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‘Tumble dryer debacle exposes failures in product safety system’

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Product safety issues which are potentially life-threatening have to be taken seriously.

This is why we at Which? have been pushing for more action to be taken after it was revealed that a Whirlpool tumble dryer was to blame for a fire in an 18-storey tower block in London’s Shepherd’s Bush last year.

It was an investigation by the London Fire Brigade which pointed the finger squarely at the appliance. The faulty tumble dryers are subject to a modification programme because they pose a fire risk. The models affected are Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Proline or Swan.

Whirlpool is currently in the process of fixing the faulty dryers, but this has been happening far too slowly, given the gravity of the risk to consumers.

At Which? we feel the public has been let down not just by Whirlpool but by the actions of Peterborough Trading Standards – the branch of Trading Standards which deals with Whirlpool’s Peterborough HQ. We believe that notwithstanding Peterborough Trading Standards’ primary authority relationship with Whirlpool, they did not properly consider their duty as an enforcer of product safety laws.

As a result we have started legal action to challenge Peterborough Trading Standards’ behaviour. We’ve asked the High Court to assess whether the authority’s actions have been lawful.

We want Peterborough Trading Standards to conduct a fresh, independent assessment of the risks posed to consumers by the faulty Whirlpool dryers – and not shy away from enforcement action if it is needed.

If the High Court grants us permission to bring a judicial review, a court hearing should be held this year.

But the problem goes deeper – it appears that the product safety system is failing customers and must therefore be reconsidered by the government.

If you’ve had an issue with a product that hasn’t been resolved email askalex@which.co.uk


Braemore snaps up Click-Let to exploit ‘huge opportunity’

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Braemore, the Edinburgh-based property firm, has sealed a deal to acquire Click-Let, pushing the business into the buoyant short-term lettings market.

The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, is Braemore’s tenth bolt-on deal since 2010 and will add 400 properties to its lettings portfolio across Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, and Fife. Click-Let’s staff will join Braemore’s existing 75-strong team in the capital.

Braemore chief executive Ian Lawson pointed to strong consumer interest in the short-term letting market, particularly during the Edinburgh Festival season, and said he saw a “huge opportunity” to expand the business further.

“The popularity of short-term lets is higher than ever in Edinburgh, throughout the year and during the Festival season in particular,” he said. “There is huge demand during key periods like Hogmanay and with Six Nations Rugby at Murrayfield, so this opportunity is testament to the changing demographics of this market. We saw the acquisition of Click-Let as an opportunity to invest in this trend and incorporate into our existing portfolio.”

Stewart Pitt, director of Click-Let, said: “For the past 14 years we have enjoyed being part of the growing Edinburgh property market, developing a strong team and brand. The chance to work with Braemore came at the right time.”

Scottish fishermen fear Brexit bonanza will slip through the net

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It’s been like a noose tightening around our necks for years,” says John Buchan, “and now we’re going to be free of it.”

The Scottish Government’s version of events may be that the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union spells economic catastrophe, but Buchan believes otherwise. For him, and others in Scotland’s fishing industry, Brexit means the opportunity to breathe new life into a business that generates sales of half a billion pounds a year but has been under constant pressure since Britain’s entrance into the European Economic Community in 1973.

Buchan, the skipper of the Atlantic Challenger based in Peterhead, first went to sea in 1972, and says European regulations have been a source of problems for the Scottish fishing industry throughout his career.

“We lost control over who could fish our waters and how much they could take. It’s been tough for the industry. My whole life in fishing has been dictated by the Common Fisheries Policy,” says the 62-year-old. He is unequivocal in his view of the CFP, which regulates the fishing of the UK’s coastal waters, including much of the North Sea. “I detest it,” he says.

Buchan, whose son, John Alexander, has taken over the day-to-day running of the Atlantic Challenger, is far from a unique voice on this matter. While others may have issued dire warnings about the impact of Brexit on the economy, Scotland’s fishermen believe that the result of last June’s referendum will help them sustain and grow their industry. Industry leaders speak enthusiastically about the future for the 5,000 Scots whose livelihoods depend on fishing the North Sea.

