Scottish Financial Review

Figures compiled by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) show that businesses and communities supported by the agency during the last financial year are set to…

Elgin-based house builder Springfield Group has made two senior promotions, appointing Andrew Curran to Managing Director (Central) covering Springfield Properties, Dawn Homes, Walker Group and…

Perth-based SSE and Norway’s Equinor have finalised commercial terms for a potential expansion of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm known as Dogger Bank D. Dogger…

A new report published by the Scottish Human Rights Commission recommends the Scottish Government should produce and publish two key fiscal documents to improve budget…

The UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has denied reports that Ed Miliband has banned the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) from issuing…

UK stock funds saw a record outflow of £1.8 billion during May, according to data published by the Investment Association (IA). The May outflows continue…

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, has announced four senior appointments within its Defined Benefit Solutions division. Jack Hill has been appointed Director of Defined…

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce’s latest Quarterly Economic Indicator survey shows that confidence and trading conditions have improved slightly among Scottish firms, albeit it remains at…

New figures from the British Business Bank show that Scotland accounted for almost one-fifth of all UK equity deals involving university spinouts in 2023. The…

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it has overhauled listing rules for company shares in London to reduce red tape in an effort to “boost…

Scotland outpaced both the UK and Europe with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) growth last year, according to EY UK Attractiveness Survey –Scotland 2024. Utilities, including…

John Wood Group plc, the Aberdeen-based engineering and consulting giant, on Thursday reported an order book of $6.1 billion, up 2% compared to June 2023. In…

The CEO of Elgin-based house builder Springfield Properties plc has called on the Scottish Government to take action to address Scotland’s housing emergency “which must…

Growth capital investors BGF has announced a multi-million pound investment in Aberdeen-headquartered energy services company Glacier Energy, joining Averroes Capital as investors in the business….

Festivals Edinburgh has appointed Lori Anderson as its new Director, succeeding Julia Amour who is stepping down from the role in October 2024. Formed in…

UK finance minister Rachel Reeves and UK business secretary Jonathan Reynolds have instructed their officials to begin work to “align” public finance institutions the UK…

The Scottish Government has announced its intention to award Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd the £185 million construction contract to dual the A9 between Tomatin…

Recast, the Edinburgh-based “fintech-for-media” platform, has announced the closing of a $5 million funding round. This round was led by Los Angeles-based venture capital firm…

Shell has awarded Aberdeen-based consulting and engineering giant Wood plc a major engineering contract for the world’s largest floating offshore gas facility in Western Australia….

The Royal Bank of Scotland Growth Tracker report has signalled a further rise in private sector output across Scotland in June. Employment rose in the…

Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant SSE and its partners have announced they are moving forward with development of 2GW offshore wind farm in the Dutch North…

The new “Hollow Mountain” power station at Cruachan near Oban has moved forward to the important design stage. Renewable energy giant Drax has appointed German technology…

Hymans Robertson, the pensions, actuarial and financial services consultancy, has announced the appointment of Alec Day as Head of Private Sector Actuarial Services and Susan McIlvogue…

SSE has announced Denmark’s Vestas as the turbine supplier for its 12 turbine, 50MW Aberarder Wind Farm in the Scottish Highlands. Vestas will supply and…

Macfarlane Group, the Glasgow-based packaging, design and distribution firm, announced the acquisition of Leighton Buzzard-based Polyformes Limited for up to £11.5 million in cash, including an…

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has lost 38 Westminster seats so far in the UK general election — amid a low turnout by voters —…

MI:RNA, the Edinburgh veterinary diagnostics company, has secured $4 million in Series A funding. Funds have been raised from eight investors across three continents, including…

The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) revealed there has been a whirlwind of corporate activity in the first half of 2024 as investment trust boards battled…

By Mark McSherry The University of Edinburgh has announced the permanent appointment of Andrea Taylor as the new chief executive officer of Edinburgh Innovations (EI),…

John Wood Group plc, the Aberdeen-based engineering and consulting giant, announced on Wednesday an extension to the “Put Up Or Shut Up Deadline” for Dubai-based firm…

Moody’s Ratings said it has completed a periodic review of the ratings of Aberdeen City Council “and other ratings that are associated with this issuer.”…

Investment giant Abrdn and the University of Edinburgh have announced a pioneering project out of their partnership Centre for Investing Innovation that will seek to…

UK investors added £11.39 billion to their stock fund holdings in the first half of 2024 as they piled into North American and global funds…

Just Group said it has completed a £260 million buy-in for the Menzies Pension Fund. The pension scheme is sponsored by John Menzies Limited and…

Scotland Food & Drink chair Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne is to step down from her role when her tenure ends in October this year. She has been…

