Scottish Financial Review

New research published on Monday by Scottish Enterprise (SE) reveals that equity investment secured by Scottish businesses increased 36% to £690 million in 2021, up…

Shares of Scotgold Resources Limited, the Australia-based gold exploration firm focused on Scotland, rose about 9% on Monday after it reported “record gold production” at its Cononish…

A cask of rare Scotch whisky has sold for £16 million to a private collector in Asia, smashing the previous world record of £1 million,…

IPO activity on the London Stock Exchange’s main market and the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) saw a collective 45% decrease in deal numbers and a 94%…

The UK government faces an unsustainable debt burden more than three times its current level unless future governments raise taxes to fund increasing costs from…

Shares of Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant John Wood Group rose as much as 8% on Thursday after it published a trading update for the…

Boris Johnson said on Thursday that he would resign as the UK’s prime minister, saying it is “now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party…

Abrdn announced it has created a single, unified UK and European equity team, with Ben Ritchie, previously Head of European Equities, appointed to lead the…

The £300 million investment trust Abrdn China Investment Company has reported net asset value (NAV) total return of -21.5% for the six months to April 30,…

Shares of Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn rose as much as 8% on Wednesday after it announced it will commence a return of £300 million to shareholders…

Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington — owner of Scotch whisky brands The Macallan, Highland Park and The Famous Grouse — has reported a 45% increase in core revenue…

UK finance minister Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid sensationally quit the UK government on Tuesday in a double blow to Prime Minister Boris…

Scotland’s leading law officer Dorothy Bain QC, the Lord Advocate, has asked the UK’s Supreme Court to decide whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to…

The cost of doing business in Scotland is in “crisis mode” and is undermining Scottish business recovery and growth, according to the latest findings from…

Glasgow-based fashion firm Quiz plc said on Tuesday its revenue rose 97% to £78.4 million during the year to March 31, 2022, and it returned to…

UK and Scottish law firm Brodies LLP said it has reported a twelfth consecutive year of growth for the 12 months to April 30, 2022. The…

The Scottish Government announced that “transformative changes” are being proposed to the way Scotland’s land is used and managed “in order to ensure greater benefit…

The £440 million Aberdeen New India Investment Trust has reported a net asset value (NAV) total return of +11.2% and share price total return of…

Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) announced on Friday that its chief executive Deirdre Michie will step down at the end of 2022 after almost eight years…

Edinburgh-based fund management giant Baillie Gifford said the global rout in growth stocks “has been both staggering and sobering” and has been a “humbling experience for…

The £1 billion Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust plc (APEO) has reported NAV total return of 6.8% for the six months to March 31, 2022,…

Scotland’s economic growth forecast for 2023 has been revised down due to the impacts of cost increases on consumers and businesses — and the likelihood…

Virgin Money UK plc announced a share buyback programme, with an initial repurchase of up to £75 million of its shares listed on the London…

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) announced that Scott Wheway, subject to regulatory approval, will become chair of Scottish Widows Group on September 12, 2022.  Wheway will become a…

Perth-based transport giant Stagecoach, now owned by German asset manager DWS, said its revenue grew to £1.176 billion from £928.2 million in the year to April…

Investment trust dividends rose 15.4% to a record £5.5 billion in the 12 months to the end of March 2022, according to the latest Investment…

Growth investor BGF has exited Ellon-based chemicals firm Aubin Group following a deal to sell the firm to Genova-based Italmatch Chemicals. Aubin is a developer…

SSE Thermal and Equinor have agreed to acquire Triton Power Holdings Ltd from private equity firm Energy Capital Partners for £341 million. SSE Thermal and…

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Tuesday that the Scottish Parliament will publish an independence referendum bill with a planned date for the vote…

Scottish Athletics said that 10 Scots have been selected for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team to compete at the World Athletics Championships in…

Kintore, Aberdeenshire-based Pipeline Technique (PTL) has agreed to acquire the oil and gas division of Stanley Black & Decker, the international pipeline services and equipment company which…

An independent report has been commissioned into how funding for the Scottish Government is calculated. The report will be co-authored by Professor David Bell of…

Proposals for an independent Scottish Public Interest Journalism Institute have been welcomed by the Scottish Government. The institute is a key recommendation of the Public…

Managers of Abrdn funds around the world have given their views on markets amid the volatility and index declines of 2022 as high inflation, rising interest…

Siemens Gamesa said it has been awarded the firm order for the delivery of 60 units of its SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbine at…

Aberdeen-based bus and rail giant FirstGroup said on Thursday the Takeover Panel has granted it a four-week extension to allow discussions to continue with US private…

Scottish Rugby has announced that chief executive Mark Dodson will continue in his role through to the summer of 2025. “The board of Scottish Rugby…

Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) on Thursday warned UK finance minister Rishi Sunak that his new energy profit levy risked undermining attempts to attract capital investment…

The UK central government paid interest on its debt of £7.6 billion in May — the third highest debt interest payment made by central government…

Screen Scotland has published the first comprehensive study of its kind showing the value of Scotland’s film and TV industries to the country’s employment and…

Pernod Ricard has agreed to sell the Tormore Scotch Whisky brand and distillery to Elixir Distillers, a company co-founded by entrepreneurs Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh….

