Scottish Financial Review

Glasgow-based mobile power giant Aggreko plc — bought in 2021 by private equity firms TDR Capital LLP and I Squared Capital — said on Friday it…

ITV on Thursday announced an “enhanced strategic partnership” with STV, extending content sharing and advertising arrangements between the two television broadcasters. STV’s streaming service, STV…

Glasgow-based global intellectual property law firm Murgitroyd Group announce the acquisition of specialist UK-based IP firm Turnbull Lynch Intellectual Property (TLIP). Its fourth acquisition inside two years, the…

Aberdeen-based mechanical engineering group EnerMech announced it has acquired Stork Australia and New Zealand for an undisclosed sum as part of its strategic plan “to add…

DEAG Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft of Germany has confirmed that it acquired a majority stake in Scottish event promoter Regular Music through its UK subsidiary Kilimanjaro…

Shares of Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant John Wood Group rose as much as 8% on Thursday after former Elliot Management activist fund manager…

Defined Benefit (DB) pension scheme members in the UK could benefit from a 5% uplift in their pension benefit if the corporate sponsor defers buy-out…

Hiring activity fell across Scotland again in November amid candidate shortages, greater economic uncertainty and strong cost pressures, according to the latest Royal Bank of…

An advert for BrewDog has been banned by the the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) over a “tongue-in-cheek” claim that its fruit-flavoured beers constitute “one of…

Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz plc said its revenues increased 37% to £49.4 million in the six months ended September 30, 2022, and it made profit before tax…

Perth-based transport giant Stagecoach, now owned by German asset manager DWS, said its revenue rose almost 16% to £669.6 million and adjusted profit before taxation rose…

By Mark McSherry — Baillie Gifford’s £2.3 billion Monks Investment Trust plc said it made a loss on investments of £164.1 million in a “disappointing” six months…

By Mark McSherry — Martin Gilbert’s AssetCo has announced plans to bring together its four active equity asset management subsidiaries under its River and Mercantile brand….

By Mark McSherry — Abrdn announced it has provided £98 million of private placement debt to EnBW, one of the largest utility companies in Germany and…

Aberdeen-based North Star said it has secured a £140 million financing package to support the next phase of its offshore wind growth plan as it looks…

Arizona-based Mangata Networks, a satellite-enabled cloud services company, announced it has chosen Scotland as the location for its research and development activities as well as…

By Mark McSherry — Phoenix Group Holdings plc announced on Tuesday that it expects to deliver £1.2 billion of incremental new business long-term cash generation in…

Glasgow-based cloud computing firm Iomart Group said on Tuesday it expects revenues for the year ending March 31, 2023, will be ahead of the firm’s…

The £453 million Aberdeen New India Investment Trust said its net asset value increased 5.9%, in total return terms, in the “turbulent” six months to September 30,…

A.G. Barr, the Cumbernauld-based maker of Irn-Bru, Rubicon energy drinks and Funkin cocktail mixers, announced the acquisition of Leeds-based Boost Drinks, an established branded drinks business,…

Abrdn confirmed on Friday that Ralph Bassett, its head of US equities, is leaving the firm. “We can confirm that Ralph Bassett has decided to…

Celtic plc announced the appointment of its former CEO Peter Lawwell, 63, as its new non-executive chairman and a director of the company. Celtic’s principal shareholder…

Screen Scotland announced it has purchased the intellectual property (IP) of the Edinburgh International Film Festival from FRP Advisory, administrators of the Centre for the…

By Mark McSherry — Abrdn and the John Lewis Partnership have announced a joint venture to build 1,000 new homes in three build-to-rent schemes in London…

The Scottish Government spent £49.2 billion against a budget of £51.2 billion in 2021-22. “The total outturn underspend of £1,988 million does not represent a…

Real estate adviser Savills said the number of office lettings to complete in Glasgow in the first three quarters of 2022 reached 84, the biggest…

Thurso-based battery cell developer AMTE Power plc has reported a loss after tax of £5.8 million for the year to June 30, 2022, which it…

FTSE Russell has confirmed that Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn and Glasgow-based global engineering and mining group Weir Group, two of Scotland’s biggest companies,  will return…

SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, said on Wednesday it has completed the sale of a 25% minority stake in its electricity transmission network business SSEN Transmission…

By Mark McSherry — The £275 million Baillie Gifford UK Growth Trust plc reported that its net asset value (NAV) total return per share declined by 10.9%…

By Mark McSherry — Crown Estate Scotland’s 2021-22 annual report shows that the value of the Scottish Crown Estate has risen about 25% to £568.2 million. The report…

Shares of Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant John Wood Group fell as much as 12% on Tuesday as it held a capital markets day…

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it has published final rules for a redress scheme for former members of the British Steel Pension Scheme…

