News

Three tonnes of oysters worth around €20,000 have been stolen from a French oyster farm amid rising prices for the molluscs. The theft from the Huîtres de Trousse Chemise farm is the second major oyster theft on the Ile de Ré in the past two weeks, The Times reports.

Blair Milne and James Fennessey, partners with Azets, have been appointed joint administrators of Wishaw-based mechanical and electrical contracting specialist Weir & McQuiston (Scotland) Limited. Founded in 1976, the family-owned business provided a full portfolio of mechanical and electrical d

Next year is likely to see a dramatic rise in personal bankruptcies and asset repossessions as inflation and interest rates begin to climb and consumers struggle to absorb rising levels of debt, Azets has warned. The Bank of England’s new chief economist has warned that inflation is likely to

Global Venture Capital (VC) investors deployed record amounts of money into Scottish scaleups over the summer, with more than £197 million raised according to Venture Pulse, a quarterly report published by KPMG Private Enterprise. The research, published using data supplied by PitchBook, recor

Average house prices in Scotland have increased by close to £25,000 (13.2%) over the last twelve months - the highest rate of all four UK nations.

City firms are “completely outgunning” the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) as new figures published revealed that some companies have spent up to ten times more than the SFO on legal and investigation fees. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has revealed that the SFO is being undermined b

Nick Pollard, finance director of Link, one of Scotland’s biggest housing associations, talks about housing finance with our sister publication Scottish Housing News in a new podcast released today.  The podcast can be found here.

Scottish businesses are rising to meet the net-zero challenge, with a majority confirming they have committed to or already achieved their carbon neutral aims, as new research shows a second consecutive quarter of growth in all sectors of the economy. The latest Addleshaw Goddard Business Monitor re

Thirteen business representative groups and industry bodies have jointly written to the Scottish Finance Secretary asking her to introduce a business rates discount for all retail premises for the coming financial year. The retail industry in Scotland employs 230,000 people and traditionally account

Centrica has unveiled that four projects in Scotland will receive a total of almost £400,000 from its Energy for Tomorrow social impact fund. The firm invited communities and entrepreneurs in Scotland to apply for a grant of up to £100,000 for initiatives that can deliver affordable, acc

Half of all Scottish small businesses are opposed to the extension of the vaccine passport scheme with around a quarter of firms supportive of such a change, according to a snap poll of 500 operators from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). However, amongst hospitality and leisure businesses,

The puppets used in The Sooty Show are expected to sell for up to £1,500 at an auction in Surrey this week. Sooty, Sweep and Soo puppets from the collection of the show's former props expert and stage manager, the late Peter Jago, will be put up for sale at an auction held by Ewbank's.

Edinburgh-based financial provider Aegon UK has posted a 57% year-on-year increase in its third-quarter operating profit, reaching £44 million. The firm said that the rise was driven by higher fee revenues resulting from "favourable" equity markets, a provision release and decreased expenses.

Moray-based whisky specialist Gordon and MacPhail has hailed steady sales and a £4 million rise in profits during a year of "unprecedented trading conditions".

Two of the North-East's top building companies are to combine this week when Alpha Projects (Scotland) Ltd are joined by MCK Construction. Aberdeen and Dundee based contractor, Alpha Projects, is to merge with Montrose-based MCK Construction, continuing to add to their growing business with offices