Scottish Financial Review

By Mark McSherry Scottish biotechnology company TC BioPharm (TCB) saw its shares fall heavily in its first full week of trading as a listed company…

Investment into Scottish commercial property reached £2.2 billion in 2021 according to the latest Scotland Snapshot from Colliers. That’s up from the £1.4 billion recorded…

Martin Gilbert’s investment firm AssetCo plc has announced results for the year ended September 30, 2021, during which it grew its assets under management from zero to…

NatWest Group plc — the bank formerly known as RBS — has reported pre-tax profit of £4 billion for the 2021 calendar year compared to a…

Perth-based SSE plc was the biggest winner after the UK Government awarded about £375 million of contracts at record high prices to power plant owners to…

Shares of Edinburgh-based aviation logistics giant John Menzies plc soared about 25% on Thursday to around £5.84 after Kuwait-based airport services firm National Aviation Services…

Salmon Scotland announced that sales of salmon in UK shops soared to £1.1 billion last year. “UK market demand over 2021 saw fresh, chilled salmon…

Ryanair has announced an investment of over $1 billion at Edinburgh Airport that will support 300 aviation jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs — and unveiled its…

Global institutional pension fund assets in the 22 largest markets (the P22) reached a record $56.6 trillion at the end of 2021, according to the…

M&G Real Estate and its property development partner Qmile Group announced they have pre-let all 390,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation at the £350…

The Scottish market for homes worth over £1 million witnessed an “unprecedented level of activity” in 2021, according to Rettie, with a record 419 such…

Baillie Gifford has ranked first in the 2022 FE fundinfo Alpha Manager List with a total of 13 of its fund managers making the prestigious…

Citigroup’s Scottish CEO Jane Fraser received total compensation of $22.5 million for 2021, the company said in a regulatory filing. “The compensation committee determined that…

French reinsurer SCOR has announced a £5.5 billion “longevity transaction” with Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees. Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) is the owner of Bank…

John Menzies plc, the Edinburgh-based aviation logistics giant, said it has engaged with its shareholders following its board’s unanimous rejection of the roughly £469 million…

Scotland’s private equity market saw a record number of mid-market deals in 2021 despite total investment still falling short of pre-pandemic values, according to new…

A “massive” shortfall of candidates and pressure to significantly increase salaries and perks “makes grim reading” for financial services sector businesses in Scotland, according to…

Baillie Gifford legendary investor James Anderson has said fund management “has inherently become inward looking” too often obsessed with share buybacks and dividends. Anderson said…

Baillie Gifford investment trust Scottish American Investment Company (SAINTS) saw its assets top £1 billion at the end of the year to December 31, 2021, as…

Analysts at London stockbroker and corporate adviser Numis have urged Abrdn shareholders to “carefully consider how they vote” at the March 15 meeting to approve…

Celtic plc said on Friday its revenue increased 29.9% to £52.9 million in the six months to December 31, 2021, and profit before taxation was…

Scottish salmon exports recovered to near-record figures in 2021, according to new figures released by the UK Government on Friday. Reinforcing its place as the…

The value of global exports of Scotch Whisky grew 19% to £4.51 billion in 2021, according to figures released on Friday by the Scotch Whisky…

International real estate consultancy Avison Young has released its latest quarterly Big Nine office market update — showing Edinburgh and Glasgow experienced a strong finish…

Permanent staff appointments in Scotland increased at a near-record pace in January, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs from IHS…

NatWest Group — the bank formerly known as RBS — has announced the appointment of Raghu Narula as Managing Director, Customer Engagement & Distribution, within…

Macquarie Asset Management’s Goodstone Living said it has acquired its second site for a build-to-rent development in Edinburgh. The 2.5-acre consented site is expected to…

Abrdn’s core infrastructure investment team has announced the first closing of its third core/core+ infrastructure fund, Aberdeen Standard Core Infrastructure Fund III, with commitments totalling…

Shares of Alva-based Omega Diagnostics Group fell another 25% on Thursday after it confirmed speculation that it has conditional investor support for an equity fundraising…

Craft gin and Scotch whisky company Eden Mill St Andrews has announced a newly created board of directors following the recent move by Edinburgh-based specialist consumer…

SSE Renewables announced it has completed its agreement to sell a 10% interest in the giant Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm to Eni for…

SSE, the Perth-based renewable energy and power networks giant, announced that former Barrick Gold and Blackrock executive Catherine Raw will join the company as managing…

Kuwait-based airport services firm National Aviation Services (NAS) claimed on Thursday its roughly £469 million takeover approach for Edinburgh-based rival John Menzies plc “represents a compelling…

Edinburgh-based fintech lending platform LendingCrowd said it has closed a £100 million funding deal with Barclays Bank and a “large global investment firm” to support SMEs…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn said on Wednesday its assets under management and administration (AUMA) at December 31, 2021, increased to £542 billion, compared with £535…

Glasgow-based cloud computing firm Iomart Group has bolstered its senior management team with the appointment of Ben Savage “to accelerate sales execution” in the role…

