Insight

Peter Shand explores the latest trend of the super-wealthy setting up finance and legal offices to deal with their affairs. Scotland’s financial ecosystem is changing and one of the latest drivers could be the increase in the number of official ‘family offices’ being set up.

David Findlay, associate for valuations at Knight Frank Glasgow, discusses the lifting of material uncertainty clauses from commercial property. Over the past couple of decades, the property sector has grown accustomed to dealing with uncertainty: the dotcom bubble popped at the turn of the millenni

Kirsty Ross, head of KPMG’s family business team in Scotland, discusses the resilience of family businesses and how firms can use their generational experience to ride out the COVID-19 storm. For Scotland’s family business community, 2020 will be a year to forget. A global pandemic, lock

To mark the end of Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight, Susan Dunlop shares a few thoughts on the prospects for the industry in the coming months with uncertainty dominating. For many of Scotland’s food and drink suppliers, producers and retailers, the last six months have been arguably the mo

Adam Hardie, head of food and drink at Johnston Carmichael, considers the challenges as the food and drink sector returns to "normal". While the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has proved devastating for many sectors, small, local food and drink suppliers have been on the right side of an unpreceden

Jonathan Smith, Aberdeen-based business coach and facilitator at The Alternative Board, discusses the importance of having engaged employees as the UK recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.  As a new normal emerges in the business world, having engaged employees matters now more than ever

Alison Bryce, partner at Dentons, writes about the uncertainty for the Scottish food and drink industry in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Over the last 47 years, the UK’s laws, regulations and processes have become inextricably linked with the European Union. There are a number of factors to c

Iain Masterton, head of VAT at accountants Chiene + Tait, discusses the complications a No Deal Brexit will create for UK businesses.  As the global economy continues to grapple with the huge challenges presented by the impact of Covid-19, here in the UK we face the additional threat which has,

Simon Capaldi, office agency partner at Knight Frank Edinburgh, gives his thoughts on what businesses may want from their offices post-lockdown. At the beginning of lockdown, the successful transition of most people and businesses to working remotely brought some serious debate over the future

Neilsons looks at the release of pent up demand for property in Edinburgh and the Lothians. Back in April, we reported that the local property market effectively entered a necessary “sleep mode” to protect the NHS with the pandemic at its peak. We argued against other commentators about

Richard Bathgate, restructuring partner at Johnston Carmichael, discusses the potential benefits of restructuring your business.  In my experience, when it comes to tasks you’d rather put off, speaking to an insolvency practitioner about restructuring your business is right up there with

Peter Alderdice, senior associate in Shepherd and Wedderburn’s banking and finance team and Daniel Boynton, a solicitor in the firm's pensions team, detail how ethical finance can kickstart the green recovery of Scotland's economy after COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has made one thing a

Roy Lauder, director at Kilmarnock-based business management consultancy firm Harrison James Partnership, discusses the steps business owners can take to manage the current COVID-19 recession. This is a time of great concern for business owners as governments react to the ever-changing situation wit

Alan Hamilton, corporate finance director at Johnston Carmichael, has called on businesses to review their funding requirements ahead of a “perfect storm” of liquidity challenges, as government support for businesses adversely impacted by COVID-19 starts to unwind. The government-ba

Duncan Milne warns employers over claims arising from the pandemic. An increase in whistleblowing claims over the coming months is inevitable. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the furlough fraud reports are now sitting at around 8,000. This fi