After Brexit, international law will fundamentally change maritime governance of the waters around the UK. It will become a Coastal State with rights and responsibilities for harvesting the sea in an Exclusive Economic Zone, just as Norway now does.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, says this return of control to the UK is “no small matter”.

“When we joined the EEC, our waters were turned over to everybody, reflecting the reality of membership. Brexit will change that.”

At present, 58 per cent of EU catches in UK waters is taken by non-UK EU nations under the CFP arrangement of common access. The Federation’s position is clear that the rebalancing of fishing rights in favour of the UK must follow Brexit.

To Armstrong and his members, the CFP is “a remote and flawed system characterised by unacceptable compromises”. Brexit, he says, will mean a new fisheries management system tailored for the needs of UK boats working in the North Sea.

Armstrong says the industry has been squeezed by the CFP. It’s not, he says, that the industry is opposed to rules or regulation but that the policy has become so unwieldy as to be unworkable and that it severely limits the amount of fishing UK crews can do.

Armstrong points to Norway – outside the EU and responsible for its own fishing policies – as a model to aspire to. “Like Norway, we could become a world leader. With Brexit, the governance of the ocean will change at a stroke and prevent a completely unbalanced amount of this natural resource being given away.”

Armstrong doesn’t envisage a Klondike-style free-for-all, but a new fit-for-purpose system for the management of the seas around the UK. Brexit presents, he says, “an incredible opportunity”.

The additional resources that can be generated by striking deals for access to UK waters will, says the Federation, mean great investment in fishing fleets, with subsequent returns for the communities that support them.

“These fundamentally beneficial changes, if handled well, have the potential to put the UK once again at the centre of world sustainable seafood production,” says Armstrong,

Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, shares Armstrong’s optimism.

Park says: “There was unanimous support for Brexit across the industry. We have lived under the tyranny of bad legislation for a long time.”

But not only has Brexit created a sense of liberation, it has focused the minds of industry leaders on what they are certain will be a brighter future for fishing. Central to that more prosperous era will be a rise in the weight of fish skippers are permitted to catch.

Park points out that last year, French boats landed almost 25,000 tons of fish in UK waters and German vessels took more than 10,000 tons, while Scottish boats landed just 8,000 tons.

“Once we come out of the CFP, we will have control of access. We’ll have a bigger share of the catch and we’ll create the potential for growth. We’ll be in a strong position for negotiation rather than having out quotas dictated.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week reiterated her determination that Scotland should retain its membership of the European single market, even after the UK leaves the EU.

Park is adamant that concessions on control of UK waters must not be part of either Scottish or UK government negotiations over Brexit. “We cannot remain part of the single market if membership of the CFP is part of that negotiation.”

This is also the firm position of Armstrong and the Federation.

“The central issue for UK fisheries is recovery of the right to control access to our own renewable natural resource; there must be no trading away of access to this for non-fishery reasons in Brexit negotiations.

“Securing the UK’s status as a Coastal State with full control of resources and access is the aim of Brexit for fisheries. We are blessed with a world class natural resource which, if properly secured and managed, will be a renewable national asset in perpetuity.”

Park speaks of the frustration skippers feel about the level of bureaucracy that has crept into their industry.

He says: “There are 1,122 regulations associated with the CFP, which is considerably more than in any other topic area. If you need that amount of regulation then something is wrong.

“To put that into perspective, there are only 91 regulations when it comes to freedom of movement for workers and social policy.

“After Brexit, some regulations will naturally fall – the industry already knows what bits do not fit. Drawing up a new model for how waters will be controlled is an ongoing process – we will have a policy ready for the UK’s exit from the EU.”

Simon Collins of the Shetland Fishermen’s Association shares that disdain for the heavy regulation under which skippers must currently operate.

“Even when there is consensus that something is wrong, the system is so big that you cannot easily change things. You could have a great idea with widespread support and it would take ten years to implement. Without the CFP we can be much more reactive.”

