Scottish Financial Review

Trade body Oil & Gas UK said output from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) rose 5% to 1.73 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2016 and should…

Edinburgh-based Craneware, a software firm that specializes in the US healthcare market, said its first half revenue to December 31 increased 16% to $26.8 million and profit before tax…

Shares of Glasgow-based international mobile power firm Aggreko fell roughly 12% after it said 2016 revenue and profit fell and that it expects the current full year profit before tax…

Wind power generated the equivalent of 67% of Scotland’s entire electricity needs for the month of February, according to WWF Scotland. WWF Scotland published its analysis…

Glasgow-based sausage skin and collagen products firm Devro said currency gains helped its 2016 revenue increase 4.7% to £241.1 million — but in constant currency its revenues declined 6.9%….

UPDATE 5 – Edinburgh-based Standard Life has agreed to buy Aberdeen Asset Management for £3.8 billion in an all-share transaction that would create a global fund management player overseeing £660 billion…

UPDATE 5 – Scottish investment giants Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management confirmed in a joint statement they are in discussions about a possible all-share merger that would create a…

The Oil and Gas Authority’s five-year review of major oil and gas projects on the UK Continental Shelf showed more than £40 billion was invested in projects — but…

Glasgow-based media company STV Group said its 2016 revenue rose 3% to £120.4 million and statutory pre tax profit rose 60% to £15.7 million amid a growth in its “non-broadcast…

A joint venture between developer Moda Living and investment manager Apache Capital has bought a site in Fountainbridge on the west side of Edinburgh city centre to develop 525…

Edinburgh-based cyber security software firm ZoneFox said it closed a £3.6 million funding round led by Scottish business angel investment syndicate Archangels with co-investment from The Scottish Investment…

The charity Allia Impact Finance said it issued its ninth charitable bond for Scotland — taking the total invested by the Scottish government in Allia bonds…

Scottish transport giants Stagecoach and FirstGroup are to fight it out with one other bidder to win the new East Midlands rail franchise, which Stagecoach has…

Baillie Gifford’s flagship £5 billion closed-end fund company, the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust plc, will enter the FTSE100 index for the first time in its…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) — the influential trade body for the £5 billion Scotch industry — said it appointed diplomat Karen Betts as its new chief…

Shares of Cumbernauld-based Irn-Bru maker A.G. Barr rose after it said it has made a “further commitment to reduce sugar across its soft drinks portfolio” in advance of a UK…

Dundee-based investment firm Alliance Trust said its shareholders approved its radical plans to outsource its equity portfolio management and buy back the 19.75% stake of its biggest shareholder, US activist hedge fund…

Edinburgh-based industrial testing firm Exova Group said its 2016 revenue rose 10.8% to £328.6 million and profit before taxation rose 58% to £36.6 million despite weakness in its oil and gas business. On a…

Edinburgh and Newcastle-based challenger bank Virgin Money said its 2016 statutory profit before tax increased 41% to £194.4 million and its gross mortgage lending grew 12% to £8.4 billion, giving it…

Sterling fell against major currencies on Monday amid reports that another Scottish independence vote could be called and uncertainty about Britain’s future as it prepares to leave the European…

The UK government’s defence secretary Michael Fallon said £1.7 billion would be invested to upgrade Scottish military bases as the MoD’s Defence Board met in Edinburgh for the…

The Scottish Salmon Company said its 2016 revenue was £110 million, up from £100.4 million in 2015, as strong market prices boosted the firm despite the salmon…

Royal Bank of Scotland said it made an attributable loss in 2016 of £6.95 billion which included litigation and conduct costs of £5.87 billion and restructuring costs of £2.1 billion….

Edinburgh-based investment, pensions and insurance giant Standard Life said its operating profit before tax rose 9% to £723 million in 2016 and assets under administration rose by 16% to…

Underlying profit at Scottish Widows fell 13% to £837 million in 2016 as the company felt the effect of “recent reforms on activity within the pensions market.” As parent Lloyds…

Glasgow-based packaging firm Macfarlane Group pledged to continue looking for takeover deals as it revealed that recent acquisitions helped its 2016 sales rise 6% to £179.8 million and profit before tax…

Shares of Glasgow-based engineering giant Weir Group fell after it said its 2016 profit before tax fell 22% to £170 million and revenue slipped 2% to £1.84 billion amid…

The BBC said on Wednesday it will make the “biggest single investment in broadcast content in Scotland in more than 20 years.” It said that from…

The World Bank said in a new paper that economic policy uncertainty in Europe and the United States is contributing to a decline in world trade…

The Scottish government’s finance secretary Derek Mackay has responded to fierce criticism of the country’s business rates regime by announcing that “9,500 more businesses across…

Kentucky-based spirits and wine group Brown-Forman said it appointed Rachel Barrie as whisky maker for its Scotch whisky portfolio which includes the single malts BenRiach, The GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh distilleries,…

Shares of Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group fell around 8% on Tuesday after it said 2016 revenue fell 15.7% to $4.93 billion, profit…

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG said late on Monday that it notified Royal Bank of Scotland that it has withdrawn its preliminary non-binding proposal for,…

The UK production boss of Norwegian multinational Statoil said “large discoveries can still be made” in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). Statoil (UK) is the operator of the massive Mariner…

