News

More than £4.9 million of funding has been paid to date to Scottish Borders firms from the Scottish Government’s Coronavirus Business Support Fund, helping a total of 438 businesses. A dedicated team of staff continue to work through all applications received by Scottish Borders Council&

Steven McKay, head of employee benefits at Edinburgh-based Mearns & Company, details the changes to the Tapered Annual Allowance in 2020/21. In the past few years, there have been significant restrictions on the level of contributions that high earners can pay to their pension without incur

Anderson Anderson & Brown Corporate Finance (AAB) has released its quarterly deals and update for Q1 2020, highlighting selected M&A and fundraising transactions across Scotland. AAB said that with the current coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc globally, financial markets faltering and a ge

A £30 million pledge to support Scottish charities through the coronavirus crisis is welcome but will not tackle the immediate cash flow problems leaving many in a fight for survival, lawyers have warned. Alastair Keatinge and David Dunsire from Lindsays are advising a string of

Financial services optimism fell in the three months to March and firms expect a sharp decline in business ahead, according to the latest CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey.

The Scottish Government has announced new measures to protect business tenants during the current coronavirus pandemic, with the notice period for commercial leases extended from 14 days to 14 weeks. The notice period before a commercial lease can be terminated for non-payment of rent has been exten

Johan Belfrage, technical development manager at the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC), discusses building and growing Scotland's bioeconomy. The Nordic countries demonstrate a strong model for sustainable growth in the integrated processing of renewable feedstocks into a

Lenders have provided over 1.2 million mortgage payment holidays to households whose finances have been impacted by COVID-19, UK Finance has revealed.

Professor Peter Watson, legal adviser to the COVID-19 panel of scientific and medical experts convened by the Scottish Police Federation, details why the UK needs an exit strategy for the COVID-19 lockdown measures. A journey of a thousand miles is said to begin with a single step. I suggest a journ

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is warning people to be on their guard against scammers looking to cash in on the financial hardship that coronavirus is causing for many families and firms. Fraudsters could offer bogus insurance products and high-risk investment and pension products. Attem

UK Finance has published comprehensive guidance for self-isolating financial services customers seeking to pay for essential goods.

Paul McCartney’s handwritten lyrics to The Beatles’ hit song Hey Jude has sold for $910,000 at an auction run by Julien’s Auctions.

Lyn Calder, a managing partner of Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), has called on the government to implement a series of wide-reaching measures aimed at helping businesses to survive the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lyn Calder, who is also the firm’s head of deals f

Partners at the UK's biggest accountancy firms will have their payouts slashed by hundreds of thousands of pounds this year as the sector prepares to face a huge crash in revenues amid stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. Yesterday, partners at BDO agreed to cut partner pay by up to 25% in a bid

A temporary payments freeze on loans and credit cards for up to three months are amongst a package of targeted temporary measures confirmed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today to help people negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Following a short consultation, the FCA will