Scottish Financial Review

Lothian Pension Fund (LPF) and Falkirk Council Pension Fund (FCPF) announced they will not be progressing with their proposed merger. Lothian Pension Fund has over £9.6…

The Scottish Government no longer expects to have enough money to deliver all its planned £26 billion investment in public sector infrastructure, according to Audit…

The Scottish National Investment Bank said it has “evolved into an ambitious, active impact investor” as it published its second full year accounts. The bank said…

The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) said it has granted development and production consent to Equinor and Ithaca Energy for the controversial Rosebank oil…

The number of first-time home buyers in Scotland fell 14% between January and August 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to the latest…

A.G. Barr, the Cumbernauld-based maker of Irn-Bru, Rubicon energy drinks and Funkin cocktail mixers, said its revenue was £210.4 million in the 26 weeks to July…

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, said it has partnered with Moneyhub, the open banking and open finance platform, to deliver its pensions dashboard. Standard…

Scotmid CEO John Brodie is to retire in August 2024 after 20 years at the helm. “John has been with Scotmid for over 30 years,…

Food and drink wholesaler JW Filshill, one of Scotland’s oldest food and drink wholesalers, has reported that its turnover increased 2% to £203 million in…

The British Business Bank, the UK government’s economic development bank, has reported a loss of £135.3 million for 2022-23 in a year that it made a…

Margaret Lawson, a co-founder of Edinburgh’s SVM Asset Management, is to retire. London’s mutual fund trade press reported that her husband Colin McLean, also a co-founder…

Lothian Buses has announced an order for 50 new Volvo BZL Electric double deck buses for Edinburgh, each with MCV bodywork. Involving an investment of…

Shares of Elgin-based Springfield Properties, which is building a number of new communities throughout Scotland, fell about 9% after it announced it will not make…

Martin Gilbert’s asset manager AssetCo has announced the disposal of its 70% equity interest in Rize, a thematic ETF specialist, to Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest…

Shares of Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz plc fell as much as 40% after the company published an update on its trading for the five months between…

Aberdeen-based FirstGroup plc announced that a new nine-year National Rail Contract (NRC) has been agreed with the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) for the West…

Celtic plc announced that its group revenue increased 35.8% to £119.9 million in the year to June 30, 2023, and profit before taxation rose to…

Edinburgh-based oil and gas firm Capricorn Energy said on Monday that a “detailed operational update presentation on its Egypt assets” will be held in London…

Glasgow-based cloud computing firm Iomart Group announced on Monday that Reece Donovan will step down as chief executive officer and leave the company with immediate effect. Iomart…

The value of Scottish international goods exports rose 12.6% to £36.7 billion in the year ending June 2023, according to latest figures from HMRC. The…

The London Stock Exchange announced that trading in the shares of Thurso-based battery cell developer AMTE Power has been temporarily suspended “as a result of…

Rochester, New York-based LaBella Associates, an international architecture, engineering, environmental and planning firm, announced it has acquired Kiloh Associates, a Scottish engineering firm specializing in civil,…

Edinburgh-based oil and gas firm Capricorn Energy said “accounts receivable” from the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) increased from $97 million to $144 million in the…

A full-service investment bank, Cavendish, has been created in Scotland with the completion of the merger of Cenkos Securities and finnCap Group. Operating from Cenkos’…

A new report from Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen has said that the UK offshore energy workforce can increase by up to 50% from…

The estimated unemployment rate in Scotland was 4.3% in the May to July 2023 quarter, up 1.2 percentage points over the previous quarter and up…

Edinburgh investment giant Baillie Gifford has argued that “zero fossil fuel exposure today is not realistic” in a paper called “A response to fossil fuel…

Alba Bank, the new Scottish bank dedicated to small and medium sized business (SME) lending, said it has appointed banking industry veterans Robert Sharpe and Andrew…

The latest Royal Bank of Scotland purchasing managers index (PMI) survey has marked the end of a six-month period of growth. The survey reported no…

Scotgold Resources Limited, which owns the Cononish Gold and Silver Mine near Tyndrum, said on Monday that trading in its shares will be suspended immediately “pending…

Shares of Thurso-based battery cell developer AMTE Power fell about 78% to around 2.07p on Friday after it announced details of a heavily discounted fundraising….

Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE), the member body for Scotland’s large financial and related professional services industry, has launched a major new promotional campaign to attract…

The board of NatWest Group plc — formerly called RBS — announced that corporate veteran Rick Haythornthwaite will succeed Howard Davies as chair of the…

Two of Scotland’s most important law firms have agreed to merge in a move they say will create a “new, top-tier independent firm in Scotland.”…

Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc, the Glasgow-based cloud and connectivity provider for financial markets, said it has delivered “significant growth” in the year ended June…

Investment trust Caledonia Investments plc announced that it agreed terms for the sale of its majority stake in Seven Investment Management (7IM) to Ontario Teachers’…

Edinburgh-based Craneware plc, a provider of software for the US healthcare market, said its revenue increased 5% to $174 million in the year ended June 30, 2023, with…

Glasgow-based media firm STV Group plc said its total revenue rose 21% to £75.3 million in the six months to June 30 “driven by organic…

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, announced the launch of the Standard Life Pension Annuity, designed to meet the “increasing need for certainty and security…

Liechtenstein-based private bank LGT said it has successfully completed the acquisition of Abrdn’s discretionary fund management business in the UK and Jersey for £140 million….

Shetland Islands Council said its ‘Shetland Short Crossings Project’ aimed at connecting all its main islands by either a tunnel or a new ferry is…

Wood Group plc and Harbour Energy, the UK’s largest oil and gas producer, have entered into a new strategic partnership for UK North Sea operations…

The Scottish Music Industry Association (SMIA) announced the appointment of Robert Kilpatrick as Interim CEO and Creative Director with immediate effect. Outgoing CEO Ronnie Gurr joined the…

Inverness-based Highland Fuels said it has successfully completed the transfer of a majority number of shares of the company to its employees. “We operate a…

Janus Henderson Investors announced on Thursday that John Bennett, its Director of European Equities, has decided to retire from the asset management industry and the…

Aberdeen-based Wood plc has been selected as a preferred bidder on Scottish and Southern Electricity Network (SSEN) Transmission’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) framework. The…

Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard, announced its “strongest financial performance in a decade” with 17% growth in net sales in the…

Index compiler FTSE Russell confirmed late on Wednesday that Edinburgh investment giant Abrdn will be demoted from the FTSE 100 following a drop in its…

The latest data from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) shows the highest ever participation rate in education, training or employment by Scotland’s young adults. Based on a cohort…

Output in the Scotland’s services sector, which accounts for around three quarters of the economy, is estimated to have grown by 0.3% in June. However,…

Glasgow-based Panoramic Growth Equity, an equity and debt investor in UK small and medium companies (SMEs), has announce the final close of its new £100 million Panoramic…

Montrose Port Authority (MPA) has announced a 34% rise in revenue — the “highest revenue outcome ever achieved by the port.” The port said its performance…

Only 9% of Scottish firms agree that the Scottish Government “understands the business environment in Scotland” compared to 64% of businesses that disagree, according to the…

SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, said it successfully issued a €750 million 8-year green bond maturing September 5, 2031, at a fixed coupon of…

Stirling Council has finally confirmed a “Section 75 Agreement” so that Springfield Properties’ 3,000-home village development at Durieshill, Stirling, can move forward. Springfield is building a…

Glasgow-based independent whisky firm Brave New Spirits said planning permission for its Witchburn Distillery near Campbeltown has been granted by Argyll & Bute council. The single…

The volume of private equity deals in Scotland’s mid-market businesses fell 25% in the first half of 2023 amid a “significant increase” in the price…

Scottish law firm Burness Paull said its turnover rose 6% to £83.2 million in the financial year ended July 31, 2023, and profit was steady at £35.5…

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has announced the transfer of the Clyde Mission regeneration programme to the Glasgow City Region as Scottish Government investment in…

Activity in mergers and acquisitions fell sharply in Scotland in the first half of 2023, with 25% fewer deals being announced and the value of…

The £450 million Abrdn UK Smaller Companies Growth Trust plc announced that it extended its period of underperformance against its benchmark on both a net asset value (NAV)…

Scottish Financial Enterprise, the member body for Scotland’s big financial services industry, has appointed Ben Rose as its new director of public policy and communications…

Macfarlane Group, the Glasgow-based packaging, design and distribution firm, said its revenue grew 2% to £141.6 million and profit before tax increased 13% to £10…

SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant which has raised £2.5 billion in green bonds since 2017 — published on Wednesday an “updated sustainability financing framework” that…

NatWest Group said on Wednesday that its former chief executive Alison Rose will continue to receive her fixed pay package of roughly £2.4 million while…

Scotland urgently needs more pylons, power lines and substations “to cut energy bills, create energy security and tackle climate change” according to trade body Scottish…

Screen Scotland has published new figures that show strong growth in the value of Scotland’s film and TV industries to the country’s economy. The figures…

Index compiler FTSE Russell has confirmed that Edinburgh investment giant Abrdn is facing demotion from the FTSE 100 following a drop in its share price…

The UK’s public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks (PSNB ex) in the financial year to July 2023 was £56.6 billion, £13.7 billion more…

Shares of John Wood Group, the Aberdeen-based engineering and consulting giant, rose about 4% on Tuesday after it raised its full-year revenue expectation to around…