Scottish Financial Review

UPDATE 3 — The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (RBS) said on Thursday that CEO Chris Marks and CFO Richard Place have stepped down…

The total value of private equity deals in Scotland rose 5% in 2019 to £2.3 billion. That’s according to latest figures from the Centre for…

Shares of Elgin-based Springfield Properties, which is building a number of new communities throughout Scotland, rose another 8% on Wednesday as it announced its 3,042-home village…

UPDATE 3 — The Scottish Government’s Transport Secretary Michael Matheson told MSPs on Wednesday that Abellio’s contract to run ScotRail services “is expected to come…

Edinburgh-based craft beer company Innis & Gunn announced on Tuesday that Heriot-Watt University’s Research Park on the west edge of Edinburgh — home to the International…

Royal Bank of Scotland is planning to close its massive office at Drummond House in the Gyle business park in west Edinburgh and relocate around…

Edinburgh-based fund management giant Standard Life Aberdeen plc said on Tuesday Rod Paris will step down as an executive director from its board on December…

The number of long term empty properties and second homes in Scotland rose in the latest year by 1,260 to 65,277, the third consecutive annual…

Shares of Elgin-based Springfield Properties, which is building a number of new communities throughout Scotland, have risen about 15% in the past few days thanks to…

Scotgold Resources Limited said on Monday that first production at its Cononish Gold and Silver Mine near Tyndrum has been delayed by 12 weeks until…

UPDATE 3 — Aberdeen-based global bus and rail giant FirstGroup plc, under pressure from activist investors, said on Monday it appointed advisors to “formally explore…

Wealth management firm St. James’s Place said it will acquire Policy Services Ltd (PSL), the Linlithgow based financial advice firm. “PSL has been a longstanding…

Glasgow-based global engineering giant Weir Group has announced changes to its group executive including two new appointments that strengthen the firm’s focus on sustainability and…

Shares of banks, utilities, transport companies and property firms were among the biggest winners in Friday’s UK stock market rally on the back of the…

UK shares and the pound rose on Friday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative party secured a resounding general election victory that could clear the…

Community Ownership is growing in Scotland, especially in the Western Isles, Highland and Argyll and Bute areas. That’s according to the Community Ownership in Scotland…

The £1.3 billion Edinburgh Investment Trust said on Wednesday it has replaced Invesco’s Mark Barnett as its investment manager with Majedie Asset Management after “another…

UPDATE 3 — Shares of Perth-based transport giant Stagecoach Group rose about 9% on Wednesday after the firm said its founders — Brian Souter and…

The number of homes sold for £1 million or more in Scotland rose 21% year-on-year in the first half of 2019, compared to an increase…

Souter Investments, the family investment office of Stagecoach Group founder Brian Souter, said on Tuesday it completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Staffordshire-based information…

Edinburgh-based Menzies Aviation, the global aviation logistics specialist, on Tuesday announced contract wins and renewals in Sweden, Norway, Romania and Amsterdam. The firm announced a…

Perth-based energy giant SSE plc on Tuesday welcomed the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s decision to clear the proposed £500 million sale of SSE Energy…

Shares of Glasgow-based DeepMatter Group plc, the AIM-listed company focusing on digitizing chemistry, soared almost 70% on Monday after it announced a collaboration with AstraZeneca….

Permanent staff placements rose for the first time in five months in November to provide a tentative sign of recovery in Scottish labour market conditions,…

Closed life and pension fund consolidator Phoenix Group Holdings plc, owner of Edinburgh-based Standard Life Assurance, on Friday agreed to buy ReAssure, the British business…

Investors have withdrawn tens of millions from a Standard Life Aberdeen UK property fund following the suspension of an M&G fund earlier this week, according…

Spending by FTSE 350 firms on Defined Benefit (DB) pensions has fallen from £19 billion to £15 billion according to analysis in Hymans Robertson’s 2019…

ScottishPower has announced a new hybrid technology strategy to “maximise onshore renewable energy potential in the UK and Ireland” which will see the company construct…

M&G Investments on Wednesday suspended dealing in its £2.5 billion open-ended UK property fund as it blamed Brexit uncertainty for an increase in requests from…

Shares of embattled Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz fell about 9% on Wednesday after it published results for the six months ended September 30, 2019. Quiz…

Aegon Asset Management said it will “retire” its Edinburgh-based Kames Capital brand in 2020 as it plans to integrate its European and US businesses “and…

Edinburgh-based fund management giant Standard Life Aberdeen said it plans to sell yet another portion of its stake in Indian financial group HDFC for as…

Marlowe plc said on Tuesday it acquired Glasgow-based Law At Work (Holdings) Limited for an initial consideration of £6.3 million. Law At Work is a…

Shares of West of Shetland oil and gas explorer Hurricane Energy have fallen about 25% in the past two days after its final drilling report for…

Scottish Widows is to provide investment of £40 million to Port of Leith Housing Association to boost plans to create more than 650 social and mid-market…

