Scottish Financial Review

HSBC Holdings said on Tuesday it plans to cut about 35,000 jobs over three years and shed about $100 billion in assets in a drastic…

Asset management giant Franklin Templeton said on Monday it agreed to acquire rival Legg Mason — which includes Edinburgh-based affiliate Martin Currie — for $4.5…

Global company dividends rose to a new record of $1.43 trillion in 2019, up 3.5% on a headline basis, according to the latest Janus Henderson…

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday unveiled new appointments to the Scottish Government and cabinet. Following her delivery of the Scottish Budget, Kate Forbes…

Scotland’s residential property sales totalled just under £18.7 billion in 2019 — up £550 million on 2018 — helped by a late surge in sales…

The United States Trade Representative has issued a tariff notification which maintains the 25% tariff on Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Scotch Whisky Liqueurs that…

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc said on Friday it plans to rename itself NatWest Group plc later this year. The news came as…

Edinburgh-based Aegon UK — owned by Dutch investment giant Aegon NV — said on Thursday it delivered underlying earnings of £61 million in the second half…

Standard Life Aberdeen CEO Keith Skeoch has been appointed chair of the Investment Association (IA) board. The IA champions the UK asset management industry. Its…

The Famous Grouse whisky enjoyed a strong Christmas in the UK off-trade, with sales topping £71 million – making it now the number one whisky…

Sajid Javid has resigned as the UK Government’s Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s first big cabinet reshuffle went spectacularly wrong. Bloomberg…

Edinburgh-based Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising university intellectual property, said on Wednesday it raised its equity stake in portfolio company Celerum Limited from 10%…

Glasgow-based DeepMatter Group plc, the AIM-listed company focusing on digitizing chemistry, and the Institute of Process Research and Development (iPRD) at the University of Leeds,…

Glasgow-based global engineering giant Weir Group said on Wednesday its chairman Charles Berry “is undertaking a short leave of absence as a result of a medical…

Scotch Whisky exports grew 4.4% to a record £4.91 billion in 2019, with 1.3 billion bottles exported to 180 markets, according to the latest figures…

Glasgow has been ranked first out of all “large European cities” for FDI Strategy (foreign direct investment) in a new report by fDi Intelligence. The…

Scottish salmon exports rose 22% in 2019 to a record high of £618 million, according to official statistics released by the UK Government’s HMRC. The…

Global institutional pension fund assets in the 22 largest major markets — the so-called P22 — bounced back in 2019, soaring by 15% to $46.7…

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was in Brussels on Monday for a series of engagements talking about Scotland’s future relationship with the EU. Speaking to…

Scotland’s private sector recorded a modest increase in business activity during January, with the headline Business Activity Index reaching a 14-month high, driven partly by…

The Brexit deal being pursued by the UK Government is likely to place “huge unnecessary burdens” on the UK’s biggest food export — Scottish salmon…

Permanent staff appointments in Scotland continued to rise during January — with the latest surge the sharpest seen for eight months — according to the…

Celtic plc said on Friday its revenue increased 6.6% to £53.3 million and profit before taxation rose almost 30% to £24.4 million in the six…

Dumfries and Galloway Housing Partnership (DGHP) has secured £114 million of financing with M&G Investments as it plans its future as part of Wheatley Group…

Edinburgh-based asset management giant Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) has joined the growing number of investment firms supporting a campaign for shorter trading hours at the…

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall said it signed a 10-year electricity supply contract with Cumbernauld-based Irn-Bru maker A.G. Barr to introduce 100% renewable electricity across all Barr’s…

The Scottish Government’s finance secretary Derek Mackay has resigned following allegations in a tabloid newspaper that he sent 270 online messages on social media to…

Aberdeen-based global engineering and oil services giant Wood plc on Wednesday announced the sale of its industrial services business to technical services provider Kaefer. The sale…

The latest data from Mercer’s Pensions Risk Survey has revealed that the accounting deficit of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes for the UK’s 350 largest…

V&A Dundee said on Tuesday it has welcomed its one millionth visitor just over 500 days after it first opened. Seven-year-old Nalani Becker from Berlin…

The GMB union has called for an end to the US whisky tariffs that it says threaten 22,000 whisky and spirit industry jobs. GMB said…

Scottish Widows said it has facilitated a longevity swap between the Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Limited and Pacific Life Re Limited. “The transaction transferred…

Edinburgh-based digital service business xDesign said on Monday it acquired Scottish mobile and web agency Bemo. “xDesign will acquire the assets, people, and customer contracts…

Shares of Edinburgh-based funds platform Nucleus Financial Group rose 3.5% on Friday after it published an update on its assets under administration (AUA) in respect of the three months…

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Friday she did not rule out testing the legality of calling a consultative referendum on independence if UK…

