With pensions being brought into estates in a year’s time, savers are being warned not to stop or reduce their contributions to "the best way of building long-term wealth" just to avoid a potential inheritance tax bill. New figures from Murphy Wealth suggest that contributing to a pension coul
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Edinburgh’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the least confident of Scotland’s major cities as business viability concerns remain high nationwide, according to new research from Aberdein Considine LLP. Capturing the views of Scottish SMEs in the run-up to the Holyrood
Royal Bank of Scotland-owner NatWest Group has appointed Kevin Havelock as mid-market champion for Scotland. The appointment comes as the group has appointed a total of 12 mid-market champions across UK nations and regions, part of its "growing together" plan to drive UK wide growth by supporting re
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has stressed that the fight against fraud must continue as its annual detected fraud data reveals that £1.16 billion worth of fraudulent general insurance claims were identified in 2024 – a 2% increase on the £1.14bn detected the previous y
Fraud now accounts for an estimated 41% of all crime against individuals in England and Wales, according to the National Crime Agency, and in response, a multi-agency initiative is now being rolled out to take greater action to protect the public, following a successful pilot programme led by C
Harper Macleod has recorded turnover of £43.5 million for the year to 31 March 2025, an increase of nearly 20% compared to the previous 12 months (£36.5m). Headcount across its five offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Elgin and Lerwick also increased to 466 from 446 in the pr
Scotland has secured 135 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2024 and cemented its reputation as the top UK FDI location outside London after marking a decade in the position. Despite a drop of seven projects (-4.9%) on the year before, this is still the second highest annual number of proje
With the latest inheritance tax (IHT) statistics showing revenues rising by nearly 10% over the last year it is time for a review of this tax according to DJ Alexander Ltd. The estate and letting agents firm said that an increase of £0.8 billion in IHT revenues between April 2024 and March 202
A cutting-edge £2.5 million optical ground station, designed to secure next-generation communications against cyber threats, officially opened today (2nd May 2025) at Heriot-Watt University's Research Park in Edinburgh. The Quantum Communications Hub Optical Ground Station (named HOGS) represe
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers a significant opportunity for Chartered Accountants to deliver greater value and develop fulfilling careers, but realising its potential requires dedicated upskilling and proactive leadership, according to a landmark report by Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW)
Edinburgh-based Tweed Wealth Management taken over Glasgow-headquartered Capital Wealth Consultants (CWC). The deal, for an undisclosed sum, sees the Tweed Wealth Management grow to more than 28 staff across four locations.
Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) has welcomed a further 14 businesses to its accelerator programme. The MSIP Accelerator, which contributed £6.4 million to the national economy in the last three years, has already helped 41 businesses achieve success as a direct result of participating
Scotland's corporate insolvencies dipped by 3.1% in Q1 2024-2025 compared to the previous fiscal year, totalling 283. Despite this decrease, figures are still 17.9% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Techscaler, the Scottish Government's tech startup support programme, and FinTech Scotland, the cluster body driving Scotland’s fintech innovation, have announced a strategic partnership poised to drive forward Scotland's fintech sector development. FinTech SMEs now employ more than 10,500 peo
Responsible finance provider Social Investment Scotland (SIS) is spearheading a new £62 million investment fund aimed at supporting small businesses in England and Wales, boosting local jobs and economic activity. Many small businesses access finance from socially motivated lenders such as Com
