Business Briefs - May 1

Figures from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show that the estimated population of Scotland was 5,347,600 in mid-2014.

The figures show a rise of 19,900 (0.4 per cent) people since mid-2013.

The population increased because approximately 3,500 more people were born than died, and because in-migration which includes people from the rest of the UK exceeded out-migration by approximately 17,600 between mid-2013 and mid-2014. Other changes, such as in armed forces and prisoners, resulted in a loss of approximately 1,200 people.

Between mid-2013 and mid-2014, approximately 49,240 people came to Scotland from the rest of the UK, and approximately 39,660 left Scotland to go in the opposite direction, giving a net migration gain of approximately 9,600.

Between mid-2013 and mid-2014, 33,200 people came to Scotland from overseas and 25,200 left Scotland to go overseas giving a net migration gain of 8,000, which represents about 1 in 700 (0.14 per cent) of the total population.

Other key facts:

Total investment in the Scottish commercial property sector topped £575 million in the opening three months of 2015, according to property firm Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).

The figure reoresented an increase of 26 per cent compared with the first quarter a year earlier, the firm’s UK investment transactions report said.

UK institutions dominated much of the activity, investing some £245.4m, while the retail and leisure sector accounted for just under half of the total volume invested north of the Border.

In all 35 deals were completed in the first quarter – eight more than the same period last year – while the average deal size also increased, from £16.8m in Q1 2014 to just over £16.4m in the latest period.

Bill Binnie, investment consultant in capital markets with LSH in Glasgow, said: “Despite the uncertainty of the outcome of the general election it is a strong set of figures in Q1 for Scotland.”

Glasgow-based ScottishPower UK’s highest paid director has enjoyed an 11 per cent pay rise.

Annual accounts for the energy giant, which also showed investment in the UK during the year hit a record £1.337 billion, up from £1.25bn the year before, revealed that its highest paid director was paid £403,000 in 2014, up from £362,000.

The document shows the aggregate remuneration for all directors increased from £862,000 to £898,000.

ScottishPower, owned by Spain’s Iberdrola and headed by chief corporate officer Keith Anderson, saw its underlying profits rise from £801.7 million to £877.9m.

The company said the majority of last year’s investment went into networks and windfarms and projected a further £1.3bn to be spent during 2015.

Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of the world’s largest advertising agency WPP, received a 44 per cent pay increase to £43 million last year, according to the company’s annual report.

The bulk of Sorrell’s remuneration is made up of share awards, which is directly linked the company’s stock performance, unlike many other FTSE 100 bosses’ compensation.

In 2014, WPP reported a record £1.5 billion annual profit, as revenue grew 4.6 per cent year on year.

Glasgow Subway passenger numbers hit record levels last year.

A total of 12.95 million people used Scotland’s only underground in2014, with traffic peaking at 1.2 million during the period when the city hosted the Commonwealth Games.

However, the annual total still remain more 500,000 behind a target of 13.5 million passengers set by the net work’s operator, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.

Aberdeen glazier and construction services firm Bon Accord Glass has posted a 44 per cent increase in profits for the year ended July 31, 2014.

Accounts lodged at Companies House show pre-tax profits of £391,907 for the period, while turnover went up £ 330,000 to £7.5million.

In a joint statement published in the accounts, directors Colin Kinghorn and Martin Allan said they were “satisfied” with the results in a year that saw the opening of the company’s kitchen showroom.

Malcolm Cannon, the chief executive of lettings agency Braemore, has been appointed to the board of the newly created The Property Ombudsman (TPO) Scotland to represent member companies north of the border.

Launched last month, TPO Scotland is a standards and mediation scheme specifically for Scottish estate agents and the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and Malcolm’s appointment as non-executive director follows Braemore’s drive to raise standards and champion best practice across the property management sector.

More than 500 estate agencies and lettings firms are TPO Scotland accredited and as members of the organisation.