Scottish Financial Review

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has published proposals to reform income tax in Scotland, with plans to introduce a new 19% starter rate of tax, a 21%…

The Scottish Government said every home and business in Scotland will have access to superfast broadband by 2021 as a result of a £600 million…

Trade body Oil & Gas UK said the shutdown by Ineos of its North Sea Forties Pipeline System has caused “significant issues” for the industry and that…

Unemployment in Scotland edged 0.3% higher to 4.1% in the three months to October while the UK rate fell 0.1% to 4.3%, according to the Office for…

Shares of Aberdeen-based oil and engineering giant Wood plc — which recently completed the £2.2 billion acquisition of rival firm Amec Foster Wheeler (AFW) — fell 7%…

The Scottish Government’s chief economist Gary Gillespie has published an updated assessment, helped by advice from the Council of Economic Advisers, on the potential impact…

A report by the UK’s National Audit Office (NAO) on the Edinburgh-based Green Investment Bank (GIB) said the UK government department involved with the bank…

The average selling price of two bedroom flats in Edinburgh’s New Town and West End has soared 26.9% over the last three months, according to…

The Scottish Government said more than 70,000 affordable homes have been delivered since 2007 — a total of 48,813 homes for social rent, including 8,819…

There were 19,598 new build homes started across all sectors in Scotland over the year ending June 2017, an increase of 13%, or 2,188 homes,…

The Scottish Government’s budget planning “remains remarkably short-sighted,” according to the latest Economic Commentary from the Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI). David Eiser, Head of Fiscal Analysis…

Glasgow-based private equity firm Maven Capital Partners announced its exit from promotional merchandise company SPS (EU) Holdings while “delivering a 3x return on funds invested…

UPDATE 2 — Oil and gas prices soared after Ineos said on Monday it will shut down its Forties Pipeline System, which delivers almost 40% of the…

Glasgow-based sausage skin and collagen products firm Devro plc said that after 10 years with the firm, Peter Page “has agreed with the board that he will step…

The new £65 million National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland (NMIS) is to be created at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire, next to Glasgow International Airport. Strathclyde University…

About 58% of business owners don’t want the Scottish Government to change income tax rates, while 65% believe an increase would be detrimental to the…

Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Ross McEwan said in a Bloomberg TV interview that RBS’s chances of reaching a settlement this year with the US…

The UK’s financial watchdog has rebutted reports that it avoided publishing a confidential report into Royal Bank of Scotland’s treatment of struggling businesses due to the…

Scotland’s Chief Statistician has published the Estimate of Community Owned Land in Scotland 2017 showing there were 562,230 acres in community ownership as of June…

The Auditor General for Scotland, Caroline Gardner, said in a new report the Scottish Government needs to increase the transparency of its financial reporting on…

Bitcoin has been compared to Dante’s Inferno by RBS chairman Howard Davies as the digital currency surges towards $16,000. On Bloomberg TV, Davies called Bitcoin…

Scottish asset management giant Aberdeen Standard Investments announced that its wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE), Aberdeen Asset Management (Shanghai), secured registration as a private securities investment fund manager…

Bridge of Allan-based Graham’s The Family Dairy said its turnover rose 20% to £100.5 million in the year to March, 2017. Graham’s said it has an exciting…

Scotland’s three-time Grand Slam tennis champion Andy Murray has once again invested in early-stage UK businesses as part of his relationship with crowdfunding platform Seedrs. Murray,…

Shares of Perth-based train and bus giant Stagecoach rose 5% after it said its 2018 earnings forecast was unchanged despite first-half revenue falling 10% to £1.8 billion…

Aberdeen-based engineering giant Wood Group said it won a multi-million dollar contract supporting drug major GlaxoSmithKline in Germany. Wood will provide GSK Vaccines GmbH (GSK),…

Aberdeen City Council said it has been recognised for “a strong institutional framework” and “strong track record of operating performance” by credit rating agency Moody’s,…

Simec Energy, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s global GFG Alliance, said it took a step towards “becoming the UK’s largest provider of renewable energy” by agreeing to…

Shares of Glasgow-based cloud computing firm iomart rose about 3% after it said its revenue rose 12% to £47 million and adjusted profit before tax…

The UK’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee has written to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) calling for an investigation into the proposed merger between the…

Stagecoach chairman Brian Souter has criticised the UK pension fund industry for its “lack of faith” in companies and young entrepreneurs and for investing too much of its £2…

Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation, Inc. has acquired Craigmillar, Edinburgh-based Odos Imaging, a technology company that provides three-dimensional, time-of-flight sensing systems for industrial imaging applications. “We are…

RBS said it will close roughly a quarter of its branches — 62 Royal Bank of Scotland branches and 197 NatWest branches — and cut…

Trade group Scottish Engineering said in its latest Quarterly Review that Scotland’s engineering sector continues to report increased orders and output despite the political uncertainty…

