Scottish Financial Review

Scotch Whisky tourism saw record numbers of visitors in 2018, with more than two million visits to Scotch Whisky distilleries from tourists for the first…

UPDATE 3 — The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Friday it fined Bank of Scotland (BOS) £45.5 million for failures to disclose information…

Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington — owner of Scotch whisky brands The Macallan, Highland Park and The Famous Grouse — said its “core” revenue rose 9% to £679.8 million…

The Auditor General for Scotland has warned that the Scottish Government needs to show greater strategic leadership across the public sector to achieve its digital…

The Scottish economy grew for the ninth consecutive quarter, according to the latest GDP figures. The latest figures show the Scottish economy grew by 0.5%…

Glasgow-based banking group CYBG confirmed on Wednesday it will retire its 175-year-old Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank brands and rename itself Virgin Money UK by the…

Royal London Mutual Insurance Society confirmed on Wednesday that former Standard Life Aberdeen executive Barry O’Dwyer has been appointed its group chief executive subject to…

Aberdeen-based engineering and oil services giant Wood plc said on Tuesday it has been awarded a contract with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)…

Intelligent Growth Solutions Ltd (IGS), the Scotland-based “vertical farm” technology business, announced on Tuesday a £5.4 million Series A funding round led by US-based S2G…

Troubled East Kilbride-based Goals Soccer Centres plc said on Tuesday it is in the process of engaging Deloitte LLP “to work alongside its current advisors…

Derby-based Mortgage Advice Bureau plc (MAB) said on Tuesday it agreed to acquire 80% of Edinburgh-based First Mortgage Direct Ltd for an initial £16.5 million,…

NatWest Holdings, a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, said on Tuesday it appointed Marieke Flament as the first chief executive officer of Mettle,…

Sotheby’s announced on Monday it signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by French-Israeli telecom titan and art collector…

Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc said the completion of the merger of Alawwal Bank and Saudi British Bank would release capital that will have…

UPDATE 4 — The UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fair Business Banking (APPG) on Thursday dismissed as a “whitewash” the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) final…

Scotland’s Chief Statistician on Thursday released the latest Council Tax Collection Statistics for Scottish local authorities, up to and including the financial year 2018-19. “In…

The Scottish Government said on Thursday that Glasgow Prestwick Airport will be advertised for sale as it looks to return the facility to the private…

Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, announced on Wednesday that Paul Grice, chief executive of the Scottish Parliament, will be appointed as the University’s new principal…

The value of Scottish residential property sales in the financial year 2018-19 rose 1.6% to £18.2 billion, according to latest statistics from Registers of Scotland’s Property…

Scottish IT consultancy ECS Group said on Wednesday that ECS Security, its cyber-security arm, has completed a management buyout (MBO), supported by private equity firm…

French oil and gas giant Total said it has started up production from the giant Culzean gas field 45 miles east of Aberdeen in the North…

Shares of troubled Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz fell more than 20% on Tuesday after it said profit before tax for the year to March 31 fell…

J Sainsbury plc said on Tuesday it appointed former RBS executive Jim Brown as chief executive officer of Edinburgh-based Sainsbury’s Bank, subject to regulatory approval….

Glasgow-based cloud computing firm Iomart Group plc said on Tuesday its annual revenue exceeded £100 million for the first time in the year to March 31….

Private sector output in Scotland declined during May for the fifth time in the last six months, reversing the modest pick-up in activity seen in…

EasyJet has awarded Edinburgh-based Menzies Aviation a new long term ground handling contract at the airline’s base in London Luton Airport. The contract will see…

Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) said on Monday it has completed a €25 million investment in Immedis, a specialist provider of enterprise technology services for global…

Scottish Property Federation (SPF) analysis of commercial property sales during the first quarter of 2019 reveals that total the value of sales in Scotland fell by 21% (£203m) to…

Cumbernauld-based Irn-Bru maker A.G. Barr said on Friday it will invest an initial £1 million for a 20% minority stake in start-up business Elegantly Spirited Limited, owner…

A new South of Scotland Enterprise Agency designed to boost the region’s economy will be up and running in eight months’ time, the Scottish Government…

The value of Scottish goods exported outwith the UK increased by 12.9% (£3.8 billion) to £32.8 billion in the year ending March 2019. This was…

M&G Prudential said on Thursday it will move 400 jobs to Edinburgh as part of a “a UK-wide location strategy.” M&G Prudential said it will…

UPDATE 2 — Edinburgh-based John Menzies plc, the global airport services firm, said on Thursday that following a full search process, interim CEO Giles Wilson has…

UPDATE 3 — The proposed new Scottish Stock Exchange said on Thursday it will locate its headquarters at 39 George Street, Edinburgh, after signing an…

Booming overseas sales of Scotch whisky and Scottish salmon helped first quarter UK food and drink exports increased by 10.7% to £5.8 billion, almost twice…

