News

Edinburgh-based Royal Bank of Scotland is closing in on a deal to buy more than £13 billion of Government-backed mortgages, according to reports. The bank, which is still 73 per cent owned by the UK taxpayer, is contending with US hedge fund Cerberus and TSB-owner Sabadell to seal the deal, accordi

Rebecca Christensen Love from Indie Street, Scotland’s first independent multi-store gift voucher business has announced that it has doubled the number of stores on board from 40 to 80 as it prepares to expand the unique business concept to cities across the UK.

Peter Muir The Scottish Government must act on the responses to its consultation on the business rates valuation appeals system or lose investment to England and Wales, according to the Scottish Business Ratepayers Group (SBRG).

The number of homes sold in east central Scotland has risen by 11.1 per cent annually, while the number of new homes brought to market decreased by 2.4 per cent, according to the latest analysis from estate agents ESPC. These figures, from the period of July to September 2015, indicate that demand i

A think tank has called on the SNP to “set an example to the rest of the UK” by trying to curb excessive pay packets of executives at companies based in Scotland. According to the High Pay Centre's research, 35 executives at some of Scotland’s biggest companies took home £55 million between t

UK companies are invoicing their customers and receiving payment faster than at any time since the aftermath of the financial crisis, according to a review of UK working capital performance published by PwC. But further improvements could still be made – according to the report, Scottish firms hav

Businesses expect growth to continue into 2016 as business optimism increased for the first time in over six months, according to the latest Business Trends Report by accountants BDO. BDO’s Optimism Index increased to 102.2 from 101.9 this month, the first uptick in confidence since February this

Private sector activity in Scotland declined for the first time in six months during September, albeit at a slow pace. According to the latest Bank of Scotland purchasing managers' index, the contraction was broad-based, as both the service and manufacturing sectors registered decreases in output.

Dundee-based global investment firm Alliance Trust has resumed share buybacks as it bids to improve investor returns and fulfil the pledges it made as it posted half year results last week. That six month report included wide-ranging changes to the structure of the firm and saw chief executive Kathe

The Auditor General for Scotland, Caroline Gardner, has reported that a new IT system at NHS24 has cost 50 per cent more and taken two years longer to install than originally intended. Audit Scotland also warned that NHS Tayside failed to break even for the third year in a row, relying on a £14m lo

Scotland’s professional services could hold the key to growing the country’s social enterprise sector in the coming years, according to investment experts at Social Investment Scotland (SIS). The leading lender of finance to Scotland’s third sector, whose core aim is to expand social enterpris

L-R: Muhammad Yunus, Omar Shaikh (IFC), James Angus (Thomson Reuters), Chris Tait (IFC) and Tirad Mahmoud (ADIB) The Scottish-based Islamic Finance Council UK (IFC) saw off competition from over 200 organisations from across the globe to win the $100,000 Industry Development Award at the Ethical Fin

Aberdeen’s hotel sector experienced its fourth consecutive month of double digit drops in occupancy and revenue in July as the turmoil in the oil and gas sector continued to impact on the city’s hospitality sector according to the latest report by accountants BDO. The firm’s monthly hotel surv

Katie Murray Edinburgh-based Royal Bank of Scotland has appointed Katie Murray to the new role of director of finance, reporting to chief financial officer Ewen Stevenson.

The economic think tank Fiscal Affairs Scotland (FAS) has announced that it is suspending its activities until the end of the year due to a lack of funds. The research body has produced a string of reports since its launch last year, including commentaries on the Scottish budget and reports on the f