gas Networks (SGN), has been appointed CEO of high-speed railway HS2, Europe’s biggest infrastructure project. “As one of…

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) has announced a 3.5% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers for 2023-24 across its network of airports, bringing the total…

Peel Ports Clydeport said it intends to invest up to £150 million in the redevelopment of the Hunterston marine yard in Ayrshire as it prepares…

Openreach is expanding its Scottish national broadband upgrade, with full fibre heading to another 120,000 homes and businesses across the country, including the ancient capital…

The Scottish National Investment Bank said on Monday its fast rate of growth “will slow in the year ahead due to reduced availability of capital.”…

SSE Energy Solutions has announced its intention to establish a regional headquarters in Newcastle “as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at advancing…

Haddington-based investment firm McInroy & Wood announced that Wendy Ferguson will be appointed as chief executive officer in June 2025, taking over from current CEO…

John Wood Group plc, the Aberdeen-based engineering and consulting giant, said on Friday its board unanimously rejected a third cash takeover proposal from Dubai-based firm Sidara….

Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn plc announced on Friday that group chief executive officer Stephen Bird will step down and that Jason Windsor, currently chief financial officer, has…

The chief executive of Edinburgh-based oil and gas firm Capricorn Energy told the firm’s AGM that Capricorn is continuing “to actively evaluate opportunities to create shareholder…

Baillie Gifford’s flagship investment trust, the £14 billion Scottish Mortgage fund, bounced back in the year to March 31, 2024, delivering a share price return…

About 89% of listed bank Virgin Money UK shareholders have voted in favour of a £2.9 billion cash takeover by mutually-owned Nationwide Building Society. The…

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday called a UK general election for July 4 — during the summer holidays of Scotland’s schools. Scotland’s First Minister…

A new census commissioned by Scottish Enterprise has revealed the national economic development agency is on track to meet the Scottish Government target of growing…

Grant Thornton’s Scotland Limited report for 2024 shows that Scotland’s top 100 private limited companies make reported revenue of £40 billion, EBITDA of £7 billion and…

Edinburgh and London-based private bank Hampden & Co has appointed Tracey Davidson of Handelsbanken UK as its new chief executive officer. She will replace Graeme Hartop,…

SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, said it swung to a pretax profit of £2.495 billion in the year ended March 31, 2024, from a…

Shares of Linlithgow-based telecoms testing and measurement firm Calnex Solutions plc fell as much as 12% after it reported results for the year ended March 31, 2024,…

Serica Energy plc, the independent upstream oil and gas company, announced that it has received final approval from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to…

A new report by Robert Gordon University (RGU) has revealed that the UK will fail to achieve a “just and fair” transition by 2030 unless…

The Scottish Government has announced a £5 million package it said will help deliver “end-to-end support” for Scotland’s start-up companies. “It forms part of an…

Scotland continues to attract the highest number of UK financial services foreign direct investment (FDI) projects outside of London, according to the latest EY Scotland…

Nearly 80% of tech industry bosses in Scotland have revealed they believe the sector will “grow rapidly” in the next five years. A report by…

Scotland attracted its highest ever number of international visitors last year, according to the 2023 International Passenger Survey by the Office of National Statistics. There…

Siemens Mobility, in a joint consortium with Bilfinger UK, has been awarded an 11-year contract extension for the maintenance of Edinburgh Trams infrastructure to 2035….

Chevron is planning to sell its remaining UK North Sea oil and gas assets in a move that would mark the US energy giant’s exit…

A renewables firm has submitted plans for a £130 million flexible energy battery storage park between Bathgate and Whitburn in West Lothian. South Lanarkshire-based OnPath…

Ports from across Scotland have launched the Scottish Offshore Wind Ports Alliance (SOWPA) — a forum of the country’s leading infrastructure facilities targeted at optimising…

More than 3,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs could be supported and £300 million generated for the UK economy through the establishment of a CO2 Transport…

John Wood Group plc, the Aberdeen-based engineering and consulting giant, said on Wednesday afternoon it rejected a slightly increased cash takeover proposal from Dubai-based firm Sidara….

Scotland’s councils faced a collective gap of up to £585 million between the money needed to deliver their services and the money available to them…

Weir Group, the Glasgow-based global mining and engineering FTSE 100 firm, announced that Nick Anderson has been appointed to its board as an independent non-executive…

Virgin Money UK PLC announced it has changed auditor amid its proposed £2.9 billion cash takeover by mutually-owned Nationwide Building Society. Virgin Money said it recently…

Amanda Young, chief sustainability oficer for the investment business of Abrdn, has left the company. On an interim basis, Dan Grandage, head of sustainable investing,…

SSEN Transmission announced it has selected Sumitomo Electric Industries and its subsea cable installation partner Van Oord Offshore Wind UK as preferred bidder for the…

Port of Aberdeen has announced a record-breaking financial performance for 2023, boosted by the opening of its South Harbour expansion. The new development attracted significant…

RWE, the giant German electricity generator and renewable energy firm, has announced a plan to develop a “groundbreaking” green hydrogen project at Grangemouth. RWE said…

There were 2.45 million payrolled employees in Scotland in April 2024, a rise of 6,000 compared with April 2023. That’s according to early seasonally adjusted…

The powerful Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) will visit Washington DC this week to lobby members of Congress — with 25 months still remaining to avoid the…

Entrepreneurs and innovators from across the Glasgow area have started gathering for the first-ever Tech Week in Scotland. Taking place May 13-18, Glasgow Tech Week…

The University of Glasgow said a £3 million grant will help it to build one of the UK’s most advanced research facilities for silicon chip integration…

Phoenix Group Holdings plc, owner of Standard Life, announced that Rakesh Thakrar will step down from his position as group chief financial officer (GCFO) at…

Haventus, the energy transition facilities firm and owner of Ardersier Port east of Inverness, said it has secured a £100 million joint credit facility from…

The headline Royal Bank of Scotland Business Activity Index rose from 53.6 in March to 53.8 in April, signalling the sharpest rise in Scottish private…

LGT Wealth Management announced that it has moved its Scotland office to a new headquarters in Edinburgh at Capital Square on Morrison Street, one of…

The University of Glasgow is to lead a consortium with support from the universities of Edinburgh, Sheffield, Stirling, Strathclyde, York and King’s College London to develop…