Edinburgh-based Circularity Capital announced it has continued to build its portfolio of European growth-stage businesses accelerating the circular economy with a £10 million investment in Advanced…

Glasgow-based sausage skin and food collagen products firm Devro said on Friday it has agreed to a takeover by German food manufacturing company Saria SE & Co…

By Mark McSherry — SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, confirmed on Friday it has reached agreement to sell a 25% minority stake in its electricity transmission network…

Macfarlane Group, the Glasgow-based packaging, design and distribution firm, said its sales revenue in the year-to-date is 11% ahead of the same period last year,…

Glasgow-based DeepMatter Group plc, the AIM-listed digital chemistry data and software company, has proposed to leave the stock market and become a private limited company to…

Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board is emerging as a frontrunner to acquire a stake in SSE’s multibillion-pound electricity networks, according to a Bloomberg report. The…

Media investment firm National World Plc — publisher of The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post — announced on Wednesday that it now has “no intention…

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the Scottish government cannot hold a second referendum on independence without approval from the UK parliament. The judgment was…

Equity investment levels in Scotland’s smaller businesses continued to rise during the first half of 2022, according to new research published as part of the…

Over 2,000 North Sea wells involved in oil and gas extraction are to be decommissioned at a cost of around £20 billion over the next…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn and Glasgow-based global engineering and mining group Weir Group, two of Scotland’s biggest companies and employers, are currently strong contenders to return to…

Linlithgow-based telecoms testing and measurement firm Calnex Solutions plc said it grew revenues by 38% to £12.7 million and profit before tax by 34% to £3.1 million…

The £370 million Baillie Gifford European Growth Trust announced its net asset value per share (NAV) total return was -40.4% for the year to September 30,…

By Mark McSherry — Souter Investments, the private equity focussed family investment office of Stagecoach founder Brian Souter, has announced continued strong performance and growth in…

Shares of Virgin Money UK rose about 13% on Monday after it announced its annual results and extended its share buyback programme to repurchase up to…

Edinburgh-based ready meals firm Parsley Box Group plc has proposed the cancellation of its ordinary shares trading on the AIM stock market and the re-registration of the…

Audit Scotland has warned that faster reform of Scotland’s public sector is needed to protect services in the long term. “The Scottish Government is facing…

UK finance minister Jeremy Hunt on Thursday announced a number of tax increases and proposed tighter public spending in his £55 billion Autumn budget plan….

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), a UK government agency, has forecast that living standards in the UK will fall 7% over two years, wiping out eight…

Thurso-based battery cell developer AMTE Power plc announced the appointment of Anita Breslin to its board as chief financial officer (CFO). Breslin will join the AMTE…

SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, said on Wednesday it invested almost four times as much as it made in profits in the first half of…

Heart of Midlothian Football Club announced that it has returned to “pre-pandemic levels of financial strength” as it posted an operational profit of £3 million…

BAE Systems said the UK Ministry of Defence has awarded it a £4.2 billion contract to manufacture the next five City Class Type 26 frigates for…

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has appointed HSBC’s head of strategy Chirantan Barua to be the next chief executive officer of Scottish Widows and LBG’s wider insurance,…

Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) has warned that oil and gas companies risk being “driven out” of investing in UK waters if UK finance minister Jeremy…

A new economic impact assessment by Biggar Economics showed the activities of the University of Dundee supported £1.6 billion Gross Value Added  (GVA) and 16,070…

Abrdn CEO Stephen Bird has responded to allegations that he has an aggressive management style. “What you see is what you get from me,” said Bird…

Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant John Wood Group said it has agreed to settle its legacy lawsuit with Enterprise Products Operating LLC for $115…

The latest Royal Bank of Scotland Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data shows that that contraction across Scotland’s private sector firms deepened during October. The report’s Business…

By Mark McSherry — The half-year report from the £14 billion Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust plc is another sobering read from the giant closed-end fund which…

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, Baillie Gifford’s flagship fund, on Friday reported its net asset value per share (NAV) fell almost 18%, with borrowings at book value, for…

Job hiring activity across Scotland fell into decline during October, with both permanent staff appointments and temporary job billings contracting, according to the latest Royal…

By Mark McSherry — Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn has led a $28.5 million Series A funding round into Archax, the UK’s first regulated digital securities exchange….

Aberdeen-based North Sea oil and gas producer Ithaca Energy made an unimpressive stock market debut in London on Wednesday as the firm staged the UK’s…

Shares of Aberdeen-based transport giant FirstGroup fell about 9% after it reported its statutory pretax profit plunged to £8.7 million from £516.5 million in the six…

Renfrewshire-based Scottish Leather Group is embarking on a recruitment campaign to help it fulfil its new pipeline of orders from clients including Aston Martin, Jaguar…

Beam Suntory, owner of the Laphroaig, Bowmore and Teacher’s whisky brands, has announced a new partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)…