Search: financial focus

Clare Foster Southend-on-Sea Borough Council has become the first local authority in England to secure finance from the Edinburgh-based UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) to replace its existing street lights with lower energy alternatives.

More than 6,000 Scots students are among almost 32,000 students across the UK who are currently using payday loans to make ends meet. According to the Unite Students Insight Report: Finance, the number of Scottish students who are using the controversial loans, that can charge APR rates of up to 1,5

Ta-da! Pablo Picasso A Scottish artist may have discovered a painting by Pablo Picasso given to his mother by his Russian soldier father in the 1950s.

Kevin Bridges (picture via Twitter) A company owned by Scots comic Kevin Bridges, aka ‘Kev.in’, has posted total assets of nearly £1 million.

Martin Gilbert Aberdeen Asset Management grew revenue, profit and assets under management in the six months to the end of March, as last year’s acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership buoyed half year results.

Latest Office for National Statistics figures have revealed UK retail sales grew more strongly than expected in February. Sales were up 0.7 per cent compared with the previous month, according to the ONS.

Scottish architectural firm jmarchitects has transitioned to employee ownership.  jmarchitects is now owned by the 100 employees at its studios in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and London through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

Dundashill, igloo Regeneration’s sustainable housing scheme in Glasgow, has now reached practical completion to deliver 78 energy-efficient homes for the region. The development was funded through a £15.9 million finance facility from FTSE 250 lender Paragon Bank, which has now been repa

The Scottish government’s consultation on the Housing (Scotland) Bill closed last week, bringing to an end a heated debate over proposed rent control measures and potential exemptions that have sharply divided landlords and tenants' groups. At the heart of the dispute is a provision in the bil

Deloitte has announced the winners of the 2024 UK Technology Fast 50 awards, with two Scottish companies among the ranking, and a Glasgow company placing third in the CleanTech category. The awards recognise and rank the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK based on average revenue grow

Susan Nightingale discusses the state of equity investment and borrowing conditions for small businesses in Scotland, highlighting their resilience despite economic challenges and a perceived lack of access to finance. Scotland has long punched above its weight when it comes to the creation of high-

Private and independent schools should be doing their homework now on the updated guidance published by HMRC on the VAT changes for private and independent schools, writes William Anderson. The key point to understand from the outset is that these changes will be introduced from 30 October 2024: alt

Scotland's property sales volumes have gone up in the November 2023 – January 2024 period, according to the latest ESPC House Price Report.

Fiona Cameron, banking partner in Shoosmiths’ Glasgow office, examines the significance of the recently passed Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill and outlines why it’s likely to be welcomed by Scotland’s banking practitioners and lenders. To the frustration of Scottish banking l

Chris Skidmore MP discusses the implications of the Energy Charter Treaty and why the UK should leave it to make progress towards its net zero goals and energy policy. In the Net Zero Review, published earlier this year, I called for the UK to respond to increasing global competition on net zero wit