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce said contractor confidence in the North Sea and UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) has risen — with almost half being…

The University of Edinburgh said an anonymous donor has pledged £10 million to help transform the city’s former Royal Infirmary into a state-of-the-art home for…

Royal Bank of Scotland has closed the “bad bank” it set up to sell unwanted assets nearly 10 years after RBS was rescued in a…

BBC MasterChef: The Professionals 2016 winner Gary Maclean —  a Senior Chef Lecturer at the City of Glasgow College — has been appointed as Scotland’s…

Shares of Perth-based train and bus giant Stagecoach rose 13% after the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) announced a number of changes to franchises currently operated…

Forth Ports said it will invest in a new, purpose built, Training Academy at the Port of Grangemouth, Scotland’s biggest port. “This is a key…

The Co-op and Costcutter Supermarkets Group (CSG) confirmed an agreement that will see The Co-op become exclusive wholesale supplier to CSG and the 2,200 Costcutter, Mace, Simply…

Scottish councils are showing increasing signs of financial stress and face even tougher challenges ahead, according to the Accounts Commission. In its annual financial overview…

Edinburgh-based Apex Hotels Limited reported another consecutive year of growth in the 12 months to April 30 with a 6% rise in turnover from £61.3 million to…

Aberdeen-based mechanical engineering group EnerMech said its 2016 revenues rose by almost £10 million to £263.7 million on the previous year — and forecast that 2017…

Scotland’s smaller businesses turn over almost £300 million per day, according to figures uncovered by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The FSB is urging…

A record number of Scots were accepted to UK universities in 2017, according to new figures published by UCAS. More than 36,500 Scottish domiciled applicants…

Edinburgh-based aviation logistics and news distribution company John Menzies said in a trading update that it expects “to be able to make a firm announcement” on splitting the…

Shares of Edinburgh-based video security company IndigoVision fell 27% after it said Marcus Kneen “has resigned from the board and has ceased to be chief executive officer…

The UK Government has revived plans to re-privatise Royal Bank of Scotland with the aim of selling £15 billion of shares in the company by…

The Scottish Government’s finance secretary Derek Mackay claimed the UK Government’s Budget “does not represent a good deal for Scotland, as a consequence of a…

Trade body Oil & Gas UK welcomed the announcement in the UK Budget that Scotland’s oil and gas industry will benefit from the introduction of a Transferable…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) welcomed the UK Government’s decision to freeze excise duty on spirits in Wednesday’s Budget — but argued that a cut in…

Trade body Oil & Gas UK said the latest oil and gas exploration licence round is a vote of confidence in the UK Continental Shelf. The UK’s Oil…

Cupar-based Fishers Laundry Group said K-Bro Linen Inc, the largest provider of laundry and linen services in Canada, agreed to acquire Fishers for at least £35…

Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz said its revenue increased 35.2% to £56.1 million and underlying profit before tax rose 31% to £4.8 million in the six months to…

BP said it agreed to sell a package of its interests in the Bruce assets in the North Sea to Serica Energy plc for up…

Swiss private bank Julius Baer, which is opening new offices in Manchester, Leeds and Scotland, said a number of new key hires have joined the…

Shares of Glasgow-based Aggreko, the world’s largest temporary power firm, fell 10% after it said its “power solutions” business saw year to date new orders fall 35%…

Grangemouth refinery operator Ineos said it agreed to take a majority share in two exploration licenses in the Northern Gas Fields West of Shetland —…

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG said on Tuesday its underlying profit before tax rose 33% to £293 million in the year to September 30. CYBG…

New York and Edinburgh-based fantasy sports firm FanDuel announced late on Monday that CEO Nigel Eccles, who co-founded the company in 2009, is leaving the…

Southport-based Ludlow Wealth Management has acquired Scottish financial management business Whyte Sharp as it looks to increase its business in Scotland. Ludlow advises clients across…

Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group said it commenced a multi-million dollar contract to act as operating partner of the Scottish Area Gas…

Houses in Edinburgh and Glasgow sell faster than anywhere else in the UK, according to the latest City Rate of Sale report from Post Office…

Edinburgh remains the most attractive hotel investment destination in the UK outside of London for the fourth year in a row, according to Deloitte’s latest…

Edinburgh and Newcastle-based Virgin Money said it will enter the banking market for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) starting with a deposit account in January 2018…

GMB, the union for energy workers, has called on Greg Clark, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to block the…

Shares of Glasgow-based packaging firm Macfarlane Group rose 6% after it said its profit before tax for 2017 to date “is well above the corresponding…

Shares of Aberdeen-based global bus and rail giant FirstGroup fell for a second successive day on Wednesday following the news on Tuesday that it made a statutory…

Latest quarterly statistics show that the employment rate in Scotland remained unchanged at 75.2% — a near record high and just above the UK average…