Shares of Glasgow-based Smart Metering Systems (SMS) rose 6% on Friday after it issued a trading update showing its full-year 2019 financial performance in line…

Perth-based energy giant SSE plc said in a trading statement on Friday its renewable energy output for the first nine months of its fiscal year…

TSB bank said in its annual report that it will resume paying bonuses after it reported an annual profit in the year following its catastrophic…

Glasgow-based Virgin Money UK, owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, said on Thursday that Ian Smith is resigning as group chief financial officer (CFO) “to…

Scotland’s total international and rest of the UK exports — excluding oil and gas — increased 2.9% to £85 billion in 2018. Exports to the…

A new report from Audit Scotland has said more clarity is required on private finance public infrastructure projects in Scotland. Audit Scotland said that currently,…

Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington — owner of Scotch whisky brands The Macallan, Highland Park and The Famous Grouse — on Tuesday announced an agreement with Suntory Holdings…

Shares of Cumbernauld-based Irn-Bru maker A.G. Barr soared 15% on Tuesday after it isssued a trading update that said adjusted profit before tax is expected…

Shares of Glasgow-based Virgin Money UK, owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, rose almost 5% on Tuesday after it issued a first quarter trading update…

Dividends from UK listed companies rose 10.7% to a new record of £110.5 billion in 2019, according to the latest Dividend Monitor from Link Group. …

The number of first-time home buyers in Scotland rose to 33,558 in 2019, an increase of more than 90% from 17,580 a decade ago, according…

The Scottish Government said on Monday that proposals for a new Scottish Visa “to address depopulation and cut skills gaps” have been unveiled by First…

Investment giant State Street said on Monday that Edinburgh-based local government pension scheme provider Lothian Pension Fund has adopted the Charles River Investment Management Solution…

Edinburgh-based water retailer Business Stream, a subsidiary of state-owned Scottish Water, said on Monday it has been awarded the Scottish Government Public Sector Procurement Framework…

Royal Bank of Scotland on Friday announced a new £1 billion in funding through its NatWest business to support female entrepreneurs in the UK. RBS…

Shares of Virgin Money UK, the owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, rose about 7% on Friday after it announced more details on its board…

Three-quarters of investment trusts outperform their sister open-end fund over both one year and 10 years — but the trusts are more volatile than their…

Edinburgh-based fund management giant Baillie Gifford is planning to launch a fund using artificial intelligence (AI). Baillie Gifford joint senior partner Charles Plowden told an…

Shares of Edinburgh-based Craneware, a software firm that specializes in US healthcare, fell about 12% on Thursday after it issued a trading update saying it expects its…

Edinburgh-based Tesco Bank is to create 120 new technology and “change” roles across its Edinburgh and Newcastle offices. The roles the bank is recruiting for…

Legislation to establish a Scottish National Investment Bank has been passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament. The bank is expected to be operational before the…

V&A Dundee on Tuesday reveled independent research showing the museum had a £75 million economic impact across Scotland in its first year. The study found…

The Scottish Government said on Tuesday that new statistics released by the Chief Statistician show households in Scotland had just over £1 trillion in personal…

Shares of Scottish companies listed on the FTSE outperformed the FTSE 350 and All Share indices in 2019 — but Alternative Investment Market (AIM) firms…

Shares of Glasgow-based sausage skin and collagen products firm Devro fell about 2% on Friday after it issued a mixed trading update for the year ended December…

A total of 14,747,830 people travelled through Edinburgh Airport last year, making 2019 the busiest in the airport’s history and the busiest ever year for…

Shares of Alva-based Omega Diagnostics Group rose about 9% on Friday after it announced it received approval from the Nigerian Ministry of Health for its Visitect…

HSBC Holdings plc announced on Friday that former Standard Life chief executive David Nish will succeed Jonathan Symonds to the positions of HSBC senior independent director…

A new report from Audit Scotland says “City Deals” have been positive for Scotland’s economy but the Scottish Government “does not have a plan to…

Shares of Aberdeen-based global engineering and oil services giant Wood plc rose about 8% on Thursday after it said in a trading update it expects…

Baillie Gifford’s flagship £8.9 billion fund, the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust plc, said on Thursday it raised a further £188 million in debt. Scottish Mortgage…

Shares of Edinburgh-based international oil and gas company Cairn Energy edged higher on Wednesday after it said it took a final investment decision (FID) on…

Shares of Perth-based energy giant SSE plc rose 2% on Wednesday after it finally completed the sale of SSE Energy Services, its household energy business in…

Shares of embattled Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz fell another 17% on Wednesday after it published a Christmas trading update for the seven-week period from November…

TSB said on Wednesday it has selected IBM Services as its strategic partner “to accelerate the bank’s ambition to become a truly digital business with…