And Collins adds that, during any Brexit negotiations, the surrender of any control over UK waters would be unacceptable to his members.

“A negotiation over single market access that saw us remain part of the CFP would be the worst possible outcome. That’s a red line matter for us. We’re immovable on it.

“Right now we want to secure that headline position that we are not going to surrender access to waters as part of any Brexit deal. It is so important that we retain control.”

But control of UK waters doesn’t mean the exclusion of boats from other nations, adds Collins.

“We are not saying that nobody else can come in and fish but that they must give something in return.

“We could roughly double what we take now, and have negotiations, year to year, with others who want to fish our waters.”

Collins concedes that the result of the EU referendum took the fishing industry by surprise.

“We didn’t expect the leave campaign to win and we didn’t appreciate how big the prize was.

“But the truth is that had the UK voted to remain then the future would have been bleak. The CFP contains reforms that would have bankrupted some skippers. Life was a grind for fishermen who have been dealing with some rules that were lethal to their businesses. We’ve been engaged constantly in trying to limit the damage coming from Brussels.”

The SNP has long styled itself the champion of the fishing industry. The party enjoys strong support in many fishing communities and senior figures appear to believe they must now ensure that the CFP is ditched for good.

One SNP MSP said: “Obviously, we want to strike a deal where we retain access to the single market but we can’t lose sight of how important the fishing industry is, not just to Scotland but to us as a party.

“We’ve been the champions of the industry for a long time and there’s no way we can squander that with some kind of deal that upsets fishermen.

“If the UK had voted to remain then this would not have been an issue. As it is, it’s become quite a delicate matter. The industry wanted a Leave vote and they got their wish. That being so, we would be crazy to sell them out.”

So long as political support remains resolute, the future for the Scottish fishing industry would appear to be brighter than it has been for a long time.

John Buchan, preparing on Friday to return from the North Sea to Peterhead, certainly thinks so.

“Brexit is the result the industry needed,” he says. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Interview: Why EDF’s Vincent De Rivaz backs Scotland

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Scotland matters a lot to us, and as the First Minister put it in her speech, we matter for Scotland,” says Vincent De Rivaz.

The chief executive of EDF Energy was in the Scottish capital to join First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last Tuesday as she opened a centre in Edinburgh for EDF Energy Renewables – the 50:50 joint venture between EDF Energy and EDF Energies Nouvelles, the renewables arm of the French-based group.

Scotland has recently seen its share of green electricity comfortably overtake that of its UK counterparts, with a record proportion of energy supplied in 2015 coming from wind, hydro, solar and other renewable sources.

In her address, the First Minister referred to Scottish Renewables’ recent statistics revealing that 60 per cent of the nation’s energy needs were being met by such sources in that year compared with 50 per cent in 2014.

Sturgeon acknowledged that EDF Energy Renewables has “built strong relationships with Scottish industry – making a commitment to use towers manufactured in Scotland by CS Wind UK, using local supply chain companies wherever possible, and developing renewables in areas like the Western Isles”.

French-born De Rivaz reaffirms that commitment, claiming that the new centre, which will create 35 jobs, represents “an act of faith in our renewable activity, an act of faith in Scotland, and it is going to be the hub of our renewable activities for the UK.

“Having transferred the centre of gravity from London to Edinburgh is a strong signal that I send to Scotland.”

He adds that while the business and the Scottish Government don’t agree on every point, they share a desire to fight climate change and achieve both affordability and security of supply. “We want to make sure that the lights stay on,” he says.

By setting up in Edinburgh, the centre sits alongside other trailblazers in the renewables sector, such as Atlantis Resources, whose chief executive Tim Cornelius has laid claim to “the world’s most high-profile tidal stream project” with its pioneering MayGen venture, which started generating power in November. Atlantis last week welcomed the Energy Technology Institute’s findings that tidal-stream generation will soon compete with other low-carbon energy sources on cost.