Celtic plc said on Wednesday that its revenue for the year ended June 30, 2022, will be “significantly higher than market expectations.” In a short stock exchange…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) announced it has successfully registered “Scotch Whisky” as a certification trademark in the United States — the industry’s largest global…

The Scottish Salmon Company (SSC) has announced it will rename its operations in Scotland as Bakkafrost Scotland. The Scottish Salmon Company, which currently employs 600…

Elgin-based affordable housebuilder Springfield Properties, said on Wednesday it agreed to acquire the Scottish housebuilding business of Mactaggart & Mickel Group Ltd. The total consideration…

The UK government’s trading plan to sell the taxpayers’ remaining shareholding in NatWest Group, formerly the Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, has been extended…

The British Business Bank’s Small Business Equity Tracker reveals that equity investment in Scotland’s smaller businesses reached record levels in 2021, with Edinburgh named as…

Aberdeen-based global engineering and consulting giant John Wood Group has announced the appointment of chief operating officer Ken Gilmartin as the firm’s chief executive officer…

Baillie Gifford’s £2.6 billion Monks Investment Trust plc said its net asset value (NAV) total return was -18.9% compared to a total return of +6.1% for the…

Glasgow-based Smart Metering Systems plc announced two strategic investments, accelerating the group’s capabilities in the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure asset class and further expanding its…

Martin Gilbert’s fast-growing AssetCo said on Monday it agreed to acquire Colin McLean’s Edinburgh-based fund management business SVM Asset Management for £10.7 million. AssetCo said SVM…

The Scottish investment sector is paying between 15% and 20% more in “retention salaries” just to keep hold of staff working in specialist finance and…

The Scottish Tourism Alliance (STA) has revealed that summer and forward bookings are down significantly and that almost 40% of businesses have reported a decrease…

The revenues of the UK’s Top 20 independent distilleries fell 9% last year — from £1.5 billion in 2019-20 to £1.35 billion in 2020-21 —…

STV Group plc on Monday announced updated guidance for STV Studios, which it said would exceed its 2023 growth target. STV Studios and Tod Productions announced…

Increasing the UK state pension age from 65 to 66 between 2018 and 2020 caused income poverty among 65-year-olds to more than double, according to…

An “visionary” bid for a Forth Green Freeport for Scotland which “will re-industrialise the nation and create large scale economic development” has been submitted by…

Phoenix Group’s Standard Life has warned of a “a major gap” in the British pension system with the latest ONS statistics showing a split between the…

The latest HESA Higher Education Graduate Outcome statistics for 2019-20 show that 0ver 90% of graduates from Scottish Universities have gone on to find work or…

The UK’s central bank raised interest rates for a fifth straight meeting on Thursday and sent a strong message it is prepared to make larger…

Audit Scotland has called for more transparency from the Scottish Government and other public bodies on how Covid-19 funding is being spent. Audit Scotland said…

The Scottish Government plans to hold a second independence referendum in October 2023, according to Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson. Robertson told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good…

The estimated unemployment rate in Scotland was 3.2% in the February to April 2022 quarter, down 0.5 percentage points since December 2019-February 2020 and down 0.6…

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday set out the “fresh case” for Scotland to become an independent country as she declared “It’s time” and published…

Aberdeen-based bus and rail giant FirstGroup said on Tuesday it signed an extension of its contract to operate Great Western Railway (GWR) — as it announced…

Linlithgow-based telecoms testing and measurement firm Calnex Solutions plc said on Tuesday that following nine years as chair George Elliott will retire from his position on the…

Glasgow-based cloud computing firm Iomart Group said its revenue fell 8% to £103 million in the year ended March 31, 2022, and profit before tax slipped…

Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc, the Glasgow-based cloud computing and connectivity provider for financial markets, has announced the launch of Exchange Cloud which it called “an evolution…

Workforce numbers rose across Scotland’s private sector again in May, extending the current run of expansion to 14 months, according to the latest Royal Bank of…

The chief executive of SSE, the Perth-based renewable energy and power networks giant, has hit out at UK finance minster Rishi Sunak’s plan to impose…