Scotch whisky exports were up 4% in value in 2016 to just over £4 billion and up 4.8% by volume to 1.2 billion bottles, the…

Edinburgh-based TV advertising analytics firm TVSquared said it raised another $6.5 million “as the demand for TV measurement and optimization grows within the $202 billion TV ad…

Unilever and Kraft Heinz announced in a joint statement on Sunday that Kraft Heinz “has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of…

ShareSoc, the UK Individual Shareholders Society, warned of “major problems” for Dundee-based investment firm Alliance Trust if shareholders do not support the firm’s board in its radical plans to outsource its equity portfolio…

Royal Bank of Scotland said EU competition officials are considering an alternative plan that would replace the requirement for RBS to sell about 300 of its branches under…

UK-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever — owner of brands including Dove, Flora, Hellmans, PG Tips, Knorr and Persil — rejected a potential offer of around $143 billion from The Kraft…

Student accommodation developer Unite Group plc said it would sell 13 properties comprising 4,175 beds to a Brookfield-managed fund for £295 million, with Unite’s share of the deal…

The CEO of Edinburgh-based investment and insurance firm Aegon UK said financial adviser platforms need to become more like Amazon and “invest in the user experience.”…

Glasgow City Council has voted to approve planning permission in principle for the University of Glasgow’s £1 billion campus masterplan to transform the west end of the…

Upmarket home builder Cala Group said in a trading update it remained on course to deliver another record year of revenues and profits in 2017, despite its average…

Edinburgh-based oil exploration company Cairn Energy has emerged as a frontrunner to buy North Sea oil and gas assets put up for sale by Denmark’s Dong Energy, according…

The value of Scottish food and drink exports to Japan has surged to almost £100 million, strongly supported by Scotch whisky, external affairs secretary Fiona…

Unemployment in Scotland rose by 6,000 over the October to December 2016 quarter to 135,000, but the jobless level was down 27,000 on the same quarter…

Edinburgh-based Krotos, producer of audio products for the entertainment industry, said it secured angel investment in a deal led by Leslie Benzies, former president of Grand Theft Auto…

Perth-based transport giant Stagecoach Group said it sold its interest in the Twin America LLC joint venture for an undisclosed sum. Twin America was a joint venture between…

State-owned Scottish ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) said that in 2016 it exceeded five million passengers for the first time since 1997 — helped by the first full year…

The finance ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the UK Government has failed to provide the devolved administrations with necessary information or clarity…

The most recent Wealth & Assets Survey (WAS) for Great Britain showed that aggregate total wealth of private households in Scotland increased to £856.6 billion…

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has urged MEPS to vote in favour of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The SWA said CETA…

Glasgow-based regenerative medicine firm Collagen Solutions announced a conditional placing and open offer of shares to raise up to £8 million and said it received a conditional…

Melrose-based angel investment group Tweed Renaissance Investors (TRI Capital) appointed Jamie Andrew as its new chairman following the retirement of Rob Dick. Andrew said: “TRI Cap has…

A new fintech hub backed by the UK and Scottish governments and based at Royal Bank of Scotland’s headquarters at Gogarburn, Edinburgh, will open to entrepreneurs…

There were 85 businesses in Scotland with parent companies registered in Japan by November 2016, with a collective turnover of £1.5 billion and 6,250 employees at 210 sites, new…

The Co-operative Bank, rescued from near collapse by hedge funds in 2013, said it has put itself up for sale amid a neeed to build its capital and…

New order growth accelerated to a 20-month high at Scottish private sector companies in January, according to the latest Bank of Scotland Regional Purchasing Managers’…

The CEO of Aberdeen-based Faroe Petroleum said in an update the firm was “poised for a major growth phase” and it would pursue deals in its core…

Edinburgh-based tidal power company Atlantis Resources announce an agreement to partner Natural Energy Wire (NEW) to develop the Wyre tidal project to be built between…

The Trump administration represents a risk to international economic conditions and global sovereign credit fundamentals, Fitch Ratings said on Friday. “US policy predictability has diminished,…

A group of senior businessmen — including Angus Grossart and Brian Souter — are among investors seeking to join a lawsuit against Royal Bank of Scotland alleging they…

ScottishPower said it will increase its standard domestic gas and electricity prices from March 31, 2017 — but nearly two out of three homes supplied…

The University of Edinburgh said its total income for the year ended July 31, 2016 was £908 million — including exceptional items of £19 million —…

In what is being called the largest letting in Scotland since the EU referendum, the management, engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald has agreed terms to move…

Manchester United said its revenue rose 18% to £157.9 million in the three months to December 31, 2016, but its net debt jumped 27.1% to £409.3 million. It its outlook, the company…

Leicester-based wealth management firm Mattioli Woods said it acquired 49% of Edinburgh-based fund manager Amati Global Investors Limited from Amati Global Partners LLP for £3.33 million.   Mattioli Woods…

Edinburgh-based Bowleven, the Africa focused oil and gas exploration company, on Wednesday urged its shareholders to vote against all resolutions of Monaco-based activist shareholder Crown Ocean…

The overall annual turnover of the UK’s oilfield services (OFS) industry fell from £40.6 billion in 2014 to £35.7 billion in 2015, according to a new…