EDF Energy is the largest generator of low-carbon electricity in both the UK and Scotland, and is looking to boost customer numbers north of the border, having won a key deal with the Scottish Government in 2012. This sees it provide power to more than 27,000 sites, including schools, hospitals and even Edinburgh Castle, using 100 per cent renewable energy and accounting for about 10 per cent of Scotland’s annual electricity consumption.

But it is the Scottish residential market that De Rivaz now has in his sights, determined to grow the company’s customer base “significantly”, having seen a 30.5 per cent year-on-year increase over the past year to about 221,000 customers.

His ambition is to net every home north of the border. “There are other suppliers, but I think we are in a very strong position to convince because we have the cheapest fixed tariff offered to customers in Scotland.”

But while renewables is a clear priority for the company, is it an important consideration for customers, or are they more focused on price?

De Rivaz admits that consumers “want [energy] to be less expensive”, but he believes innovation and customer service are key points.

A Which? survey published last week covering customer satisfaction in the sector found that the Big Six – comprising EDF Energy, ScottishPower, SSE, British Gas, E.ON UK and Npower – continued to languish in the bottom half on key measures such as value for money and customer service.

EDF Energy’s score came in at 55 per cent while Ovo came in top with a score of 78 per cent, for example.

Which? Magazine editor Richard Headland said: “Larger suppliers need to urgently up their game in line with smaller providers. Energy companies should now be doing much more to genuinely engage their customers who are stuck on these poor-value deals.”

Disappointed customers are increasingly voting with their feet. Earlier this month Energy UK, the trade association for the UK energy industry, said 2016 had been a record year for consumers switching, boosted by the introduction of the Energy Switch Guarantee, and up by nearly a million people from 2015 to almost five million.

There have also been concerns about competition among the Big Six, but De Rivaz is keen to point out that the lengthy Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the issue gave “companies like ours a clean bill of health” and also highlighted a “lack of engagement” by some consumer sections to choose better tariffs.

At the other end of the scale, there have been concerns about losses among the Big Six. Vysyble, which provides trend and information analysis, said in a recent report on the UK energy market, using revenue minus all taxes and charges as a yardstick, that the half-dozen firms collectively racked up £129.9 billion in economic losses between 2007/8 and 2015/6.

However, EDF Energy stresses that those figures do not tally with its own accounts. De Rivaz states that while the business is not making huge margins due to very challenging market conditions, with tough competition and having to cut prices for customers, “we are financially sound”. The company also needs to invest, and “there are some efforts to be made… costs to be cut, but that’s normal, responsible business”.

It comes as parent company EDF Group, where De Rivaz is part of the executive committee, prepares to post its full-year results on 14 February. In November it said that for the first nine months of 2016, sales saw a year-on-year drop of 3.1 per cent, in an “adverse market environment”, to €52bn (£45bn). The UK slice of this fell by £884 million.

A landmark for the firm came towards the end of the period, with the UK government’s approval of the EDF Energy project Hinkley Point C in Somerset, the UK’s first new nuclear power plant in decades.

While the decision was not universally welcomed, De Rivaz at the time described it as “good news for British consumers” and “a huge boost to British industry”.

The Frenchman joined EDF in 1977 in its external engineering centre as a hydroelectric engineer, describing this field as the original renewable energy source which tied in with his passion for nature.

He went on to senior roles at EDF’s international division, for example covering the Far East, and he became managing director of the group’s hydro power department. He joined the EDF finance division in 1999 as deputy chief financial officer, and in 2000 became director of financial strategy and operations.

This was followed by taking the reins as chief executive of London Electricity Group (LEG) in 2002, and he led the merger of LEG, Seeboard and the Eastern Network to form EDF Energy in 2003, as well as taking charge of the incorporation of the UK nuclear operator, the former British Energy, into EDF Energy from January 2009.

That year he was made Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur; in 2012 he was awarded the CBE; and in September 2015 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

His visit to Edinburgh last week also saw him sign the Scottish Business Pledge to adopt fair and progressive business practices, and revealed EDF Energy’s sponsorship of the Edinburgh International Science Festival. And De Rivaz is committed to improving the gender balance in the industry. “Our industry is not diverse enough,” he says.

