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Metro Bank has suspended businesses from opening new accounts, despite calls from the Bank of England to keep credit flowing.  The lender has stopped the opening of new business accounts due to an influx of demand from businesses seeking bounce back loans for which firms must have a current acc

Guthrie Group, a Livingston-based distributor of health and safety and facilities supplies, has secured £250,000 in funding from the Royal Bank of Scotland to secure the long-term future of the business following the coronavirus pandemic.   The CBILS loan has enabled the business to maint

As the construction sector continues to adapt and ‘re-open’ from the lockdown measures imposed following the spread of COVID-19, property developers are beginning to navigate through the challenges that will be presented in the coming months. We are beginning to see signs of ea

Alba Bank, the Glasgow-based challenger bank, is set to launch into the SME business market next year after a multi-million-pound funding round. By the end of next month, the bank expects to receive a restricted licence to accept deposits from the Prudential Regulation Authority which will allow it

Furloughed employees who are then made redundant will receive redundancy pay based on their normal wage, under new laws being brought in today by the UK government. Employees with more than two years’ continuous service who are made redundant are usually entitled to a statutory redundancy paym

International finance firm Epidarex Capital has launched a £102 million venture fund in Edinburgh to build successful life science companies.

The Scottish Government has published the results of the consultation on the replacement for European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). Scotland has been a major beneficiary of the ESIF since 1975 with an estimated investment of £4 billion between 1975 and 2006, and a further £820

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, which was debated in the House of Commons yesterday, is a significant step forward in attempts to mitigate the enormous economic damage caused by COVID-19, according to insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 in Scotland. The firm has said that b

The second phase of coronavirus support for small Scottish businesses, which extends grant support to all subsequent eligible properties, is now open for applications. The next stage of the Small Business Grant scheme ensures that - in addition to existing grants of £10,000 or £25,000 fo

Amphista Therapeutics, a University of Dundee spin-out, has announced a multi-million-pound deal to develop first-in-class cancer therapeutics that harness the body’s natural processes to selectively and efficiently degrade and remove disease-causing proteins. The spin-out has announced the cl

Over 8 in 10 (83%) UK, US and Chinese firms are considering switching to alternative finance providers over traditional banks for trade finance this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to data collected by Stenn Group. 

Simon Allison looks at common issues for employers during the coronavirus outbreak such as whether an employer can lay off staff and what happens if they are forced to close their premises. Lay-off/short time working clauseIn the unlikely event that your employees have a “lay off” or sho

Uddingston-based dental firm Park Dental Company has purchased a former Royal Bank of Scotland branch building thanks to a six-figure funding package from the bank. Thanks to the funding, owners Jeremy and Cate Wiewiorka were able to purchase and renovate the old bank into a dental surgery

Wellbeing charity retailTRUST has launched the new phase of its Newton Mearns retirement homes development thanks to a £5 million funding package from Bank of Scotland. The new homes officially opened on 20 February 2020 at the Hugh Fraser Retirement Estate, formerly the Crookfur estate.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced a series of measures to help support personal and business customers who have been affected by the serious flooding across Scotland. Personal customers could see their mortgage and loan repayments deferred for up to three months and businesses could enjoy l