Murray Capital, the private investment office of the Murray family, has led funding rounds for two Scottish start-ups. The funding rounds saw Murray Capital reinvest in two of its existing portfolio companies – Zumo and Blackford – with the support of the UK Future Fund and other co-inve
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Murdoch MacLennan, banking partner in Scotland with accountancy firm Azets, has warned that 'Bad Bank’ – the term coined for the specialist units within banks where businesses showing signs of financial distress are transferred – is likely to make a return to the UK’s busines
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed the ways in which it currently works to protect consumers from investment harm by stopping and disrupting potentially harmful firms and activities. In a report issued today, the FCA has highlighted the action it has taken during the first ten m
Investment firm BGF has reasserted its plans to complete deals in Scotland despite the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 amid signs that concerns about potential tax changes will fuel activity. The firm has said it expects to find more businesses with good growth potential in Scotland to back after gro
Lomond Capital, the owner of Scottish lettings & estate agency brands Braemore and Stonehouse, is to merge with Yorkshire firm Linley & Simpson to create a new national lettings business with more than 22,000 properties on its books. Lomond Capital has said that the deal with Linley & Si
UK ministers have distributed contracts of up to £288 million to consultants at Big Four accountancy firms KPMG and EY to train thousands of civil servants over the next four years. Both firms will design and deliver courses in everything from project management and leadership to training on M
If there is one thing the pandemic has taught company founders, it is how an unexpected event can be catastrophic to a business. In good times, when things are going well and a business is growing, it’s natural to not want to dwell on negative, unexpected events that could instantly derail tha
Eco Communications Limited, which operates across the UK from bases in Scotland and Cumbria, has announced the signing of an agreement to purchase Integrity Office Limited, the Carlisle-based IT solutions provider. The financial terms of the transaction between the two businesses are not being discl
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reminded firms to be ready for the end of the Brexit transition period in one month’s time. When the transition period ends at 11pm on 31 December, firms will need to be prepared for a number of changes to the regulatory environment in which they opera
Olive, a UK-wide managed cloud communications provider, has expanded into Scotland with the launch of a hybrid business hub to scale its regional footprint and serve its local business and enterprise clients. Establishing a presence in Scotland has been a key priority for Olive as it continues on it
The amount of women over the age of 55 who are worried about running out of money in retirement has increased to over a third (34%) in the last year, according to a new report by the Equity Release Council.
Payments start-up Modulr, based in Edinburgh, London and Dublin, has secured £9 million in investment from PayPal Ventures. Modulr is a Payments-as-a-Service API platform which enables digital businesses and software platforms across lending, banking, fintech, travel, employment services and a
Graeme Williams, director of M&A at KPMG in Scotland, considers the state of the deals market in Scotland. The last twelve months have taken their toll on Scotland’s economy with no sector or business left unscathed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chris Sanger, EY’s head of tax policy, discusses the recent tax policy announcements made by HM Treasury. Despite the news from the Chancellor that the Autumn Budget has been postponed this year, it has not prevented HM Treasury from issuing today an Autumn set of tax announcements, to add to
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has criticised Grant Thornton after its Audit Quality Inspection revealed five out of six of the firm's local audits fell below the expected standard. Grant Thornton was singled out by the accountancy regulator after it investigated 15 major audits of health aut
