Scottish Financial Review

The estimated unemployment rate for people aged 16 years and over in Scotland was 4% in April to June 2023, below the UK rate of…

Martin Gilbert’s asset manager AssetCo announced that the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has approved its “change in control application” which will enable AssetCo to proceed with…

Edinburgh investment giant Abrdn has started to give staff access to an in-house version of ChatGPT as the FTSE 100 asset manager looks to adopt…

Aberdeen-headquartered logistics group ASCO has been bought by Leed-based private equity firm Endless LLP for an undisclosed sum. ASCO has over 1,000 employees in the…

Scottish private sector companies expanded their output for the sixth successive month in July, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland PMI survey. However,…

Abrdn’s £1.6 billion Murray International Trust announced that its controversial lead investment manager Bruce Stout will retire in from the Edinburgh investment giant in 2024….

Scottish salmon export sales rose 9% in the first half of 2023, with major growth in the Asian and American markets, according to Salmon Scotland…

Codebase, the operator of Scotland’s Techscaler startup support network, said it will acquire CodeClan’s training materials and other assets from the liquidator. CodeClan, Scotland’s national…

The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) has appointed Donna Smith as its new chief executive to replace Patrick Krause, who is stepping down in October. “We…

Media investment firm National World plc — publisher of The Scotsman, The Yorkshire Post and a number of national and local media platforms — said…

Real estate investment trust Capital & Regional announced on Thursday it agreed to acquire The Gyle Shopping Centre on the western edge of Edinburgh for…

The £609 million Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust plc said its share price and net asset value (NAV) returned -13.8% and -2.7% respectively in the year…

A new report by the London-based UK Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows the employment rate in the Highlands, Islands and North East of Scotland —…

Plans by Dutch-owned Scotch Whisky Investments (SWI) to develop a major bonded whisky storage facility in Glenrothes in Fife have taken a major step forward…

The UK is on course to experience five years of lost economic growth, the longest since the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis, according to…

North Sea decommissioning work offers a “significant opportunity” with £21 billion of spending forecast in the next decade, according to the UK’s North Sea Transition Authority…

Scotland’s Central Belt is experiencing above-average levels of research and innovation and business investment compared with the UK, with high levels of investment also seen…

Scottish-headquartered UK law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn has reported 7% turnover growth to £66.7 million for the year to April 30, 2023, the sixth year of…

Cytomos, an Edinburgh-based life science company that has developed a proprietary new approach to analysing cells, has secured £4 million to scale up market testing of its…

Abrdn, the Edinburgh investment giant, said on Tuesday its assets under management and administration slipped 1% to £496 billion in the first half of 2023 as…

Edinburgh and London-based private bank Hampden & Co has reported “strong” growth in client numbers over the first half of 2023 as it continued to capitalise…

A surge in bulk annuity deals is anticipated over the next five years, with 86% of pension scheme trustees expecting to approach an insurer in…

The latest Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs reveals a fresh expansion in permanent job placements across Scotland in July — with the rate…

Scotland’s national digital skills academy CodeClan announced it has gone into liquidation and will cease all operations as of August 4, 2023. A statement on the…

Baillie Gifford has hit back strongly against climate activist Greta Thunberg who has pulled out of the Edinburgh International Book Festival alleging that the Edinburgh investment…

Royal London said its assets under management increased to £153 billion in the six months to June 30, 2023, from £147 billion at the end…

The UK’s central bank on Thursday raised its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a 15-year high of 5.25% — and…

Mackie’s of Scotland, the family-owned ice cream, food and drink brand, has announced record sales after pursuing an ambitious growth strategy across the UK. Mackie’s said…

Think tank IPPR Scotland has called on the Scottish government to “set a clear expectation” that all workers be paid at least the “real living…

University of Glasgow spinout firm Chemify has announced funding of £36 million, including a Series A led by Triatomic Capital. Triatomic was joined by new investors…

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, has appointed Callum Stewart as Head of Investment Proposition Distribution. Stewart joins Standard Life from Hyman Robertson, where he…

Thurso-based battery cell developer AMTE Power announced that executive director Kevin Brundish will be transitioning to a role of non-executive director of AMTE Power with immediate…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has warned that the largest tax increase on Scotch Whisky in 40 years, which has now been implemented by the UK…

John Wood Group, the Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting firm, said it has been awarded a multi-year enterprise framework agreement (EFA) to continue to provide services…

By Mark McSherry Baillie Gifford’s latest “Annual Value Assessment” report on its UK authorised funds has reported that 18 of 36 funds run by the…

BT Group plc has announced the appointment of Glaswegian Allison Kirkby as its next chief executive. Kirkby will take over from Philip Jansen around the end…

Weir Group, the Glasgow-based global engineering and mining giant, saw its shares rise as much as 5% after the firm upgraded its full-year revenue and…

A.G. Barr, the Cumbernauld-based maker of Irn-Bru, Rubicon energy drinks and Funkin cocktail mixers, announced that long-serving chief executive Roger White will, at a mutually agreed…

Scottish law firm Burness Paull said it has elevated four lawyers to partner in its latest promotions round. The newly appointed partners are Louise Chambers…

Scottish SMEs are spending an estimated 35% of their overheads on international payment fees when using traditional banks, according to a survey by fintech firm Wise….

