News

A colony of beavers has saved Czech authorities nearly £1 million on a long-awaited construction project. The beavers jumped the gun on a seven-year-long dispute by constructing a series of dams exactly where local authorities wanted to build them.

Start-up tech companies participating in the Scottish Government’s Techscaler business accelerator programme have raised more than £118 million of capital investment in the past two years. It comes from both private and public sources and is supporting businesses in sectors such as medic

Aurora Energy Services has invested £750,000 in securing a new larger office building in Aberdeen to support its ambitious expansion programme. The company has acquired the lease for the 7,000 sq ft Ury House in Howe Moss Crescent, Dyce, which has been renamed Aurora House.

Private equity (PE) investment in Scotland surged by over a third (35.6%) in 2024, reaching £9.4 billion, according to KPMG UK's latest Private Equity Review. The findings reflect a period in which the UK experienced a more stable economic climate, with interest rates and inflation falling; gr

The Bank of England (BoE) has lowered interest rates to 4.5%, a 0.25% reduction, amidst concerns about rising inflation and sluggish economic growth. The BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 7-2 in favour of the cut, aiming to alleviate pressure on borrowers. However, the bank halved its 2025

Dains Group has expanded its Scottish presence with the acquisition of Glasgow-based Consilium Chartered Accountants. This marks Dains' first acquisition since receiving private equity backing from IK Partners. The team in Scotland is now almost 200 people strong with offices across the central

An Edinburgh-based business is brewing up success with its unique whisky barrel-aged coffee. With help from Business Gateway, Georgia and Grant Fraser launched Cortino in August last year. The business duo blended their passions of coffee and Scottish whisky to create one-of-a-kind barrel aged coffe

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has called on the UK government to reduce the 78% tax burden on North Sea oil and gas producers as a key first step towards greater domestic energy security. The call comes as the USA announced its intentions to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from Mexi

Scottish businesses are increasingly pessimistic about the year ahead, according to the latest Scottish Business Monitor from the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde. The findings from a survey of more than 300 firms, conducted in December 2024 and January 2025, reveal that

Tayside Solicitors Property Centre's (TSPC) property experts are suggest now is an opportune time for first-time buyers to enter the market. In advance of its First-Time Buyer’s Evening, TSPC is shining a light on the extensive local support and expertise available to those buying their first

Two historic Delftware plates owned by a family in Devon have been sold at auction for over £20,000. 

Scotland's Chief Statistician has published the local government finance figures for 2023-24. Councils' net revenue expenditure, which covers the annual cost of delivering services, totalled £14,296 million. Education and Social Work accounted for the largest portions, at £6,960m and &po

Housing associations face a challenging insurance market amid huge increases in premiums, research commissioned by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has found.

A Scottish third-generation egg producer has welcomed some aspects of Defra secretary Steve Reed’s so-called "new deal for farmers". However, managing director of Farmlay Iain Chapman, stopped short of giving his wholehearted support to the Secretary of State’s speech at last month's Oxf

With the largest generational transfer of wealth expected to take place in the UK by 2050, financial advice firms have the opportunity to start capturing a significant market of those currently not using an adviser with bespoke AI tools, according to Edinburgh-based AI fintech Aveni. A new survey by