Scottish Financial Review

Johnston Press — the embattled owner of The Scotsman, the i newspaper, the Yorkshire Post and about 200 local newspapers and websites — said its 2017…

Aberdeen Standard Investments said its infrastructure debt team has provided more than £43 million of private debt to finance six operational hydro-electric schemes in Scotland….

The board of the £259 million investment trust Schroder UK Growth Fund plc has terminated Schroder Unit Trusts Limited as the fund’s manager and given the mandate…

Scottish law firm Burness Paull said Peter Lawson will take over as chairman while Tamar Tammes will step into the role of managing partner with…

Edinburgh-based upmarket home builder Cala Homes said on Monday that its CEO Alan Brown is to retire. Last month, Legal & General Group announced that its Legal &…

Diageo has announced a £150 million investment over three years to transform its Scotch whisky visitor experiences in the “biggest concerted programme ever seen” in…

A YouGov survey published on Monday by Amazon claims that Scottish small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are “struggling to grasp digital and export opportunities” to…

Edinburgh’s first single malt whisky distillery for 90 years has completed a £5.8 million funding drive to help fund the creation of a new distillery…

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) said it signed an historic Memorandum of Understanding with the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC) that opens China’s…

Marsh & McLennan firm Jelf said it agreed to acquire Perth-based Clark Thomson, Scotland’s largest independent insurance broker. Established in 1965, Clark Thomson is headquartered…

Shares of Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz rose about 4% after it said it increased revenue in line with expectations by 30% to £116.4 million in…

By Mark McSherry UPDATE 3 — Aberdeen-based bus and rail giant FirstGroup plc said late on Wednesday it has received “a preliminary and highly conditional indicative proposal…

Investment in Scottish commercial property in the first quarter of 2018 reached £608 million, significantly ahead of the five-year average of £546 million, according to…

Standard Life Aberdeen, the largest active fund manager in the UK and one of Scotland’s largest employers, has officially opened its new headquarters at 6 St…

BP announced that it has committed to two new North Sea developments which are expected to produce 30,000 barrels gross of oil equivalent a day…

Edinburgh-based TV advertising analytics firm TVSquared said it raised another $8 million in funding to support its expansion. To date, the firm’s equity funding totals more…

The latest Royal Bank of Scotland Business Monitor, conducted by the Fraser of Allander Institute, reported that most regions across Scotland saw no increase in…

Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers on Monday confirmed weekend press speculation that it is in talks for a possible acquisition of Glasgow-based investment management firm Speirs…

Apple has hired John Giannandrea, Google’s Scottish-born chief of search and artificial intelligence, in what is being called a major coup in its bid to…

Perth-based energy giant SSE and innogy SE said they appointed Dixons Carphone executive Katie Bickerstaffe to be CEO designate of the new independent British energy…

Edinburgh-based John Menzies plc said its subsidiary Menzies Aviation has acquired Airline Services Limited, a UK based aircraft de-icing specialist, from Airline Services and Components Group…

Scottish Enterprise on Friday announced the appointment of Scottish Canals CEO Steve Dunlop as its new chief executive. “Steve, who takes up the post in…

Edinburgh-based accounting software firm FreeAgent, which is being acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland for about £53 million, on Thursday reported strong progress in a trading…

Shares of Aberdeen-based Faroe Petroleum, the independent oil and gas company, rose about 12% on Wednesday after it announced “significant discoveries” in the Hades and Iris prospects…

The Scottish economy grew 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to statistics announced by Scotland’s chief statistician. UK GDP growth for this quarter was…

Glasgow-based Aggreko, the world’s largest temporary power firm, is to invest £33 million in research and development for lower carbon power — and create 23…

Irish drinks firm C&C, whose brands include Tennent’s, Bulmers and Magners, said on Wednesday it bought the wholesale arm of troubled Crew-based alcohol wholesaler and distributor…

The Scottish government said the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme will be extended beyond 2019 to help more people buy a new-build home without the…

Aberdeen Standard Investments has launched a European Residential Property Fund supported by Netherlands-based cornerstone investor Pensioenfonds Metaal en Techniek (PMT) and its fiduciary manager, MN….

Scottish Widows said it has launched an enhanced workplace savings range of products following completion of the first phase of the transfer of Zurich’s UK…

Grimsby-based Young’s Seafood Limited confirmed on Tuesday that it is proposing to close its Young’s Pinneys plant in Annan, near Dumfries, with the potential loss of…

Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance said it is set to invest a further £60 million in Scottish hydro-power after completing the purchase of Green Highland Renewables….

