News

Aberdeen-based Red Kite Oilfield Services Limited has secured funding from UMI Debt Finance Scotland to help expand and diversify the business. Red Kite provides a wide range of licenced non-explosive, non-hazmat cutting and perforating services to the global oil and gas industry.

US-based packaging firm Novolex has acquired Vegware, an international provider of compostable foodservice packaging headquartered in Edinburgh, for an undisclosed sum. UK Vegware’s teams in both the UK and US are expected to join the Novolex family. The Vegware brand will remai

The average inheritance tax (IHT) bill in Scotland has climbed 8.5% towards £200,000 according to the latest figures released by HMRC. For the year 2018-19, the average inheritance tax bill in the UK was £209,502. In London, the bill stood at £271,820, while in Wales it was £

Ampla Finance has today launched its beneficiary and executor loans in Scotland. The loans are designed to enable beneficiaries to access their inheritance both pre and post-grant of probate, or executors to access the total value of the estate to pay inheritance tax or other estate liabilities.

Halifax has launched a new ultra-low two-year fixed-rate mortgage deal priced at 0.83%. The deal was made available to homebuyers via mortgage brokers yesterday and allows those wishing to take out a loan worth up to 60% of the value of their home.

The Scottish private sector continued on its recovery path into the third quarter, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland PMI. The seasonally adjusted headline Royal Bank of Scotland Business Activity Index - a measure of combined manufacturing and service sector output - posted 57.5 in July

Aldi is looking to hire over 490 colleagues in Scotland between now and Christmas. The UK’s fifth-largest supermarket is looking for people of all levels of experience to fill roles at its stores and distribution centres across the region.

Glasgow City Council has approved a list of new projects after the local authority was granted £537 million funding from the Scottish Government to deliver affordable housing over the next five years. Included in the budget is a record £120m for affordable housing in 2021/22, targets for

Projects aiming to help transform towns and neighbourhoods could apply to a new £10 million multi-year fund launched by the Scottish Government. The Scotland Loves Local Fund aims to encourage people to think local first, and support businesses and enterprises in their community. The fund will

A couple who purchased a home fully aware that bees were potentially living in the wall were shocked to learn that an estimated 450,000 of the insects had called the place home for almost 35 years.

Edinburgh-based financial services company Nucleus Financial will be acquired by James Hay for £145 million under plans which have now received regulatory approval. James Hay CEO Richard Rowney will lead the combined group, which will have over £47 billion of assets under administration

Edinburgh-based private bank Hampden & Co has reported a strong first half with year-on-year double-digit increases in income, deposits and lending. In the six months to 30 June 2021, income was up by £1.2 million or 24 per cent against the first half of the previous year to £6 milli

Aberdeen and Dundee-based finance and accounting specialist Hutcheon Mearns has launched a new global digital platform to match businesses with freelance finance professionals. Nexus Finance is solely dedicated to qualified accounting and finance professionals globally and ims to revolutionise the w

More than two-thirds of UK SMEs feel positive about the UK's economic outlook – though there is more optimism in London and the south than in Scotland, according to SME accountancy firm Azets. According to a new survey, 87% of UK SMEs expect to be trading in a year whilst a further 68% feel po

Ardgowan Distillery has announced plans for a new bespoke centre for Blackwoods gin at their Inverkip site following a loan of up to £5 million from UK drinks specialists Distil plc. An initial tranche of £3 million has been approved by shareholders of the London-listed firm, with the po