Forth Ports, which owns and operates eight commercial ports across the UK, has announced the acquisition of Dundee-based specialist heavy lift plant firm OMHL. “This acquisition…

Royal London said on Wednesday its discussions on a potential merger with mutual life insurer LV= — formerly known as Liverpool Victoria — have ceased. Royal…

Edinburgh-based aviation logistics giant John Menzies plc said on Wednesday it has turned down a “preliminary and unsolicited” takeover proposal worth roughly £469 million in…

Beeks Financial Cloud Group Plc, the Glasgow-based connectivity provider for financial markets, announced the signing of a £2.5 million contract extension over three years “with an…

Flaws found in the way that Scottish Canals recorded and valued its assets meant that auditors could not give an opinion on its accounts, according to…

River & Mercantile Asset Management announced on Tuesday that Dan Hanbury is to leave the firm both as a partner and a portfolio manager. Martin…

Investec has provided Clyde Munro Dental Group with a further £25 million of financing to help the firm make acquisitions – taking its investment in Scotland’s…

Perth-based renewable energy and power networks giant SSE — the biggest listed company run from Scotland — on Tuesday upgraded its expectations for full-year 2021-22…

The value of mergers, acquisitions and share deals involving Scottish registered corporates soared from £4.9 billion in 2020 to £16.4 billion in 2021, according to…

Edinburgh-based TV advertising analytics firm TVSquared has been acquired by New York-based Innovid in a cash and stock transaction valued at $160 million. TVSquared CEO Calum Smeaton…

Royal London confirmed on Monday it has had “initial, exploratory discussions” with mutual life insurer LV= — formerly known as Liverpool Victoria — about a potential merger….

Beverly Hills-based international real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson said it has acquired Waverleygate, the historic prime office building opposite the Balmoral Hotel in central…

The UK’s Investment Association (IA) has revealed that savers invested £43.4 billion in retail funds in 2021 — the second best year on record behind…

Scottish Widows — part of Lloyds Banking Group — announced it will invest up to £25 billion in companies leading on decarbonisation and climate solutions…

Edinburgh investment firm Abrdn announced that Sarah Deaves has joined its Personal Wealth business as head of financial planning from Schroders Personal Wealth. Deaves will…

Edinburgh-based asset management giant Baillie Gifford survived a downturn in its fortunes in the final quarter of 2021 to cling on to top spot in…

The angel investment market in Scotland rebounded in 2021 as deals led by angel syndicate members of LINC Scotland secured a record £146 million funding for…

Beeks Financial Cloud Group Plc, the Glasgow-based connectivity provider for financial markets, has announced the signing of a $2.2 million contract over four years for its…

PwC announced it is set to recruit more than 100 people into its growing financial services practice in Scotland. “Representing a 10% uplift in PwC’s…

Virgin Money, the banking group formerly known as CYBG, said its unsecured lending grew 3% to £5.6 billion in the three months to December 31,…

A.G. Barr, the Cumbernauld-based maker of Irn-Bru, Rubicon energy drinks and Funkin cocktail mixers, said on Tuesday its revenue for the 53-week financial year to January…

Edinburgh investment giant Abrdn has invested in Dott, a European e-scooters and e-bikes company, which has announced a $70 million extension to its Series B…

Newton Investment Management, part of BNY Mellon Investment Management, announced it hired veteran Scottish fund manager David Cumming and Abrdn portfolio manager Georgina Cooper for its…

SSEN Transmission — the electricity transmission owner for the north of Scotland — welcomed Monday’s publication by National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) of this…

Oil & Gas UK (OGUK), the powerful representative body for the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry, said on Monday it is expanding to include the low-carbon offshore energy technologies that…

Edinburgh-based Craneware, a provider of software for the US healthcare market, said on Monday its revenue increased 110% to $80 million in the six months ended…

Shares of Alva-based Omega Diagnostics Group fell another 25% on Monday after it confirmed it is in discussions “with certain investors and shareholders” regarding a…

Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has advertised a new executive role called “Executive Dean of the Edinburgh Business School & School of Social Sciences.” Heriot-Watt said…

Edinburgh investment giant Abrdn confirmed on Friday that it sold 39.98 million of its 144 million shares in life and pensions consolidator Phoenix Group Holdings…

The Scottish National Investment Bank has committed £30 million of funding for the expansion of Aberdeen Harbour, the largest marine infrastructure project in the UK….

Glasgow-based Smart Metering Systems plc (SMS) has announced that CEO Alan Foy will step down as chief executive officer and as an executive director of SMS…

Ineos announced it is taking the next significant step in its plan to convert its Grangemouth petrochemicals plant and oil refinery to run on hydrogen at…

Growth investor BGF said it invested almost £60 million in the Scottish growth economy in the last 12 months – more than double the previous…

The Scottish Government announced it will utilise the Scotland Reserve to give local authorities an extra £120 million next year in an attempt to avoid big…