News

Prestwick-based hardware and housewares supplier Wright’s Home Hardware is tripling the size of its Helensburgh premises to cope with rising demand from UK gardeners and DIYers, thanks to a £385,000 funding package from Bank of Scotland. Wright’s Home Hardware, founded in 1969, off

Morlich Homes Limited (MHL) has secured an investment of up to £87,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to help the company develop a facility to build green homes. MHL has already purchased a site at Elgin Business Park where fit-out costs will total £189,000.

Oil prices have risen above $80 a barrel for the first time in three years as renewed demand led to concerns of a supply shortage. Brent crude, the global benchmark price, rose for a sixth day to reach $80.04, signalling its highest price since October 2018.

The North American Income Trust Plc, a company managed by abrdn (formerly known as Standard Life Aberdeen), has posted Net Asset Value (NAV) total return of 19.8% for the six months to July 31 2021, compared to a NAV of 5.7% in the year ended 31 January 2021. This means that the company ou

The Alternative Board (TAB), a peer-to-peer advisory and networking platform for business leaders, has grown in Scotland by 80% in the past nine months. TAB has grown from six boards to 11 across Scotland. It now has five in the north-east of Scotland, three in Glasgow and three in the Edinburgh are

The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) has secured a string of UK and international conference wins for 2022 and 2023, with the EICC’s CEO Marshall Dallas heralding a “return in confidence” in business travel in the events industry. The 6th International Symposium on

Councils have been given £10 million to provide grants to tenants who have fallen behind on their rent as a result of the pandemic and are at risk of eviction. The grants will help tenants who are struggling financially as a direct result of the pandemic, allowing them to reduce or pay off the

Hundreds of number plates featuring the new 71 series have been banned over fears of inappropriate applications such as TA71 BAN and AN71 VAX. The DVLA does not permit some registrations on the basis they may cause “offence, embarrassment and are in poor taste”.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has fined accountancy firm Grant Thornton more than £2.3 million for failings and a 'serious lack of competence' in its audits of restaurant chain Patisserie Valerie. Patisserie Valerie collapsed in January 2019 as allegations of fraud encompassed the comp

The director of a liquidated construction company has been banned for seven years after failing to explain more than £700,000 worth of expenditure. Forfar Sheriff Court heard that Angel Tas Limited was incorporated in October 2017 and Cristina Angelica Tasca (27), from Arbroath, was appoi

Wealth manager James Hambro & Partners has recruited 7IM’s head of financial planning, George Martineau. Mr Martineau, who will become a partner at JH&P, joins his former colleague, Alex Montgomery, in the firm’s new Edinburgh office in Fountainbridge from 1st October.

Edinburgh-based Unbranded Finance has been nominated as a finalist in the NACFB Patron Awards for 2021. The awards recognise excellence in the lending community, with short-term and bridging finance providing an important function within the property industry in facilitating transactions so borrower

Andrew Scouller, an independent financial advisor at Phil Anderson Financial Services Ltd, discusses further education funding in the wake of COVId-19 and Brexit. As students return to college and university, it’s an apt time to reflect on how the seismic changes wrought by the pandemic and by

Baillie Gifford, the global investment management partnership, has lowered the annual management fee on the Baillie Gifford UK Equity Alpha Fund B class shares, with effect from 1 October 2021. The annual management fee has been reduced from 0.55% to 0.47%. The £1bn UK Equity Alpha Fund aims t

Colin Miller, partner at Burness Paull, discusses the recent crackdown on pharma companies for breaching competition law. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK competition watchdog, has recently issued record fines against a number of pharma companies for breaching competition law.