Scottish Financial Review

A record number of people in Scotland are in work, according to latest figures released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS). ” … early…

The Scottish private sector saw a second successive monthly rise in business activity in March, with underlying data showing quicker growth across both the manufacturing…

Plans that would enable local authorities to raise the amount of council tax paid on “empty and second homes” will be included in a new…

The EICC Edinburgh conference venue said it increased revenue 45% to £11.8 million in the year to December 31, 2022, with CEO Marshall Dallas noting…

Shares of Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz plc fell as much as 20% on Monday as it published a trading update for the financial year ended…

Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant Wood Group said on Monday it has extended the “put up or shut up” takeover offer deadline for New York-based…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has launched a campaign to “press the UK government to re-think the decision to increase duty on Scotch Whisky and…

Edinburgh-based global investment management partnership Baillie Gifford will appoint seven new partners from May 1, 2023. In total, the partnership will rise to 57. Baillie Gifford…

Social Investment Scotland (SIS) has appointed four new board members to support the organisation’s continued growth and ambition to develop Scotland’s “impact economy.” SIS said…

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) said its managing director Inglis Lyon has announced his intention to step down from this summer. HIAL is responsible for…

The UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) said it has fined Carlos Abarca, the former chief information officer (CIO) of TSB Bank plc, £81,620 over the…

Wealth management platform FNZ and Virgin Money have partnered to launch a new digital investment platform for UK retail investors. The service has been developed by…

World Rugby confirmed that John Jeffrey of the Scottish Rugby Union has been nominated in accordance with its bye-laws for the vacant position of the…

FTSE 100 CEO annual bonuses remained high in 2022 with a median pay out of 76% of the maximum award, according to a Deloitte report….

By Mark McSherry UK IPO proceeds in the first quarter of 2023 were 80% lower than the equivalent period in 2022, and 99% lower than…

Edinburgh-based Craneware plc, a provider of software for the US healthcare market, announced that it intends to commence a share buyback programme of £5 million immediately….

Shares of Glasgow-based cloud computing firm Iomart Group rose as much as 4% after it published a trading statement for the year ended March 31, 2023,…

The latest Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs showed that salaries for new permanent hires rose “rapidly” across Scotland in March amid “a further…

Hedge fund Marshall Wace has taken a £155.6 million short position against NatWest Group, the bank formerly known as  RBS. Bloomberg reported that the bet…

The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) announced that the amount of money raised by venture capital trusts (VCTs) in the 2022-23 tax year passed the £1…

Former Abrdn long-time executive Piers Currie, who went on to be a founder of specialist consultancy Warhorse Partners, has died. At the then Aberdeen Standard Investments, Currie’s…

The UK economy remains on course to suffer the sharpest contraction among the world’s advanced economies this year, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday,…

Glasgow-based agritech firm Solasta Bio has secured a further round of investment totalling £4 million to scale up the development of its nature-inspired pesticides. Solasta…

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said on Tuesday it has dismissed Tony Danker as director-general after an investigation into complaints of workplace misconduct —…

Investors withdrew a net £747 million out of their UK-focused equity funds in March, down from an average monthly outflow of £888 million between November…

John Leighton has announced that he is stepping down as director-general of the National Galleries of Scotland in February 2024. Leighton has been in the…

The Scottish Government’s tax changes came into effect on Thursday, with ministers claiming the move will raise £519 million in 2023-24. “Changes to income tax…

By Mark McSherry Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington — owner of Scotch whisky brands The Macallan, The Glenrothes, Highland Park and The Famous Grouse — announced that it…

Scotgold Resources Limited, which owns the Cononish Gold and Silver Mine near Tyndrum, said it has secured a $500,000 advance to assist with short-term working capital from…

North Berwick in East Lothian has retained its title as the most expensive seaside location in Scotland to buy a home, according to the latest…

The Scottish National Investment Bank said it has invested a further £20 million to help connect 100,000 rural homes to ultrafast fibre broadband. Lothian Broadband…

By Mark McSherry New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management said on Tuesday it has made a “final” and “possible offer” for Aberdeen-based global engineering…

Martin Currie, the global active equity specialist headquartered in Edinburgh that is part of the Franklin Templeton group, has bolstered its distribution team with the…

XPS Pensions Group has estimated that the aggregate surpluses of UK pension schemes more than halved over March to £25 billion. XPS, the pensions actuarial,…

Virgin Money said it has launched a new investment service in partnership with Abrdn “comprising a new digital platform with a range of straightforward investment…

Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, has announced that DSL Business Finance will be the Scottish Business Support Partner (BSP) for the…

Royal London, the UK’s largest life, pensions, and investment mutual, has agreed to acquire the individual protection line of business of Aegon UK, subject to court…

Whisky casks are continuing to outperform more traditional investment and alternative investment options including gold, according to the latest market report issued by investment experts…

Investment trust Greencoat UK Wind plc (UKW) said it has agreed to acquire Dalquhandy wind farm near Coalburn in South Lanarkshire from Germany-based renewable energy company BayWa…

UK Government Investments Ltd (UKGI) is extending a trading plan to help sell down the taxpayer’s stake in NatWest Group by another two years as it…

Stirling-based construction, development, infrastructure and support services firm Robertson Group said its revenue rose almost 5% to £616 million while profit before tax increased 21.3% to £20.5…

AMTE Power, the developer of lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells for specialist markets, announced it has agreed an unsecured £580,000 loan from Highlands and Islands…

House prices across the UK fell 3.1% year-on-year in March in the largest annual decline since July 2009, according to Nationwide. All regions of the…

Average farm income in Scotland is estimated to have been £50,000 in 2021-22 — an increase of over £11,000 on the previous year against the…

The chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) — the representative body for Scotland’s huge financial services industry — said SFE’s strategic ambition is for Scotland to…

ScottishPower announced it has formalised a £1.3 billion contract with Siemens Gamesa — the highest value contract ever awarded by the Glasgow company — for 95…

Real estate data analytics platform Utopi said it will create 50 new jobs after securing £5 million of funding from the Scottish National Investment Bank. The…

BrewDog co-founder James Watt announced he is putting up £5 million of his own money to launch a competition to find the next “unicorn” company….

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…