News

VAT can only be claimed as input tax if the associated costs are incurred in respect of a business (economic) activity and rural businesses need to be aware that HM Revenue & Customs continues to challenge VAT recovery, warns Sean McGinness, partner and head of VAT, Saffery Champness. In Babylon

Scottish Borders Housing Association (SBHA) has secured a £58 million facility from Royal Bank of Scotland to support investment in current homes and the delivery of 300 new homes over the next seven years. SBHA owns and manages more than 5,600 homes across the Scottish Borders, from Skirling

The average fraudulent insurance claim has risen by 6% since 2019, with figures reaching £12,000, according to the latest figures published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). According to the figures, the number of detected fraudulent claims fell to 96,000 down 10% on 2019 to the lo

Robert Hokin, the co-founder of Greenbackers Investment Capital, is set to showcase 26 of the most promising “Cleantech” emerging businesses in front of thousands of delegates at the COP26 United Nations Climate Summit in Glasgow this November. For some years now, Robert Hokin and his te

Nine in ten (86%) Scottish micro-businesses expect activity levels to bounce back over the next 12 months as consumer demand rises, according to new research conducted by Shawbrook Bank. Shawbrook Bank’s Micro Business Monitor surveyed Scottish businesses with 25 employees or fewer – kno

Independent property advisory firm, Lismore Real Estate has predicted that the Scottish investment market will have a 'strong run to the year end'. According to the firm's review of the Scottish investment market for the third quarter of 2021, after a significant increase in quarter two, transaction

Scott Cochrane has been appointed head of property management at Glasgow-based Park Property Management. With 26 years’ experience in the property management sector, Mr Cochrane joins from James Gibb who acquired Life Property Management.

Financial services firms are upping their efforts to tackle climate change and become more environmentally sustainable, as the UK prepares to host the COP26 summit in Glasgow, according to a report from Bank of Scotland owner Lloyds Bank. Almost twice as many UK financial institutions consider envir

A £4 million project to transform one of Lochaber’s main tourist attractions has secured up to £800,000 investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Work will begin this month at Nevis Range on a 22-bedroom hotel, 24-berth Bunkhouse, bar and restaurant, bike shop, childr

The Scottish Government has announced that people who have suffered the most as a result of the pandemic will be at the heart of Scotland’s Covid recovery strategy. The new strategy, For a Fairer Future, sets out the next steps in Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic, recognising t

India's transport minister has promised to legislate to make ambulance sirens sound more pleasant and make car horns use only Indian instruments. Nitin Gadkari, the minister for road transport and highways, said he could replace ambulance sirens with a song he heard on the radio, The Hindu reports.

Revenue at the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews dropped by more than £14 million in 2020. The country-wide coronavirus lockdowns forced the five-star hotel to close for most of the year causing revenue to fall by 63.4%.

Scotgold Resources, the gold exploration and production company focused on Scotland, has hailed the second month of profitable production as the amount of gold increased 24% to 62 tonnes in September. In its latest production and corporate update, the firm revealed that this was the second consecuti

R&D tax credit specialist Amplifi Solutions has scaled up its Edinburgh operation, with a senior hire and a move to new offices in Scotland’s capital. Jan-Michael Kochalski joins Amplifi as regional manager from Leyton UK, while the company has moved to the Kingsford Business Club on Dubli

Asset & wealth management firm AssetCo has announced the completion of the acquisition of a 30% equity interest in Parmenion, a discretionary investment manager and advisory platform for the wealth and financial planning sector. AssetCo announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase the