matchesfashion sale latest win for Scottish Equity
Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) has recorded another success with the sale of matchesfashion.com — the digital international fashion brand backed by SEP — to funds managed by…
Glasgow
STV cheers shareholders despite revenue, profit fall
Glasgow-based media firm STV Group said it would return £10 million to shareholders over the next 18 months and increase its dividend despite revenue slipping 3%…
1,400 NHS jobs to be created in Scotland
The Scottish Government said the number of NHS staff in Scotland is expected to increase by more than 1,400 whole time posts in the 2017-18…
New film and TV school to open in Scotland
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a Scottish Government investment to support the National Film and Television School’s (NFTS) plans to set up a base in…
Macfarlane first-half sales up 10% to £89.8m
Glasgow-based packaging firm Macfarlane Group said its first-half sales rose 10% to £89.8 million and profit before tax soared 27% to £2.5 million as recent acquisitions boosted…
Virgin Trains’ Scotland-London business booms
Virgin Trains said it has witnessed an “historic shift” in travel patterns as more Scotland-London passengers “choose train over plane than at any time in…
Wheatley affordable housing funds up to £500m
Wheatley Group, Scotland’s biggest social landlord, said it secured a further £65 million of private investment and that it will return to the capital markets in the…
STV hires ITV’s Simon Pitts as new CEO
Glasgow-based media firm STV Group said that Simon Pitts will join STV as chief executive officer on January 3, 2018. Pitts will join STV from ITV…
Busiest month ever at Edinburgh, Glasgow airports
Scotland two biggest airports had their business month ever in July with growth in international flights continuing to drive their expansion. Edinburgh Airport experienced the…
Netflix buys Scots comic book firm Millarworld
By Mark McSherry UPDATE 2 — Netflix Inc. said it acquired Millarworld, the comic book publishing firm run by Scottish writer Mark Millar and his…
Alliance Trust ‘encouraged’ by external manager start
Dundee-based investment firm Alliance Trust announced results for the six months to June 30 as it makes a transition to its new investment approach with…
Weir H1 revenue tops £1bn amid North America boost
Glasgow-based engineering giant Weir Group said its revenue rose 26% to £1.09 billion in the six months to June 30, 2017, “reflecting both the recovery in…
UK financial regulator increases Scotland presence
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced the appointment of Edinburgh pensions and insurance veteran Maggie Craig as the Head of Department, Scotland — a…
Head of Student Loans Company ‘suspended’
Steve Lamey, the chief executive of the UK’s Glasgow-based Student Loans Company (SLC), has been suspended pending an investigation, according to reports. No clear reason was…
Scotland, Wales ‘won’t support’ EU Withdrawal Bill
The First Ministers of Scotland and Wales said the UK government’s European Union (Withdrawal) Bill is a “naked power-grab” for which the Scottish and Welsh Governments…
North America tourist spend up 40% to £641m
Visitors to Scotland from North America spent £641 million in the 12 months to the end of March 2017, a 40% rise on the previous…
Delay to £1bn Edinburgh City Deal hurts investment
Delays to the £1 billion Edinburgh and South East City Region Deal could cost the Scottish economy crucial investment, Economy Secretary Keith Brown has warned….
Cochrane becomes interim CEO of Carillion
Construction and outsourcing firm Carillion said on Monday it appointed Keith Cochrane — former chief executive of Stagecoach and Weir Group — as its interim…
Scottish Enterprise CEO Lena Wilson steps down
Scottish Enterprise confirmed that its chief executive Lena Wilson is to step down after nearly eight years in the job. Wilson told the organisation’s employees…
Scots economy rebounds to outpace UK growth
UPDATE 2 — Scotland’s gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.8% in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the previous three months — outpacing the quarterly…
Surprise as Higgins retires from Tesco Bank
Edinburgh-based Tesco Bank sprung a surprise on Tuesday when it announced that its CEO Benny Higgins would retire from Tesco in February 2018. Higgins joined Tesco…
Atlantic salmon to be tagged in conservation move
Hundreds of Atlantic salmon are to be tagged and released back into the wild as part of a new study aimed at increasing the understanding…
Aggreko buys battery storage firm Younicos for £40m
Glasgow-based Aggreko, the world’s largest temporary power firm, announced a £40 million agreement to acquire smart energy and battery storage technology company Younicos. Based in Berlin and…
Fraser of Allander: Growth returns to Scots economy
Growth will return to the Scottish economy in 2017 “with tentative signs of a more positive outlook for Scotland’s oil and gas sector and improving…
Revenue up to £668m at Macallan owner Edrington
Glasgow-based drinks company Edrington — owner of Scotch whisky brands The Macallan, Highland Park, Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark — said on Thursday that its core revenues rose…
Scottish Equity Partners in Tilbury wind farm deal
Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) said it funded the acquisition of the 9.2MW onshore wind farm at the Port of Tilbury in London from SSE. SEP…
iomart confirms talks to buy Germany’s PlusServer
Glasgow-based cloud computing firm iomart confirmed on Friday that it is one of a number of parties in early stage discussions regarding the potential acquisition of…
HSBC to create 500 new jobs in Scotland
Banking giant HSBC said on Tuesday it is creating 500 new jobs in Scotland. HSBC will create new roles in its global risk business in…
US authorities move to block FanDuel merger
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Monday it has authorized legal action “to block the merger” of Edinburgh-headquartered FanDuel and Boston-based DraftKings, the two…
Go-ahead for £8.9m Renfrew manufacturing centre
The Scottish Government said on Monday that a specialist centre to develop new manufacturing processes for lightweight materials for the aerospace and automotive industries is…
Motherwell’s MB Aerospace wins $1bn contract
Motherwell-based engineering firm MB Aerospace has signed a $1 billion contract to provide flight engine parts to Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corporation…
Blairgowrie’s Castle Water acquires Cobalt Water
Blairgowrie-based independent water retailer Castle Water said it acquired Ayr-based Cobalt Water, an independent retailer of water to business customers, for an undisclosed sum. Cobalt’s…
Glasgow’s Quiz fashion firm plans flotation
Glasgow-based “fast fashion” firm Quiz has announced its intention to float on the junior AIM market in July 2017. Sources said Quiz would seek to…
Aggreko buys Indonesia’s KBT for $33m
Glasgow-based Aggreko, the world’s largest temporary power firm, said it acquired KBT (Kerta Bumni Teknindo), an Indonesia-based power rental company for about $32.8 million. “KBT…
Skeoch: Stan Life ‘would sell £16bn annuity business’
Standard Life chief executive Keith Skeoch told Reuters in an interview that the Edinburgh financial giant would be willing to sell its £16.1 billion annuity portfolio after…
Weir Group to buy Singapore’s KOP for $114m
Glasgow-based engineering giant Weir Group said it agreed to acquire Singapore-headquartered oil and gas technology firm KOP Surface Products from Norwegian-listed Akastor ASA for about $114m…
Scotgold agrees first sales to jewellery industry
Scotgold Resources Ltd said it signed its first sales agreement with the Scottish jewellery industry involving two prominent Scottish jewellery manufacturers. The agreement covers the first refining batch — about…