Search: financial focus

A £6 million mansion, raffled off as a grand prize by Omaze, has come under scrutiny for breaching planning regulations, according to North Norfolk District Council. The Larkfields property in Blakeney, situated in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, was reportedly not built in ac

Equity investment levels in Scotland’s smaller businesses grew in 2024, bouncing back from a challenging 2023, according to new research from the British Business Bank. The Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets 2024/25 report found that during the first three quarters of 2024 the investm

Partners Wealth Management LLP (PWM) has acquired Johnston Carmichael Wealth, significantly expanding its presence in the UK wealth management sector. The acquisition sees PWM's client assets rise to approximately £6 billion, servicing around 5,500 private clients.

Glasgow-based packaging provider, Macfarlane Group, has announced a 3% rise in pre-tax profits for 2024, reaching £20.9 million, despite a 4% decrease in revenue to £270.4m. The company's resilience comes amidst "challenging" market conditions, with its core packaging distribution busine

Businesses behind Scotland’s most emblematic exports have secured £42 million in UK Export Finance (UKEF) deals since the summer, facilitating international expansion. Enabling companies such as Ferguson Whisky and manufacturer of fire and rescue vehicles Emergency One, which the governm

Scottish businesses are grappling with a surge in overdue invoices, reaching a three-year high in January, according to new research from R3. The insolvency and restructuring trade body's analysis of data provided by Creditsafe shows that businesses in Scotland had a total of 611,754 overdue invoice

One of Scotland’s trade bodies has demanded immediate action to lift Scotland’s £1 billion self-catering industry from crisis, blaming the Scottish Government’s repeated failure to reform its flawed short-term let regulations wreaking havoc across Scotland. The Association of

With a seemingly never-ending increase in legislation, entering the buy-to-let market can seem a daunting prospect, but Nicky Lloyd, head of ESPC Lettings, explains that there are long-term advantages for those willing to enter the market now. With details being revealed that rent controls will end

Airglove Medical, based in East Kilbride, has secured £500,000 in equity investment from lead investor Pulse Angels and co-investor Scottish Enterprise to commercially launch its patented Airglove device.

Bruce Cartwright CA, CEO of ICAS, has responded to Holyrood's approval of The Scottish Government's 2025-26 Budget, describing it as a "short-term fix" lacking a long-term tax strategy and a clear reform roadmap for public services. The budget includes £21.7 billion for health and social care,

Fife Council, having previously maintained services without major cuts, now faces a critical juncture, as a recent Accounts Commission report has highlighted a mixed performance, with deepening inequalities and deteriorating social care. The council's significant health and social care overspends ar

New figures reveal a significant rise in shoplifting across Scotland, with a reported 18% increase in the year ending December 2024. This brings the total to over 43,000 incidents, a jump of 89% compared to 2020.

A growing number of mid-sized Scottish businesses are at risk of becoming "zombie" companies, according to research by BDO. Rising costs and challenging economic conditions are squeezing growth, with 13.5% of these firms now considered vulnerable – an increase of 0.8 percentage points versus t

Standard Chartered PLC has announced a further $1.5 billion (c. £1.2bn) share buyback following a 20% jump in underlying pre-tax profit to $6.8bn (c. £5.4bn) for the year ending 31 December 2024. This surge was driven by a 13% increase in operating income to $19.7bn (c. £15.6bn), w

The industrial sector’s share of investment in Scottish commercial property has nearly doubled since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research from Knight Frank. The independent commercial property consultancy’s analysis of Real Capital Analytics (RCA) data found