News

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) has appointed Seona Shand as its new international trade director. Ms Shand has over a decade of experience in the field of international trade and brings to SCC deep knowledge and practical experience of trading internationally, doing business in new markets

New research from Grant Thornton UK’s latest Business Outlook Tracker finds that, since the lifting of legal COVID-19 restrictions in February, just over half (51%) of the 604 mid-sized businesses surveyed have adopted a hybrid working approach. This is quite a significant dip compared to resp

Finance secretary Kate Forbes has welcomed the short term action announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ease the cost of living crisis, but warned more support is needed for households and businesses as the cost of living crisis worsens. Following calls from the Scottish Government, the UK

A third of middle-market businesses (33%) have admitted their board does not understand the cyber threat landscape enough to accurately assess their level of risk, according to a new survey carried out by audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK.  ‘The Real Economy’ report also highlig

New funding has been made available by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) to help grow Scotland’s bio-economy with the latest tranche of its innovation fund now open for proposals.

Households and businesses are struggling to cope with the cost of living crisis and need urgent action from the UK Government, according to finance secretary Kate Forbes. With inflation reaching a 40 year high of 9% and forecast to rise higher, Ms Forbes has written to the Chancellor of the Excheque

Business networking organisation BNI Scotland North has announced two new director appointments with Tess Day and Stacy Edghill joining the ranks. Tess Day and Stacy Edghill have been appointed as area directors with responsibility for day-to-day operations. Aberdeen-based Tess Day is owner of

Shires Income plc, a company managed by abrdn, has seen its Net Asset Value (NAV) rise by 11.4% in the year ended March 31 2022. The company's share price also rose by 18.4% over the period, this compares against its benchmark, the FTSE All-Share Index, which returned 13.0%. Revenue return per share

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out an ambitious vision for potential reform to the way companies list in the UK that aims to attract more high quality, growth companies and give investors greater opportunities. In a new paper, the FCA is continuing its discussion on how it can make th

A Shetlands-based company has been fined £80,000 after an employee sustained fatal injuries after being struck by a forklift truck. QA Fish Ltd, a fish processing company based at Blackness Pier, Scalloway, pled guilty to health and safety breaches committed between 6 January 2014 and 31 Janua

A new charity partnership initiated by accountancy firm Azets is spearheading efforts to reduce maritime plastic pollution with the first-ever European plastic pick-up to mark UN World Oceans Day. The Azets Plastic Pick-Up Day has been created in partnership between corporate charity Azets 4 Kids an

Perth-based insurance giant Aviva has revealed that the proportion of insurance claims tainted with fraud increased by 13% in 2021. Aviva uncovered more than 11,000 instances of claims fraud last year, worth more than £122m. That is equivalent to detecting more than 30 bogus claims every day,

Kilmarnock-based construction firm McConnell has appointed Kenny Downs as its new group finance director. A Chartered Management Accountant, Mr Downs has previously held a number of operational and strategic finance roles within the construction industry with Urban Union, Keepmoat and City Facilitie

Property factoring business James Gibb has acquired the residential factoring division of Dundee-based J Reavley Factoring Limited. The acquisition will increase the number of properties currently under management at James Gibb by 1,400 units, taking the number to well over 52,000 units.

Scottish businesses were the least confident in the UK, although confidence remains in positive territory, according to a new survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Business sentiment tracked by ICAEW’s Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) for Scotland, publ