News

The Bank of England's (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to raise the base interest rate to 3%, a 0.75pp increase from 2.25%. This BoE interest rate hike follows the US Federal Reserve's decision to hike the US base rate by 0.75pp yesterday.

Andrew Blain has been re-elected as managing partner of Shepherd and Wedderburn from 1 May 2023. Mr Blain was first elected managing partner in 2019 after joining Shepherd and Wedderburn in 1989 and becoming a partner in 1996. He led the firm's corporate practice from 2009 until 2019.

Spending cuts of £615 million were announced by the Scottish Government in its emergency budget alongside measures help to those most impacted by the cost of living crisis. The Emergency Budget Review (EBR) for 2022-23 identifies funding of around £35m for a range of initiatives to suppo

EasyJet has launched a new seasonal winter route from Glasgow to Belfast City airport.Providing a stronger domestic connection between Northern Ireland and Scotland, the route will have flights operating up to three times a week on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays throughout the winter season until 2

Hamilton Mullan Law Accountants has promoted Nicole Morgan to senior law accountant. Ms Morgan joined the firm in January 2018 as a trainee.

Livingston Building Services Limited (LBS), a specialist in mechanical and electrical engineering services, which operated from sites in Livingston and Glasgow, has reported exceptional growth in the last year, tripling its turnover and forecasting continued development into 2023. Turnover for the l

Scottish offshore wind developer, Flotation Energy, has been sold to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), one of Japan’s biggest companies. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, TEPCO is Japan’s largest utility company. Its subsidiary, TEPCO Renewable Power, has a generating capacity of 9

Business sentiment in Scotland has entered negative territory for the first time since the end of 2020 according to the latest Addleshaw Goddard Scottish Business Monitor report, with 70% of businesses expecting growth in the Scottish economy to be weak or very weak over the coming year. The report,

Scotland’s onshore GDP fell by 0.3% in August, after remaining flat (0.0% growth) in July, according to statistics announced yesterday by Scotland's Chief Statistician. In the three months to August, GDP is estimated to have fallen by 0.8% compared to the previous three-month period.

With the Bank of England expected to increase Bank base rate later today, Savills has issued new five-year house price forecasts, predicting that the average UK house price will fall by 10% in 2023 when interest rates peak. However, the firm added that the prime markets will see smaller falls and ou

Audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK has announced 40 new promotions to director, including the firm’s Scotland and Northern Ireland offices. RSM UK has strengthened its tax faculty with the promotion of corporate tax specialist Will Simpson in Edinburgh. In Northern Ireland, Kieran Jones has

An in-depth ‘barometer survey’ of tourism and hospitality businesses in the South of Scotland has painted a concerning picture of the difficulties many operators face in a worsening national and global economic climate, with one describing the cost of living crisis as "much, much bigger

A new study has found that Edinburgh offers the best opportunities for a career in finance after London. The research, carried out by CMC Markets, analysed the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, published in March 2022, for finance enterprises in 342 UK districts, excluding Lo

Uber has agreed to hand over £615 million to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) settling an investigation into overdue VAT, after reporting better than expected results. The US-based ride hire and food delivery company had previously claimed it was exempt from paying VAT due to its drivers bei

Scottish digital legacy business, Biscuit Tin, has announced a new partnership with equity release advisory firm, Age Partnership. Launched by businesswoman Sheila Hogan in 2020, Biscuit Tin aims to help individuals get organised at all stages of life and feel more in control of their affairs a