Edinburgh investment giant Baillie Gifford has announced two key appointments as part of plans to expand its North American business and its commitment to US…

By Mark McSherry Baillie Gifford’s £2.8 billion Monks Investment Trust plc has reported “an encouraging return to positive relative performance” for the year to April 30, 2024. Monks…

Edinburgh-based Craneware plc, a provider of software for the US healthcare market, announced that it has signed agreements with Microsoft in the areas of the…

Aberdeen-based Plexus Holdings plc, the AIM quoted oil and gas engineering services business, announced a number of changes to its board of directors. After more…

Scottish Rugby said a two-year timetable to “reset” its financial position has been agreed by the boards of both Scottish Rugby Limited and the Scottish Rugby…

Scotland-based contractor and developer Graham Group said it has surpassed the £1 billion turnover milestone for the second consecutive year as revenue increased to £1.125 billion….

Scottish law firm Burness Paull said it has reported strong results for its financial year ended March 31, a shortened eight-month reporting period following the firm’s…

Abrdn said it completed the acquisition of the Tandem Centre, a premier retail park in Colliers Wood, South London, for £60.8 million from LaSalle Investment…

Research by investment giant Abrdn has found that 44% of UK adults have poor financial literacy. Abrn is urging the next UK government to urgently…

ScottishPower, a subsidiary of Basque green energy giant Iberdrola, has made two new senior appointments with Charles Langan becoming its new chief financial officer and…

Mark Darbon has been appointed chief executive of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. Darbon will succeed…

Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington — owner of Scotch whisky brands The Macallan, Highland Park and The Famous Grouse — said its profit before tax and exceptional items…

Independent property advisory firm Lismore Real Estate Advisors has published the latest figures on the commercial property market in Scotland — for the second quarter of…

Martin Gilbert’s asset manager AssetCo said it is in “advanced discussions” for two potential joint ventures and that it is proposing to change the firm’s name to…

Huddersfield-based Fintel, a provider of fintech and support services to the UK retail financial services sector, said it conditionally agreed to acquire Manchester-based Threesixty Services Limited, a provider of…

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, has concluded a £880 million Bulk Purchase Annuity (BPA) transaction with the Rolls-Royce & Bentley Pension Fund, which is…

Highland Council said it has agreed a number of strategic objectives with the aim of finding solutions to the area’s housing shortage. “It is anticipated…

Scottish companies are reporting improving business conditions across most measures, and a “moderate increase in optimism regarding the growth of the Scottish economy in the…

Shares of Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz plc fell about 7% after it said its revenues fell in the period from April 1 to May 31….

Phoenix Group Holdings plc, owner of Standard Life, has announced its intention to explore a potential sale of its SunLife Limited business. SunLife is a…

Aberdeen-based engineering giant Wood Group has been awarded a contract by Centrica Energy Storage (CES) for the redevelopment of the UK’s Rough field in readiness for…

The latest housebuilding statistics published by Scotland’s Chief Statistician show that there were 19,632 homes completed and 16,404 new builds started in the 2023-24 financial…

Dundee-headquartered Alliance Trust plc and London-based Witan Investment Trust plc have agreed to merge to create a company managing £5 billion in the latest example of consolidation…

The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, announced the appointment of Global Wind Energy Council senior fellow Adam Bruce, Scottish…

The annual rural land market insights report, a collaboration between the Scottish Land Commission and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), has revealed a general trend of…

US law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP announced it secured a $434 million settlement for investors in a securities fraud class action suit…

Abrdn investment trust managers around the world have issued their latest outlooks — with near-term risks in India, elevated tensions in the Middle East and…

The Republic of Iceland announced it has sold a “gender bond” in the amount of €50 million. The bond bears a 3.4% fixed rate coupon…

The 10.1% increase in excise duty imposed by the UK government on Scotch Whisky in August 2023 — the biggest rise in more than four…

Dundee-based design and technology services firm Waracle said it agreed a deal to acquire Screenmedia, the Glasgow-based design and software engineering agency, in a move…

UK central government debt has risen to £2.743 trillion, or 99.8% of gross domestic product — the highest percentage since 1961 — according to latest statistics…

Glasgow-based Startline Motor Finance said it has carried out a new £450 million London Stock Exchange securitisation. “The move has seen the company float around…

Almost £50 billion was spent by the Scottish Government last year on public services, according to newly published official figures. The Provisional Outturn, which compares…

Edinburgh-based Wordsmith, which calls itself an “AI-powered legal assistant platform,” said it has raised $5 million to “transform the legal industry and unleash a new…

Phoenix Group Holdings plc, owner of Standard Life, announced the completion of the initial phase of its deleveraging programme, comprising a debt redemption and refinancing…