West of Shetland oil and gas explorer Hurricane Energy plc said on Wednesday it has achieved “First Oil” at its important Lancaster field. Lancaster is…

The Director-General for Organisational Development and Operations at the Scottish Government Sarah Davidson is to become chief executive officer of The Carnegie UK Trust. The…

Italian aerospace and defence firm Leonardo’s research and development hub at Crewe Toll in Edinburgh has been sold by Brockton Capital to unnamed South Korean…

Standard Life Aberdeen director Melanie Gee is to join healthcare investment trust company Syncona Limited as a non-executive director and chair-designate with immediate effect. Gee…

Scotland’s public spending watchdog has warned that most Scottish colleges are forecasting deficits in the next five years as the gap between their income and…

Edinburgh-based fund management giant Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited announced on Tuesday the establishment of a joint venture that…

By Mark McSherry Aberdeen-based international bus and rail giant FirstGroup said on Tuesday it has granted activist shareholder Coast Capital Management the extraordinary general meeting…

Grangemouth refinery operator Ineos said on Monday it will invest $2 billion to build three plants that would form part of petrochemical complex being developed…

Greencoat UK Wind plc (UKW), the listed renewable infrastructure fund invested in operating wind farms, said it has raised £375 million via its share issuance…

The latest annual Football Distress Report by corporate insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor has found that none of Scotland’s league football clubs are showing serious signals…

The Scottish Government “will need to manage volatility” in its budget as the devolution of tax and spending powers becomes fully operational, according to the…

UPDATE 4 — Shares of Aberdeen-based international bus and rail giant FirstGroup rose on Thursday after it said it will sell its Dallas-based Greyhound bus business…

Buccleuch — one of Scotland’s biggest private landowners — said on Thursday it intends to sell a substantial landholding in the Scottish Borders, including Langholm Moor….

Aberdeen-based oil and gas operator Ithaca Energy, owned by Israel’s Delek Group, said on Thursday it will acquire Chevron North Sea Limited (CNSL) for $2 billion….

The number of overseas workers in Scotland has fallen for the first time in five years, statistics from the Annual Population Survey 2018 have revealed….

The 30th Oil and Gas survey has revealed that around 45% of North Sea oil and gas contractors have increased investment spend in the UK…

The Scottish Government has published legislation for the framework to hold another independence referendum, including the provision to set the date, question and timeframe. Scotland’s…

Dundee-based Alliance Trust plc, the £3 bilion global investment trust (closed end fund), announced on Tuesday it appointment of Hermes Equity Ownership Services (HEOS) to…

A public consultation has started on a draft corporate plan for new Scottish Government agency Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing…

Celtic plc said on Tuesday it has become the first Scottish football club to be ranked amongst the most prominent European teams in an annual…

East Kilbride-based Goals Soccer Centres plc said on Tuesday it appointed forensic accountants alongside its auditors “to investigate and report on historic accounting policies and practices…

UPDATE 2 — Souter Investments, the family investment office of Stagecoach Group founder Brian Souter, announced that its Falkirk-based global bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis (ADL) has…

UPDATE 1 — Perth-based bus and rail giant Stagecoach Group plc said on Friday it is taking legal action against the UK’S Department for Transport…

Edinburgh-based John Menzies plc, the global airport services firm, said on Thursday it appointed private equity fund manager Christian Kappelhoff-Wulff to its board and formed two…

Aberdeen Standard Investments said it exchanged contracts to sell the central Edinburgh development that includes parent firm Standard Life Aberdeen’s HQ to German pension fund…

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has rejected calls to divest from oil and gas companies but said it recognised “that the world…

Aberdeenshire-based craft brewing firm BrewDog has been named the UK’s fastest growing brand — up 89% since last year to a value of £1.2 billion —…

TSB’s new CEO Debbie Crosbie has rung the changes with the appointment of two new senior executives as the bank steps up its turnaround programme…

The Scotch Whisky industry expects to see “significant growth” in exports to India, China and Brazil in the coming years to augment established growing markets…

Perth-based energy giant SSE plc said on Wednesday it has created a new, separate, board for its household supply business SSE Energy Services ahead of…

Perth-based energy giant SSE said on Wednesday its reported profit before tax for the year to March 31, 2019, rose 59% to 1.37 billion, boosted…

Scottish fintech lending platform LendingCrowd said on Tuesday it brought together the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) – the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise – and…

Glasgow-based media firm STV Group plc said Lindsay Dixon joined STV as chief financial officer on Tuesday. Dixon previously worked at Johnston Press, Deloitte, Weir Group…

Edinburgh-based Tesco Bank announced on Tuesday it has ceased new mortgage lending and is “actively exploring options” to sell its existing mortgage portfolio which currently…

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said on Monday it will “fully investigate suggestions of alleged industry wrongdoing” by BBC programme Panorama about Scotland’s salmon…