The new interim managing director of CalMac Ferries has warned passengers that the operator’s “ageing fleet” could cause problems as it prepares for its busiest ever…

Selkirk-based Oregon Timber Frame Limited has completed a buy-out of its non-management shareholders including the 15% stake in the business held by its largest external…

Glasgow-based cloud computing firm iomart Group plc said in a trading statement for the year ending March 31, 2018, that it expects to show revenue growth…

Perth-based energy giant SSE said on Thursday its plan to demerge its household energy and services business in Great Britain with Innogy subsidiary Npower to form a…

Renewable electricity generation in Scotland increased by 26% last year, making 2017 a record year, the Scottish government said. For the first time ever, Scotland…

Royal London said its new life and pensions business soared 38% to £12 billion and funds under management rose 14% to £114 billion in 2017. The mutual…

AIM-listed chemistry company Cronin Group, which has a research relationship with the University of Glasgow, announced a 2017 loss of of £1.46 million after tax and said…

Edinburgh-based LendingCrowd said it secured an external funding round of £2 million following a strong 2017 for the peer-to-peer (P2P) lender, with the proceeds earmarked for…

Scottish Rugby said it extended the contract of chief executive Mark Dodson beyond the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. Scottish Rugby said its turnover…

Scotland’s Auditor General Caroline Gardner warned in a new report that recruiting the skilled staff required for the Scottish government’s new financial and social security…

Scotland’s chief statistician on Wednesday released figures for gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) in Scotland in 2016. The figures show GERD in Scotland…

The University of Strathclyde’s Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) has warned that the Scottish government’s focus on following a “single, unified approach to the economy”…

Edinburgh-based Frontier IP said its revenue increased 41% to £1.19 million and profit before tax increased 67% to £524,000 in the six months to December 31. Frontier…

Royal Bank of Scotland said on Tuesday it agreed to acquire Edinburgh-based accounting software firm FreeAgent for about £53 million. The offer price of 120p in…

Shares of Cumbernauld-based Irn-Bru maker A.G. Barr rose more than 3% after it said its profit before tax increased 4.2% to £44.9 million on revenue up 8%…

The chairman of UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the agency overseeing the sale of the UK government’s stake in Royal Bank of Scotland, told MPs UKFI…

Ellon, Aberdeenshire-based craft brewing firm BrewDog announced it bought Draft House, which has 14 bars across London and the South East of England. Alongside his…

Apache Corporation announced a “significant oil discovery” at the Garten prospect in the UK sector of the North Sea that could recover more than 10 million…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has set out its priorities for the Scotch industry as a “Brexit transition” agreement is discussed by EU leaders. The…

Forth Ports’ Capital Cruising business, which runs six cruise terminals across the UK including Edinburgh and London, has appointed Chris Alexander to a new role…

The head of the UK government agency in charge of selling the taxpayer’s 70% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland is to quit his job…

A new specialist recruitment facility will bring 200 jobs to Glasgow this year. The Centre of Excellence is being opened by recruitment firm SThree, which…

Emergency legislation “to protect Scotland’s devolved powers” has been passed by a margin of 95 votes to 32 by the Scottish Parliament. “The new legislation will…

Forestry in Scotland is to be fully devolved to the Scottish Parliament for the first time after MSPs backed the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Bill….

Forth Ports, the UK’s third largest ports group, said it appointed Ann Rooney as its new business development manager to focus on oil and gas…

Edinburgh-based fund management giant Baillie Gifford said it successfully raised gross proceeds of £173 million for the launch of its Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust….

Royal Bank of Scotland is still hoping to reach a multi-billion-dollar settlement this year with the US Justice Department over alleged mis-selling of toxic mortgage-backed securities….

Glasgow-based Beeks Financial Cloud Group, a cloud provider for institutional capital markets, announced its entry into the cryptocurrency market via a collaboration with New York-based…

Forth Ports said it has been given Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) accreditation by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for its major ports on the…

A new report from trade group Oil & Gas UK said that more new North Sea investment is expected in 2018 than the last three…

Virgin Money and Aberdeen Standard Investments announced on Tuesday they agreed in principle to enter into a new strategic joint venture for the provision of asset…

Shares of Aberdeen-based oil and engineering giant Wood Group fell about 5% on Tuesday after it said the company’s 2017 earnings before interest, tax and amortization (EBITA)…

The UK Shareholders’ Association (UKSA) and ShareSoc said Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed that a resolution on the creation of a shareholder committee will be…

The Scottish government said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will visit China next month “to promote the growing economic, cultural and educational links between Scotland and…

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is working on “secret plans” to create a standalone digital bank, according to a Sky News report. RBS has assigned…

International law firm Pinsent Masons announced the sale of Cerico, its Glasgow-based online compliance solutions business, to business and financial information firm Dow Jones for…

Standard Life Aberdeen’s head of distribution Campbell Fleming told Money Marketing in a wide-ranging interview that Standard Life Aberdeen is optimistic that it can hold on to the…

Aberdeen Standard Investments and European investment firm 21 Partners on Friday announced the establishment of a new UK based 50:50 joint venture (JV) – 21…