Archangels, the business angel syndicate investing in early-stage Scottish life sciences and technology companies, is bolstering its funding fire power after securing a £12 million…

The UK government said on Monday it will grant more than 100 new oil and gas licences in the North Sea as part of efforts…

NatWest Group chairman Howard Davies said on Friday that said political pressure prompted the ousting of chief executive Alison Rose following revelations that she discussed with…

Alliance Trust plc, the £3.3 billion Dundee investment trust company, said the fund’s net asset value (NAV) Total Return was 11.1% for the six months ended June…

NatWest Group Plc said on Thursday the head of its Coutts private bank subsidiary, Peter Flavel, will depart with immediate effect. On Wednesday, the UK…

Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn plc has announced the appointment of Jason Windsor as its new chief financial officer (CFO), subject to regulatory approval. Windsor, 50, has…

Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, said it has concluded a £1.2 billion Bulk Purchase Annuity (BPA) transaction covering 20,200 members of the Mitchells &…

Glasgow-based global engineering and mining giant Weir Group announced that chief financial officer (CFO) John Heasley is to step down to take up a new role…

Bank of Scotland plc, owned by Lloyds Banking Group, reported a loss before tax for the half-year to June 30, 2023, of £112 million, compared to…

Aberdeen-based PD&MS, a specialist engineering services company operating within the energy transition, conventional energy, low carbon and renewables sectors, has been acquired by Cheshire-based RSK….

The board of NatWest-RBS announced early on Wednesday that Alison Rose has “agreed by mutual consent to step down as group chief executive with immediate…

NatWest-RBS chairman Howard Davies announced the banking group “retains full confidence” in Alison Rose as CEO of the company despite her “regrettable error of judgement” in…

Renewable energy firm Drax Group said it has secured development consent from the Scottish Government for its plans to build a new £500 million underground…

Shares of Thurso-based battery cell developer AMTE Power soared as much as 200% to around 12p after it announced it agreed a new secured £1…

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) has reported a 10.4% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers for the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year. During…

Edinburgh Napier University has announced a strategic partnership with cluster management organisation FinTech Scotland to support the fast-growing industry. The agreement will aim to harness…

The £360 million investment trust Abrdn Diversified Income and Growth plc (ADIG) — which last month commenced a strategic review — announced it “has received…

Abrdn-owned platform Interactive Investor (ii) has written a ‘Dear CEO’ letter to FTSE 100 company chairs and the UK’s 20 most-held investment trusts on the…

Research into how people’s genetic code can influence health and disease – including the “vast” regions of DNA whose function is unclear – has secured…

Alliance Trust plc, the £3.3 billion Dundee investment trust company, announced that its investment manager Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has appointed Los Angeles-based Asia investment specialist…

Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc, the Glasgow-based cloud computing and connectivity provider for financial markets, has announced the signing of a number of private cloud contracts…

The UK’s public sector net debt (PSND ex) reached £2.596 trillion at the end of June 2023 — around 100.8% of the UK’s annual gross…

Tourist spending in Scotland in the first three months of 2023 was 70% higher than pre-Covid levels, according to provisional data from the UK’s Office…

NatWest chief executive Alison Rose has apologised to Nigel Farage, former leader of the pro-Brexit UK Independence Party, for dropping him as a client of the…

SSE plc, the Perth-based electricity infrastructure giant, said it continues to expect to report full-year 2023-24 adjusted earnings per share of more than 150p “on the…

Thurso-based AMTE Power, the developer of next generation battery cells, said on Thursday its financial situation “is becoming ever more critical.” The firm said if it is…

Polish firm InPost announced it bought a 30% equity stake and 30% of voting rights in Edinburgh-based Menzies Distribution for £49.3 million in cash. InPost…

Shares of Elgin-based Springfield Properties, which is building a number of new communities throughout Scotland, climbed as much as 7% after it said full year…

Celtic plc announced the appointment of Brian Rose as a new non-executive director with immediate effect. Celtic said Rose, 52, is currently a Director of…

The board of the £13 billion Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust announced the appointment of Stephanie Leung as independent non-executive director of the closed end fund…