On the same morning as the Edinburgh launch, Provost Tom Kerr of West Lothian Council opened EDF Energy Renewables’ latest six-turbine 19.2 megawatt wind farm at Pearie Law, and De Rivaz cites wind farms when discussing cutbacks made to renewables.

Regarding a large project on Lewis to build a wind farm, with power exported to the Continent, De Rivaz explains that it does not qualify for subsidies, which provide investors with benefits, including certainty over revenues “to justify massive investment of that sort”.

Subsidies are “something we need to permanently argue for”, he says, but adds that the business is “not begging” for such support, and is working hard to make such wind farms more economical and efficient.

However, concerns remain over the renewables sector’s outlook. Scottish Renewables has warned that future progress is “hugely uncertain, with 
large-scale onshore wind, solar and hydro power all locked out of government schemes to support investment in new electricity generation capacity”.

But De Rivaz sees calmer rather than choppier waters ahead, flagging up the firm’s aim to “play a bigger role in Scotland” and increase its renewable output more than three-fold in the coming years. “I just want us to be a responsible company, to help Scotland have low-carbon, secure and affordable electricity.”

He also stresses that EDF Energy’s nuclear power stations, Torness in Dunbar and Hunterston B in Ayrshire, produce 40 per cent of the electricity consumed in Scotland.

And despite EDF Energy’s French ownership, De Rivaz is keen to stress that it “became a Scottish company in 2009” with the acquisition of these sites when it bought British Energy.

He says: “If people attach importance to the fact that in Scotland they prefer to deal with a Scottish company, I am a Scottish company, producing 40 per cent of the electricity of this country. It is difficult to have better credentials.

“We have 1,300 people [here], we are opening a new office here,” he continues, with no limit on how many people the centre can employ. “It’s a starting point.”

Bill Jamieson: Mind the growing gap between north and south

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Amid the Niagara of news and comment on Brexit, a worrying trend is slipping by with little discussion: the growing disparity in economic performance between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

It’s been easy to shunt this off as a consequence of Brexit uncertainty, or the slump in the North Sea sector or the slowdown from the hectic pace of growth in construction.

But none of these fully explains why a gap in performance is now broadening – and why Scotland has not enjoyed the same degree of economic resilience as the rest of the UK from the “shock trough” of the EU referendum result last June.

There’s growth of sorts – a pulse if you hold it lightly by the wrist. But the latest figures show how weak it is. Scottish government figures show the economy in Scotland grew by just 0.2 per cent in the third quarter of last year, marking time on the equally low April-June quarter. Over the past four quarters growth has been a mere 0.7 per cent. This compares poorly with UK growth of 0.6 per cent in the third quarter and 2.3 per cent over the past year.

Divergence is also evident in labour market data. The latest figures show unemployment in Scotland rose to 5.1 per cent in the September-November period, while in the UK as a whole it fell to 4.8 per cent.

It’s not contraction, certainly, and there is a degree of confidence. According to the latest Scottish Chambers of Commerce survey, business optimism is “finely balanced across all sectors and was marginally positive in all sectors other than Financial and Business Services. Broadly positive trends in recruitment remained but cash flow was tightening across most sectors.”

Construction reported a positive trend in both total contracts and sales revenue in the fourth quarter, led by growth in private commercial contracts. Employment continues to grow in the sector but there are expectations of a dip in investment.

Financial and business services saw a marginal growth in sales but the pace of the increase in investment slowed. Expectations of a growth in employment in the sector in the fourth quarter did not materialise. Optimism returned to manufacturing in Q4 as the sector reported its strongest trend in new orders since the second quarter of 2014. Export orders remained strong but the trend was lower than expected. Retail also saw a return in optimism as the growth in sales met expectations, but a decline is expected in the first three months of this year.

SCC chief executive Liz Cameron said: “Scottish Government actions must be aimed squarely at increasing this rate of growth and utilising the powers at its disposal to support businesses, giving them the edge over businesses in other parts of the UK and enabling them to grow.”

