News

Aberdeenshire Council has announced the appointment of Jamie Dale as its chief internal auditor with effect from 6 January 2022. Mr Dale is currently the head of geographic and cross-government assurance for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

R&D and innovation was a key feature in Rishi Sunak’s Autumn Budget. The Chancellor underlined his aim to raise direct and indirect public support for R&D to 1.1% of GDP in 2024-25, well above the OECD average of 0.7%. The Government hopes to bounce back from the financial impact of th

Glasgow-based Loganair saw its turnover halve to £81 million in the 12 months ending 31 March 2021, marked by the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK’s largest regional airline flew every day throughout the pandemic, ensuring that essential travel needs for communities in the Sc

Aberdeen house prices rose 2.3 per cent in the last quarter, a new report shows. Published by Aberdeen Solicitors’ Property Centre Limited, in cooperation with the University of Aberdeen, Business School, Centre for Real Estate Research – the data also indicate that:

Perth-based Carbon Financial Partners has been recognised with the Gold Standard Award for Independent Financial Advice for the eighth year in a row. The Gold Standard, now in its 19th year, is a benchmark of excellence in the profession. Carbon was one of four firms to win the award in the category

Around one in six Scottish shops are lying empty, one of the highest vacancy rates in the UK, according to new figures. A total of 16.4% of units were classed as vacant in Q3 2021, compared with 16.1% in the previous quarter, The Times reports.

A socialite's speeding fine has been halved to £50 after she requested special treatment due to “financial hardship”.

A sustainable Scottish distillery has secured £2.6 million from HSBC UK to support the building of its new visitor centre, creating around 30 new jobs in the Angus area.

Highland-based Reid & Fraser Chartered Accountants has become Scotland’s – and possibly the UK's – first employee-owned full-service accountancy firm. All shares in the company have been played into an employee ownership trust (EOT), marking a significant milestone within the s

Accountancy firm Grant Thornton has been slapped with a financial sanction of nearly £720,000 in connection with failings in its audits of Interserve. Interserve, a major outsourcing company, went into administration in 2019 after financial restructuring plans drawn up by the company’s l

Edinburgh-based Par Equity has achieved a major milestone with more than £100 million invested in high-growth technology businesses. The company, which backs emerging technology stars across the north of the UK, reached the milestone in mid-October.

Business confidence in Scotland fell eight points during October to 31%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking. Companies in Scotland reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down one point at 38%. When taken alongside th

The Energy Assets Group, with two Scottish offices in Livingston and Stirling, has completed a £690 million refinancing package, including £185 million of Capex facilities.

Chartered accountants Wylie & Bisset has warned the self-employed of a "tax grab" buried in the tax impact notes behind Chancellor Rishi Sunak's headline Budget measures last week. While the Budget speech itself was relatively quiet on taxation measures, background documents set out much more co

Asia Dragon Trust plc, managed by abrdn, saw its net asset value rise by 20.5% in the year ending 31 August 2021, according to its annual results. It outperformed its benchmark, the MSCI Asia ex Japan Index, which increased by 14.7% on a comparable basis over the reporting period.