Latest Help to Buy almost fully subscribed

The Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme is nearly fully subscribed due to a bumper level of sales reservations leading to calls from eager homebuyers and anxious builders to provide yet more funds.

Published 20 May 2015

Business Briefs - May 19

Published 19 May 2015

Sin Bin: 30 per cent more defaulters referred to special monitoring unit

More than 6,000 tax defaulters were referred to a special HMRC monitoring unit in tax year 2014/15, up 30 per cent on the year before, in a sign that the taxman is getting much tougher on those who deliberately seek to default on their tax liabilities.

Published 19 May 2015

UK records deflation for first time since 1960

The UK Consumer Prices Index has fallen year-on-year for first time since official records began in 1996 and marking the first year-on-year fall since 1960.

Published 19 May 2015

First time buyers wait longer than expected to get on property ladder

First time buyers are having to wait longer than planned to take their first step onto the property ladder, according to new research from Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks.

Published 19 May 2015

Shetland Isles high employment rate fuels £39k house price rise since 2009

Homeowners in the Shetland Isles have seen the value of their property increase by £39,311 (31 per cent) since the trough of the last housing market cycle in 2009 on the back of having the highest employment rate in Scotland, new research by Bank of Scotland has found.

Published 19 May 2015

Business Growth Fund investment in Scotland tops £100m

The Business Growth Fund (BGF), an initiative designed to pick up the slack in funding for small firms since the financial crisis, has committed £100 million in Scotland, and a total of £500 million, since its inception four years ago.

Published 19 May 2015

Law firm Harper Macleod announces record turnover and expansion plans

Law firm Harper Macleod has revealed plans for expansion after announcing that its fee income for the latest financial year hit £22 million.

Published 19 May 2015

Central Edinburgh house prices rocket 26 per cent -ESPC

The average price of a house in Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians has risen by 18 per cent in the last 12 months, while prices in the centre of Edinburgh rocketed by 26 per cent over the same period, according to the latest House Price Report from Capital estate agents ESPC.

Published 19 May 2015

Triodos Bank provides Fife housing association with £5.7m facility

Fife-based Glen Housing Association (GHA) has secured a £5.7 million loan from Triodos Bank.

Published 19 May 2015

Employment stats show job growth continuing, slowly

A new report by the Bank of Scotland shows growth in permanent jobs continuing in Scotland last month, but at the slowest rate for almost two years.

Published 18 May 2015

UK: FCA expected to deliver biggest-ever fine to Barclays

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is expected to issue Barclays with its biggest-ever fine as part of the penalties meted out to banks involved in a currency rigging scandal.

Published 18 May 2015

Appointment: Ian Donaldson - Jumpstart

Former business banker Ian Donaldson has been appointed as client engagement manager dedicated to oil and gas at R&D tax relief specialist Jumpstart.

Published 18 May 2015

RBS provides services to major timber company

The Royal Bank of Scotland and James Donaldson & Sons Ltd (JDS) have forged a new banking relationship that will see RBS provide strategic funding services across the Fife-headquartered JDS Group.

Published 18 May 2015

Michael Howlin QC joins Terra Firma Chambers

Terra Firma Chambers has announced that Michael Howlin QC has joined the stable with immediate effect.

Published 18 May 2015