It’s all so tepid: less forging ahead than clinging on: a death by slow increment. And as if this was not concerning enough, other measures suggest that the divergence is even more marked.

Economist John McLaren has devised a measure of the underlying health of Scotland’s economy. His active economy construct excludes elements that can be either difficult to measure or lumpy and erratic. It removes public services (like education, law and order and health) and financial services, both of which are difficult to measure in terms of outputs. It further removes more capital intensive industries, including construction, energy and mining, together with the real estate sector.

This may seem to be overly restrictive and leaves the basic elements of private sector activity. But on this underlying measure, Scotland’s performance is even worse, contracting by 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year and by 0.2 per cent over the past year. Indeed, since the end of 2013 the “Active Economy” measure has grown by only 2.3 per cent in Scotland, compared with more than 11 per cent for the UK.

Much of this underperformance, says McLaren, is due to the sluggishness of private sector services in Scotland. During 2014 and early 2015 this weakness was largely disguised by rapid growth in construction. However, a return to more normal levels of output means that construction is now detracting from overall economic growth in Scotland.

“The latest Scottish GDP figures are grim,” he concludes. “Not only was Q3 bad but Q2 has also been revised down.

“This continues the longer term sluggish performance of the Scottish economy over the past three years relative to the UK. It is private sector services that remain at the root of the problem and neither the Scottish nor the UK government appear to be able to do anything about galvanising them.”

With Scotland’s economy growing at about a third of the rate of the UK as a whole, little wonder a mood of concern and impatience is evident across the business community. This is all the more marked when the focus of the SNP administration has been mainly on the twists and turns of the Brexit debate – and using every opportunity to repeat its call for a second referendum on Scottish independence.

And the exceptions are not heartening for business – the pursuit of higher tax on “wealthy” Scots and shifting spending priorities across the public sector – and are about as relevant an activity for lifting economic growth as arranging the deck chairs on a slowly sinking Titanic.

Little by way of improvement is expected this year. But there are some hopeful spots amid the gloom. The North Sea oil sector now looks past the worst, with sentiment helped by the recovery in the oil price from below $30 a barrel a year ago to $55.

Exporters should certainly enjoy a fillip, particularly in the food and drink sector. And it should be a better year for tourism, helped by the fall in the pound: Office for National Statistics figures last week showed foreign visits to the UK rose 1.5 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2016, led by an increase of 10.5 per cent from North America. Estimated earnings from all visits to the UK in the third quarter were up three per cent, led by a 17.5 per cent increase in spending from visitors from North America to £1.4 billion. And according to a Scottish Tourism Alliance poll, more than half of Scottish tourism businesses are confident about the next 12 months.

But for overall uplift, we need to see much more.

Scottish company convinced The Queen to embrace solar power

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With clients ranging from The Queen to the Scottish Parliament, a small company in Forres has been playing a leading role in Scotland’s renewables revolution for more than three decades.

AES Solar is the longest running solar thermal manufacturer in Western Europe, offering a range of bespoke systems to domestic and commercial clients capable of generating heat or electricity.

Such is its reputation, the Moray-based firm’s technology can be found in both Holyrood and Balmoral, The Queen’s private estate in Royal Deeside.

Founded in 1979 as Weatherwise by the late Lyle Schnadt, the company quickly diversified into heating systems for country homes after discovering there was not yet much demand for solar panels.

That all changed when it was bought in 1989 by Dutch businessman George Goudsmit, who changed the firm’s name and decided to focus on solar technology.

While promoting green technology is now a Government-priority north and south of the border, the market for renewables was very different in the early 1990s.

“It was not a fantastically booming market,” Goudsmit told the Scotland on Sunday. “The only people buying solar panels then were those concerned about the environment.

“But our strength today is our longevity as a manufacturer. No one has been going this long.”

READ MORE: Scotland’s largest private solar farm a shining success

It was not until the mid-2000s that Goudsmit detected a rising domestic demand in the UK for solar technology. But despite the long wait, he took faith from growth in countries like Germany and Denmark, both early adopters of green energy.

“It was continental market that kept me going,” he said. “The UK has been extremely slow on the uptake with solar energy, especially Scotland.

“There has always been this myth that because of its location and weather, the technology won’t work here. But the fact of the matter is solar energy can heat water to 28 or 29 degrees even in the depths of winter.

“As an industry, we have to increase awareness among the public that solar does work in the UK.”

AES made its name designing and manufacturing solar thermal technology, which produces heat, but almost ran into trouble when the Government began to offer huge incentives for photovoltaics (PV) systems capable of generating electricity.

“We were very lucky as we saw the change coming,” Goudsmit added. “We were able to diversify quickly so we could also install PV.

“We have an extremely strong design team. No matter who comes to us, we can design and manufacture systems to suit. We can cater for a two-person house, or something much bigger.”

Goudsmit speaks with obvious pride of the firm’s “most prestigious” installation at Balmoral.

The MD was introduced to The Queen at an official function on the Isles of Scilly in 2015. “We had a chat and I later wrote to Buckingham Palace and we received a call. You don’t slip someone like that your business card.”

Item Club think-tank warns of downturn in growth

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The dive in the pound since the Brexit vote will prompt a “hard rebalancing” of the UK economy away from consumer spending and towards exports, an influential new think-tank report will say tomorrow.

But while UK economic growth will become better balanced it is also likely to be slower, the EY Item Club is set to say in its winter forecast.

Sterling is down 18 per cent against the US dollar and 12 per cent lower against the euro since the UK’s referendum decision last June to quit the European Union – currently accounting for two-fifths of our exports.

Devalued sterling makes UK exports cheaper and therefore more attractive to overseas countries, and it is anticipated that the EY Item Club will argue this is the “silver lining” in a noticeable downturn in economic growth.

It is understood the think-tank will say that UK exports are likely to increase 3.3 per cent this year and 5.2 per cent in 2018. However, the report will say this rebalancing of the UK economy away from consumer debt towards exports – desired by governments and business organisations for many years – “will be accompanied by three years of relatively slow growth”.

The Item Club, the only independent forecaster to use the same economic model as the UK Treasury, expects GDP growth to reach 1.3 per cent this year, up from the 0.8 per cent it predicted last October, but down from 2 per cent in 2016.

It forecasts GDP of just 1 per cent in 2018, while it is also expected that the forecaster will be in tandem with many City economists who believe the Bank of England will hold off from hoisting interest rates from historical lows until the spring of 2018.

Peter Spencer, chief economic advisor to the Item Club, is set to outline that he believes “the impact of Brexit on the UK economy [will] be shallower but more prolonged than we [predicted] in October”.

However, he will say there will be a “sea change” in the UK economy over the next three years, with far less reliance on consumer spending and greater dependence on our trade performance with the rest of the world.

The UK economy has held up unexpectedly well since the Brexit vote, with both manufacturing and services industries doing better than feared.

However, official figures on Friday showed that UK retail sales fell at the fastest rate in nearly five years last month, as shoppers spent less on clothing, footwear and household goods in the run-up to Christmas.

The Office for National Statistics said month-on-month retail sales fell 1.9 per cent in December, compared to a 0.1 per cent fall in November. Economists had been forecasting a drop of just 0.1 per cent.

Pictorial history celebrates 50 years of Glasgow Airport

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A pictorial history of Scotland's first major airport has been published to mark its 50th birthday,

The 98-page souvenir, 50 Years of Glasgow Airport, was compiled by Dugald Cameron and has been circulated among staff.

The site at Abbotsinch took over from Renfrew Airport in 1966, and hosted its first commercial flight on 2 May 1966 - a British European Airways (BEA) service from Edinburgh.

The day before, a Loganair Cherokee-6 was the first to land, with the aircraft returning to Glasgow on 28 April 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary.

Construction of the terminal, designed by Sir Basil Spence, and other work, took a year and cost £4.5 million.

The architect said the design "helped the traveller to feel the adventure of flying".