Entertainment, leisure and sports venue consultancy Lothian Leisure Development Ltd (LLD) on Monday announced a partnership with Birmingham-based NEC Group to deliver a new privately-funded…

Lena Wilson, one of Scotland’s most experienced business leaders, has been appointed as the new chair at Edinburgh-based accountancy firm Chiene + Tait. Wilson spent…

French state-owned energy company EDF said on Thursday it has launched the construction of the £2 billion Neart na Gaoithe wind farm off the coast…

Shares of Edinburgh-based aviation services company John Menzies plc rose about 6% on Thursday after it announced a trading update for the July 1, 2019, to…

UPDATE 2 — Shares of Virgin Money UK, formerly called CYBG, soared about 20% on Thursday after the bank said it believed the worst of…

The latest Scottish Property Federation (SPF) analysis of commercial property sales figures shows a rebound in the total value of sales in Scotland in the…

The chairman of Aberdeen Standard Equity Income Trust plc described its annual performance for the year to September 30 as a “very poor result” and…

Royal Bank of Scotland group’s NatWest has launched its standalone digital bank Bó in a plan to meet competition from online start-ups. The Bó app…

Glasgow-based cloud computing firm Iomart Group plc said on Wednesday its first-half revenue rose 8% to £55.1 million and profit before tax rose 15% to £8.4…

Edinburgh-based oil and gas company Cairn Energy said on Wednesday it agreed to dispose of Capricorn Norge AS, its subsidiary in Norway. “With effect from…

A new report has forecast that expenditure for North Sea decommissioning work will be £15.2 billion over the next 10 years. The 2019 Decommissioning Insight report was…

Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) private placement debt team has lent £65 million to the City of London Corporation. The investment was undertaken on behalf of…

Aberdeen-based mechanical and electrical services company EnerMech announced on Monday the appointment of industry heavyweight Christian Brown as its new chief executive officer, effective January…

UPDATE 2 — TSB bank’s new CEO Debbie Crosbie on Monday outlined her three-year strategy “to restore the bank’s competitiveness through a relentless focus on…

TSB bank has been hit by yet another IT glitch just days after the firm and its Spanish parent Sabadell were mauled by law firm…

London-based Brooks Macdonald Group plc said it agreed to acquire Edinburgh-based asset manager Cornelian Asset Managers Group Limited from its shareholders, including senior management. “The…

New research by Family Business United (FBU) shows that the top 100 family businesses in Scotland collectively generate turnover of £20 billion, create £1.3 billion…

Trade conflicts, weak business investment and political uncertainty are weighing on the world economy and raising the risk of long-term stagnation, according to the OECD’s latest…

The North Sea oil and gas industry has huge potential to play a significant role in the energy transition and set a precedent for facilitating…

The Edinburgh and Lothians area of Scotland saw the highest increase in private rents for two-bedroom properties in the nine years from 2010 to 2019,…

The value of Scotland’s residential property market is on course to top £18 billion for the second consecutive year – despite anxiety over Brexit. New…

The massive IT crash at TSB bank last year was caused by moving to a new banking platform before it had been properly tested, an…

Edinburgh-based financial sector recruitment and headhunting company Core-Asset Consulting said on Monday it has recorded its best ever set of annual results. Core-Asset said it…

Aberdeen-based global bus and rail giant FirstGroup plc has come under new pressure from two of its shareholders to sell more of its US assets…

Global wealth grew 2.6% in the past year to $360 trillion and wealth per adult reached a record high of $70,850, according to the tenth…

Global debt surged by $7.5 trillion in the first half of 2019, hitting a new record of over $250 trillion, said a new report from…

Scottish investment veteran Willie Watt has been appointed the first chair of the board of the new Scottish National Investment Bank, which will be operational…

Edinburgh-based fund management giant Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) said on Thursday meetings it has held with major shareholders over its directors’ remuneration are proving “valuable…

UPDATE 3 — Shares of Aberdeen-based transport giant FirstGroup fell about 20% on Thursday after it reported an increased first-half loss amid a £124 million…

Perth-based energy giant SSE plc on Wednesday warned of challenges for energy firms due to the UK election next month and the Labour Party’s plans to…

Digital bank account provider Revolut has confirmed long-standing speculation by announcing it has appointed former Standard Life Aberdeen co-chief executive Martin Gilbert as its chairman….

Shares of Edinburgh-based healthcare software firm rose almost 4% on Tuesday as it reported “good progress” at its AGM and it said Will Whitehorn, Richard Branson’s…

Glasgow-based Aggreko, the world’s largest temporary power firm, said on Tuesday its revenue was down 8% for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 — but…

Private sector business activity in Scotland declined for the first time in five months in October as service sector growth eased and the manufacturing downturn…

Israel’s Delek Group said its Ithaca Energy subsidiary, which it plans to spin off in a London stock market listing, completed a deal to buy…