News

A Gourock-based gin brand, inspired by the heritage and craftsmanship of historical Clydeside shipbuilding, is gearing up for overseas trade following a successful launch that saw more than 1,000 bottles snapped up in its first few weeks. Andy Samuel, the founder of Shipyard Gin, is now in talks wit

December 2021 card spending data from UK Finance has revealed that the average amount spent per contactless card transaction rose by almost 30% following the contactless spending limit increasing from £45 to £100 in October last year. In September, prior to the contactless limit increase

As part of its support for the Scottish Government Fair Work First agenda, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is introducing new conditions attached to future funding awards. From 1 April, all organisations across the region who are applying for HIE funding will be expected to comply with the Fa

To help accelerate inclusive growth and economic collaboration across Scotland, all regions have been awarded a share of the £1 million Regional Economic Partnership Fund. Regional Economic Partnerships can play a major role in implementing the economic ambitions of Scotland’s new Nation

Scottish charity Social Bite has launched its very first coffee shop in London. It will operate a rewarding ‘Pay-It-Forward’ system whereby customers who come in to buy a coffee or a sandwich can buy an additional meal or hot drink in advance for someone who is homeless to redeem later.

Social enterprise The Circle is to lease nearly 7000 square feet of workspace at Dundee’s new Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP). The Circle at MSIP will offer accessible work, event and meeting space, and office pods, to social enterprises, community groups, charities and start-ups.

Introducing a four-day working week can reduce staff absence and turnover while increasing productivity and the quality of applicants, a new report from Advice Direct Scotland has found.  The analysis by Advice Direct Scotland concluded that business-related improvements at the organisation are

Bank of Scotland owner Lloyds Banking Group and FinTech Scotland have launched three new strategic innovation challenges.  The duo has opened the second cohort of its Launch Innovation Programme, which invites fintechs from all over the world to take part. 

Scottish businesses are struggling to recruit accountants with high-level expertise in blockchain technologies and AI which can supercharge C-suite decision making and increase profitability. This is according to the annual salary guide published by Core-Asset Consulting. The report is a forensic re

The Digital Xtra Fund has secured £100,000 in funding from the Scottish Government and Skills Development Scotland to match fund industry’s support for the next cohort of activities. The Scottish charity, which funds meaningful extracurricular tech activities for young people through an

The abrdn Smaller Companies Income Trust plc has posted strong annual results for the year ended 31 December 2021, with a NAV total return of 30.4%. This outperforms the Numis Smaller Companies (ex- Investment Trusts) return of 21.9% over the reporting period.

The number of reports to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of alleged cryptocurrency scams has more than doubled in the last year. According to a Freedom of Information request, the FCA received 6,372 alerts about suspected crypto frauds in 2021, an increase from the 3,143 reported in 2020.

abrdn owner Phoenix Group has outlined plans to invest in the firm after it posted its full-year 2021 results. Phoenix Group said it has already reaped significant rewards for the decisions it made to buy the business from the former Standard Life Aberdeen.

Support is being expanded to improve the energy efficiency of homes and tackle energy costs in Scotland.  In response to the cost of living crisis, three key Scottish Government energy efficiency and heat programmes will be boosted from April.

HMRC is warning Self Assessment customers to be on their guard following the Self Assessment deadline after more than 570,000 scams were reported to HMRC in the last year. At this time of year, Self Assessment customers are at increased risk of falling victim to scams, even if they don’t menti