Search: financial focus

Next week, on Thursday 28 May, the Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee will determine the allocation of over £3 million in UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) monies for the upcoming 12 months. The funding, provided by the UK government, is intended to deliver a positive impa

The Artisanal Spirits Company, owner of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), Single Cask Nation, and J.G. Thomson, announced a positive trading update at its AGM. The company has achieved double-digit revenue growth in the first four months of the year, leading to improved year-on-year profitabili

A woman who embezzled £1.5 million from a family scrap metal business in Aberdeen has been ordered to repay almost £670,000 under proceeds of crime laws. Coleen Muirhead, 57, of Aberdeen, was jailed for three years and four months in September 2023 after she admitted a charge of embezzle

A former local authority employee who embezzled more than £1 million from Aberdeen City Council over a 17-year period has been ordered to repay more than £165,000 under proceeds of crime laws. Michael Paterson, 60, was imprisoned for four years at the High Court in Edinburgh last July af

Scottish accountants are demonstrating a notably positive stance towards Artificial Intelligence (AI), embracing the technology more readily and with less concern than their global counterparts, according to new data from the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). The 2025 Global Tal

Glasgow-headquartered Macfarlane Group Plc has reported that its expectations for the full year remain unchanged, despite a mixed first quarter in 2025. Sales in Q1 2025 saw a 14.2% increase compared to the same period in 2024. This growth was attributed to the benefit of acquisitions, emerging orga

Thousands of high-value Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) from the Nike-backed CloneX RTFKT collection temporarily disappeared from the internet, replaced by a service restriction notice from Cloudflare. The incident, attributed to a service migration to a free account, has reignited concerns about the per

Scottish insurance adviser Scott McLuskey has launched Monteith Corporate Risk, a new boutique brokerage aiming to elevate service standards and transparency within the £95 billion insurance sector. Mr McLuskey, who resigned from global broker Lockton in October and was formerly a senior under

The Bank of England has reduced interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 4.25%, a decision that revealed a split amongst its policymakers. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was not unanimous, with two members, Swati Dhingra and Alan Taylor, advocating for a more significant 0.5 percentage point

A woman who was compared to Darth Vader at work has won nearly £30,000 from an employment tribunal. The NHS blood donation worker had temporarily left a room when her colleagues decided to take a personality quiz which would tell them what Star Wars character they were, the tribunal heard.

As leading retailers become the latest victims of cyber-attacks, RSM UK is advising businesses to review their cyber risk controls to ensure they are as robust as possible. Earlier this month the government launched its National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Cyber Governance Code of Practice, providi

Aberdeen Group experienced client withdrawals totalling £5.2 billion during the first quarter of 2025, driven by market volatility and a significant £4.2bn redemption from its largest client – Phoenix Group. This contributed to a decrease in assets under management (AuM) from &poun

Barclays reported a strong start to 2025, with first-quarter pre-tax profits reaching £2.7 billion, comfortably exceeding analyst expectations of £2.5bn. The bank's shares rose over 1.5% following the announcement, but have since retraced during the day's trading.

Plans to reward people who report corporate crime within their own organisation are to be taken forward by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over the next year, writes Tom Stocker. In its latest annual business plan the SFO lists “progress whistleblower incentivisation reform” as

Inheritance Tax (IHT) receipts reached a record £8.2 billion in the 2024-25 tax year, up from £7.5bn previously, HMRC has revealed.