News

Nick Penny Despite a year of uncertainty, the Scottish office market remains buoyant, according to Savills.

Gary Louttit By Gary Louttit, head of hospitality and leisure at Shepherd Chartered Surveyors

Demand for farmland in Scotland has further decreased, having now been declining for the last 24 months, according to the latest RICS / RAU Rural Land Market Survey.

More than 25 per cent of Scottish consumers are concerned about the impact of Brexit on their spending plans over the next 12 months (against a UK average of 20 per cent), while almost two-thirds worry about their lack of disposable income, according to PwC’s new Total Retail report.

Graeme Finnie Scottish accountancy firm French Duncan has selected an Edinburgh charity as their dedicated fundraising partner for the year.

Emma Carmichael The Association of Women in Property (WiP) has announced its new central Scotland branch chairman for 2017/18.

Royal Bank of Scotland has contributed just under £3 million to a £6.5 million “buyer induced management buy-out” deal at a Glasgow print finishing business.

Derek Mackay Finance secretary Derek Mackay yesterday succumbed intense pressure from business leaders and political opponents over hugely inflated fees by announcing a cap on business rates.

Moira Kelly Yesterday’s decision by the Scottish Parliament to set income tax bands differently to the rest of the UK is likely to result in increased complexity for some Scottish taxpayers, the body representing the country’s tax professionals has warned.

Lord Smith of Kelvin Alliance Trust chairman Lord Smith of Kelvin ploughed all but £480 of his £120,000 wage back into the Dundee-based investor last year, according to new research.

Antonio Horta-Osario Lloyds Banking Group has today posted pre-tax profits for 2016, double that of the previous year.

Rod Ashley The boss of Britain’s last remaining independent savings bank has told a Holyrood committee that last month’s decision to close the 182 year-old institution was made to avoid a disorderly, regulator-led demise and the consequent impact on its thousands of customers.

Scottish home buyers borrowed £2.2 billion for house purchase in the final quarter of 2016, down 0.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 3 per cent year-on-year.

West Lothian Council has become the fourth local authority in Scotland to announce a voluntarily freeze of the basic rate of Council Tax while neighbouring East Lothian decided to increase Council Tax by the full 3 per cent.

Derek Mackay Finance secretary Derek Mackay is to announce support for business in the wake of an outcry relating to the Scottish Government’s business rate hikes.