Edinburgh Trams to run every five minutes

Edinburgh Trams are to run every five minutes during morning and evening rush hours to respond to higher demand. The tram line is 14km long and runs from Edinburgh…



Macfarlane to buy Nelsons for £6.75m

Glasgow-based packaging firm Macfarlane Group said it agreed to buy Leicester-based Nelsons for Cartons and Packaging Limited for up to £6.75 million. The deal is backed by a placing…


Edrington revenues £574m amid ‘tough trading’

Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington said revenues for the year to March 31 were flat at £574.6 million amid a “challenging environment” where results were hit by “political and economic…



Superglass agrees to £8.7m takover by Russian

Stirling based insulation firm Superglass said it is recommending that its shareholders accept a £8.7 million cash takeover offer from Cyprus incorporated investment vehicle Inflection. Sergey Kolesnikov, the sole…


Alliance Trust hit by Brexit turbulence

Dundee-based investment trust firm Alliance Trust said its investments had underperformed its benchmark in the six months to June 30 “reflecting the turbulent market conditions around the…


£150m gain for RBS as MasterCard buys VocaLink

MasterCard said it agreed to acquire 92.4 percent of payment processing giant VocaLink for about £700 million ($920 million). In the UK, VocaLink operates the Link ATM network and processes…


Universities vow to protect EU research prowess

Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government have launched a joint campaign to protect the European research credentials of Scotland’s universities following the narrow vote by the…


Swedes invest £300m in Aberdeen wind farm

Swedish state-owned energy firm Vattenfall will invest more than £300 million as it becomes the 100% owner of the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm test facility. For an undisclosed…


FirstGroup wins first American rail contract

Aberdeen-based transport giant FirstGroup has won its first rail contract in North America with the A-train commuter rail service in Texas — a 21-mile regional rail system that…


SSE: Brexit vote could cause more uncertainty

Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of Perth-based energy giant SSE, said the outcome of the EU referendum “could lead to aspects of the financial, regulatory and political…



Scots GDP flat, but employment improves

The output of the Scottish economy remained flat during the January to March quarter of 2016, according to gross domestic product (GDP) statistics from Scotland’s chief…


Whisky boss vows to work with Holyrood on EU

As the Scottish Government focuses on pursuing “all available options” to keep Scotland in the EU, the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) chief executive David Frost has vowed…


Bathgate construction firm Dunne collapses

Bathgate-based construction firm Dunne Group — which has been involved in some of the UK’s highest profile civil engineering projects — has gone into administration with the loss of more…


Smurfit joins Menzies as chairman

Edinburgh-based aviation logistics and news distribution company John Menzies has appointed Irish paper and packaging tycoon Dermot Smurfit as independent chairman of the group. Smurfit’s appointment will be…





FirstGroup may benefit from weaker pound

The weaker pound since the EU referendum could give a boost to Aberdeen-based bus and rail giant FirstGroup, which has extensive operations in North America. “It…


Dobbies appoints Cleland as chief executive

The new owners of Midlothian-based Dobbies Garden Centres — Midlothian Capital Partners and Hattington Capital — announced that retail and consumer business veteran John Cleland…



Aberdeen lifts suspension of property fund

Aberdeen Asset Management said it has lifted the suspension of trading in its £3.2 billion UK property fund. Uncertainty over the UK commercial real estate market following the…


Wood Group wins Apache contract extension

Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group said it has been awarded an extension to its master service agreement (MSA) contract with Apache Corporation…



Collagen Solutions revenue trebles to £3.24m

Glasgow-based Collagen Solutions, a manufacturer of medical grade collagen biomaterials, said group revenue and other income increased to £3.24 million in the year to March 31 compared…


Tesco Bank hires Hourican from RBS as CFO

Edinburgh-based Tesco Bank said it appointed former Royal Bank of Scotland executive Declan Hourican to the position of chief financial officer (CFO). Hourican will take up the…



S&P downgrades biggest social landlord

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said it has lowered its long-term credit rating on Wheatley Housing Group, Scotland’s biggest social landlord, because the narrow UK vote to…


Sales, contract news lift Craneware shares

Shares of Edinburgh-based Craneware, a software firm that specializes in the US healthcare market, rose again after it said it enjoyed “a third consecutive year of record sales…


Stan Life down 13% amid property fund worries

Shares of Edinburgh-based Standard Life have fallen about 13% so far this week after its fund management business Standard Life Investments suspended trading in its £2.9 billion UK Real Estate Fund…


