News

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has reported a challenging 2025 for Scotland's whisky industry, with global exports dipping to £5.36 billion, a 0.6% decline in value and a 4.3% drop in volume. This equates to 1.3 billion bottles leaving Scotland, or roughly 43 per second.

Savills has expanded its presence in the Highlands with the acquisition of Rennie Property Consultants, welcoming Sandy Rennie into its Inverness office. Mr Rennie is a Chartered Surveyor with decades of experience across the Highlands, Islands and Moray. His work includes advising landowners, devel

Higgs LLP has acquired Edinburgh-based Vialex Limited, together with its specialist employment law arm Navigator Employment Law Limited.  Vialex Limited is a provider of corporate and commercial legal services to high growth, mid-market and private equity backed owner-managed businesses and is

Break the Silence, a national charity supporting sexual violence survivors, has appointed Nicola Buchanan as the new chair of its board of trustees, following the recent departure of Elaine Crichton. Ms Buchanan, a Chartered Accountant and member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

NatWest Group has reported its strongest financial performance since the 2008 crash, with 2025 pre-tax profits surging to £7.7 billion. This represents a significant climb from the £6.2bn recorded the previous year, driven by broad-based growth across its retail and commercial divisions.

Scottish retail started 2026 on a high note as total sales rose by 3.3% throughout January, a significant leap from the 1.5% growth recorded during the same period last year. This performance comfortably outpaced both the three-month and twelve-month averages. Even when adjusted for inflation, the s

An athlete who defrauded a teammate has now also beaten her victim to a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Julia Simon came first in the women's 15km biathlon – which combines skiing and rifle shooting. Her victim and teammate, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, came in 80th place.

Equity investment into Scottish companies rose by almost a third to over £1 billion last year, even though the number of deals increased by less than 1%, a new report has shown. The figures suggest investors are becoming more selective and refining their focus with fewer but larger deals and m

Orbex, the Forres-based orbital launch services company and space rocket manufacturer, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators following a failed Series D funding round and unsuccessful merger negotiations. Despite previous backing from the UK Space Agency, the Scottish National In

Dundee-based Ecoanolytes is expanding the global footprint of its innovative safer, eco-friendly cleaning and sanitising products through a targeted business growth campaign, after securing a £1 million loan from the Investment Fund for Scotland. Established in 2018, Ecoanolytes develops envir

Gillespie Macandrew LLP has appointed Gavin Merchant as its new CEO, with effect from 1 March. Mr Merchant succeeds Robert Graham-Campbell, who retires after eight years in the role. Having studied law at the University of Edinburgh and subsequently qualified as a Chartered Accountant, Mr Merchant b

Clark Contracts has appointed Mark McPeake as finance director. In his new role, Mr McPeake will be responsible for leading the company’s financial strategy, overseeing financial governance and reporting, and supporting the business in delivering its growth and long-term objectives.

The UK economy experienced a period of stagnation in the final quarter of 2025, with official figures revealing a modest expansion to GDP of just 0.1%. This sluggish performance, confirmed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), fell short of the 0.2% growth anticipated by City economists.

Nearly 80% of Chartered Accountants do not have confidence in the health of the Scottish economy and are calling for government action to make Scotland a more attractive place to do business, a new survey from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) has revealed. In the first poll

Nearly nine in 10 (87%) private business owners in Scotland are confident about growth in 2026, according to KPMG’s annual Private Enterprise Barometer. The annual survey captured the perspectives of 1,500 privately owned businesses, including 119 in Scotland, from across various industries in