News

Retail sales in Scotland took a significant turn for the worse in the final month of 2020, falling further into decline with 16.6% on a total basis, according to the latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and KPMG Scottish Retail Sales Monitor.

Consumer price inflation rose slightly more than expected to 0.6% in December from a three-month low of 0.3% in November, according to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The extension of the lockdown restrictions in Scotland announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday is a 'further blow' to Scottish businesses, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC).

Edinburgh-based Prewired has secured funding from Creative Informatics to take one of Edinburgh’s longest-running coding clubs for young people online. Prewired, which is also supported by the UK’s largest tech incubator CodeBase and tech groups Skyscanner and Deliveroo Engineering, has

Aberdeenshire Council has appointed its head of finance Alan Wood to the interim position of director of infrastructure services. Mr Wood takes up the role with immediate effect following the retirement of Stephen Archer in December.

New figures published by UK Finance show there were 130,000 mortgage payment deferrals in place at the end of December 2020.

Sales of gold bars increased by 53% over the Christmas period, according to The Royal Mint.

An alleged doughnut thief has been arrested for impersonating a police officer.

The administrators of Rangers FC who were maliciously prosecuted have been paid more than £20 million, The National reports. The newspaper claims that £21m in total has been paid to the two men and a further £3m has been given to them for legal expenses.

Scotland has officially recorded only one high-profile fraud case for the entire period of 2020 as COVID-19 continues profound logistical challenges for the country’s justice system. The latest data from KPMG’s Fraud Barometer report reveals a single case of alleged fraud, valued at more

Scottish accountancy practice Wylie & Bisset has promoted two long-standing members of its business recovery and insolvency department. The promotions see insolvency managers Paul McDougall, with almost 15 years’ service with the firm, move to associate director, and Chris Wardle, with ove

Accountants are dismayed that HMRC is refusing to extend the deadline for self-assessment tax returns on January 31, which could land millions of hard-hit entrepreneurs with fines totalling £250 million. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has lobbied HMRC for a rethink o

Businesses owners, finance directors or CEOs of companies that have signed up to the Prompt Payment Code will be obliged to take personal responsibility for payments under new reforms announced by the UK Government today.

The CBI has called for more COVID-19 government help ahead of the Budget in March.

Business activity at small firms fell in December for the third month in a row as challenging economic conditions continued to disrupt demand and push up costs leading to job cuts, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland Small Business PMI.