Synopsys buys Glasgow Uni spin-out GSS

A spin-out company launched six years ago by the University of Glasgow has been bought by California-based software giant Synopsys. Gold Standard Simulations Ltd (GSS) was…


Copylab expands into Asia

Scottish investment writing, copywriting and marketing communications company Copylab is to launch a new business in Asia with office openings in Hong Kong and Singapore. Copylab Asia…


Standard Life’s 1825 to buy Jones Sheridan

Standard Life’s fast-growing financial planning business 1825 said it will make its fifth acquisition through buying Crewe-based Jones Sheridan, which has assets under advice of £350 million. The deal will establish 1825’s…



Menzies faces new demand to break in two

Edinburgh-based aviation logistics and news distribution company John Menzies is facing a new demand from investors to split the firm in two, according to Reuters. The fresh demands…



Fishermen’s Federation pushes anti-EU case

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has outlined its opposition to Scotland remaining in the European Union despite the vow by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to “protect…


EnQuest shares up amid North Sea discovery

Shares of North Sea exploration firm EnQuest rose about 5% after it announced encouraging results fom its Central North Sea drilling programme.  Neil McCulloch, EnQuest’s president, North…


Wood Group sticks with guidance of 20% fall

Aberdeen-based oil and gas services giant Wood Group said it was sticking to the guidance of full year 2016 earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA) of…


Chief operating officer Jenkins to leave Weir

Glasgow-based engineering firm Weir Group said chief operating officer Dean Jenkins would step down from its board on September 30 and his employment with the group will cease on December 31….



New property, landfill taxes raise £572m

The first annual receipts for Scotland’s new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Scottish Landfill Tax showed £572 million was collected in 2015-16 — about…


Lothian Buses revenue up 5.3% to £142m

Lothian Buses — 91% owned by the City of Edinburgh Council — saw revenue rise 5.3% to £142 million in 2015 and net profit fall to £6.4 million from…



Stagecoach revenue up 20% to £3.8bn

Perth-based rail and bus giant Stagecoach Group said its revenue for the year to April rose more than 20% to £3.8 billion and profit before tax excluding exceptional items rose £2.4 million…



KPMG Audit investigated over HBOS

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it has started an investigation into the conduct of KPMG Audit Plc’s audit of HBOS for the year ended December…




Wood Group wins big Brazil contract

Aberdeen-based energy services giant Wood Group said it won a multimillion dollar contract to provide engineering and design and procurement services to South Atlantic Holding, owned…


Ex-National Express exec joins Stagecoach board

Perth-based bus and rail giant Stagecoach Group said it would propose former National Express executive Ray O’Toole for election as a non-executive director of the company at its annual general…


Osborne: there may be trouble ahead

UK finance minister George Osborne tried to calm financial markets on Monday morning following the turmoil that greeted Britain’s narrow vote to leave the EU — but the…






Business Stream buys Southern Water business

Edinburgh-based Business Stream, a subsidiary of state-owned Scottish Water, said it bought the non-domestic customer base of Southern Water to strengthen its position as it prepares to…



Weir sells businesses for £36.7m; orders down

Glasgow-based engineering firm Weir Group said it is selling two renewables focused businesses — American Hydro Corporation and Ynfiniti Engineering Services — for up to £36.7 million….


Alexander Dennis sales up 20% to £602m

Falkirk-based bus maker Alexander Dennis enjoyed a 20% increase in sales to £602 million and a £10 million increase in profit before tax to £23 million in the…



Smart Metering wins First Utility deal

Glasgow-based Smart Metering Systems (SMS) said it signed a “framework agreement” with First Utility as its “preferred domestic smart meter asset provider.” First Utility currently supplies energy to…


Wind farm signs Nestlé power deal

A new wind farm in Dumfries and Galloway has signed a 15-year deal to provide power for about half of Nestlé’s operations in the UK &…


£11.7bn for councils’ net revenue spending

Scotland’s local authorities have set a net revenue expenditure budget of £11.724 billion for spending on all services in 2016-17, the Scottish Government said. That is £153 million…


Outlander helps tourist attractions hit 6.2m

Scottish tourist attractions have recorded a 3% rise in visitors, the fourth consecutive year of growth, the Scottish Government said. Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions…


O’Shea to step down at Edinburgh University

Professor Timothy O’Shea, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, has announced his intention to step down from his role in September 2017. O’Shea took…