News

Aberdeen Investments has appointed Herman Bots as global head of its equities franchise, which has £46 billion assets under management and over 100 investors. He joins after seventeen years at APG, one of the world’s largest pension investors, most recently as managing director of equiti

Business confidence in Scotland rose two points during May to 50%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Bank of Scotland. Companies in Scotland reported higher confidence in their own trading outlook month-on-month, up nine points at 62%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy

A Pembrokeshire couple who rescued two paintings from a skip while walking their dog have sold the artwork at auction for £16,000.

Russia has passed legislation allowing its central bank and a number of major financial and state institutions to operate their own anti-drone defence systems as Ukrainian long-range strikes continue to test Moscow’s air defences. The law, approved by the State Duma, authorises employees at Ru

Two prominent financial services firms with a strong footprint in Scotland have been recognised in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2026. Scottish Friendly and Armstrong Watson were both named in the Best Big Places to Work category following outstanding results in an independent employee engage

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned financial firms that further action is required to prevent sanctions breaches, despite noticeable progress being made across the industry.

Scottish businesses are demonstrating remarkable resilience and optimism, outpacing the rest of the UK in commercial confidence despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. According to Barclays’ Q1 2026 Business Prosperity Index, 85% of Scottish firms are confident about their five-year prospe

Aberdein Considine’s debt recovery and banking litigation team has been shortlisted for the Best Company to Work For (Service Provider) at the upcoming UK Credit Awards. Three of the firm's junior lawyers – Katie Macdonald, Chloe Imrie, and Sarah Clough – have also been nominated i

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has imposed financial sanctions against audit firm BDO and Geraint Jones, an audit engagement partner in relation to the audit of the financial statements of NMCN. BDO has been fined £2 million for its audit of the firm in 2019, while Mr Jones recieved a f

The UK government has commissioned an independent review to examine the real-world impact of bank branch closures and determine whether legislative intervention is required to protect access to physical services. Led by Richard Lloyd OBE, the former Which? director and Financial Conduct Authority (F

KPMG’s US leadership team is conducting regular tours of Silicon Valley to identify and collaborate with early-stage artificial intelligence start-ups before they become large enough to disrupt the Big Four firm’s business. In an effort to accelerate technological adoption, US chief exec

Scotland’s economy experienced a sluggish start to 2026, with onshore GDP growing by just 0.1% in the first quarter, falling significantly behind the UK's overall 0.6% expansion, according to statistics announced by the Chief Statistician. Despite consecutive economic contractions in January a

Colleges, charities and other third sector organisations should urgently review how they treat publicly funded projects for VAT purposes in light of a landmark court ruling, Azets has warned. The Court of Appeal decision in the case of HMRC vs Colchester Institute Corporation could have far-reaching

Scottish finance professionals have revealed that purpose, not pay, is a defining factor in how they make career decisions, choose employers and measure their own success. The insight comes from ACCA's annual talent survey of more than 11,000 finance professionals across 160 countries and Scottish a

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust has reported a strong set of annual results, with its share price returning to the November 2021 high it set before the 2022 growth-stock crash, as a soaring valuation for Elon Musk's SpaceX powered the Baillie Gifford flagship to its full recovery.