An airstrip had opened at Abbotsinch, west of Glasgow, in 1932 and became home of RAF 602 Squadron (City of Glasgow).

It became a naval air base in 1943 and was renamed HMS Sanderling, later becoming RNAS Abbotsinch until its closure in 1963.

The Queen opened Glasgow Airport on 27 June 1966.

Glasgow Corporation - the city council's predecessor - was initially unwilling to run the airport, fearing it would be a financial burden on ratepayers.

However, it unexpectedly made a profit of nearly £18,000 in 1967 rather than a projected £100,000 loss.

The airport's original seven airlines have grown to 30.

Those which have operated since the start include Aer Lingus, British Airways (then as BEA), Icelandair and Loganair.

The annual passenger total has increased from 1.5 million to 9m, on more than 120 routes.

Transatlantic flights started in 1967 and BA launched its "London Shuttle" to Heathrow in 1975.

The terminal was extended in 1976 and 1989, the latter making it 70 per cent bigger.

T2, a second check-in hall, was opened in 2004.

Airport managing director Amanda McMillan, writing in the book, said: "I take an immense sense of pride from the 5,000 people who work tirelessly to ensure the continued success of Glasgow.

"They are the life and soul of the airport and I would like to dedicate this book to them and all those who have played a part in our success over the past 50 years."

These pictures are from the photography collections of Alastair Campbell, Dave Lacey, Dugald Cameron, Fred Seggie, Glasgow Airport, Gordon Macadie, Hugh Brown GAAEC, Jim Fulton, John Exton, John Martingale, Keith Mccluskey, Mark Piacentini, Scottish Passenger Agents Association, Stewart Davidson, Tudor Lewis, Walter Bell and Wilf White.


Monday market close: Footsie loses its fizz while pound rallies

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London’s benchmark FTSE 100 Index lost ground while the pound touched a five-week high as investors deserted the dollar during President Trump’s first days in office.

Sterling rose 1 per cent against the dollar to $1.248, its highest level since 16 December. That helped drive the Footsie lower by 47.26 points or 0.7 per cent to close at 7,151.18.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “It’s been a disappointing start to the week across the board as European investors take a risk off position after Friday’s ‘America First’ President Trump inauguration speech on Friday.”

Investors were also digesting the UK government’s industrial investment plans which included a £556 million boost for the so-called “northern powerhouse”, an overhaul of technical education and £170m cash for a new emphasis on science, technology, engineering and innovation.

Across Europe, the French Cac 40 and German Dax closed lower by about 0.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.

In UK stocks, Paddy Power Betfair shares plunged 380p to 8,295p after Trump’s shock election victory and unfavourable sporting results dented takings to the tune of £40m in the fourth quarter.

Bovis Homes Group was one of the biggest risers on the FTSE 250 following reports that one of the company’s biggest shareholders, Schroder Investment Management, has been pushing the company to merge with its rival Berkeley Group Holdings. Bovis shares jumped 23.5p to 820.5p while Berkeley rose 42p to 2,829p.

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Livingston is Scotland’s top performer in house price growth

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House price growth in Britain’s new towns has outperformed the national average, a report has found.

Livingston is Scotland’s best performer in terms of house price growth, the report found, with a 423 per cent rise over the past 30 years in the average property price to £161,184 – the 18th highest rise overall in the UK.

However, Milton Keynes which is celebrating its 50th birthday this year, was identified as the best-performing new town for property price growth over the past three decades, with the average cost of a home rocketing by 601 per cent to reach £309,415 on average.

East Kilbride, Scotland’s oldest “new town”, experienced the next highest rise north of the Border, with a 406 per cent rise in the average price of a home to £150,785, according to the study from Halifax. Meanwhile, the cost of a property in Cumbernauld, has risen by 404 per cent to £127,764.

The cost of homes in Glenrothes in Fife rocketed by 351 per cent in the past 30 years, followed by Irvine, with a 339 per cent increase to £122,469.

New towns generally have seen house prices increase by nearly a third over the past decade, increasing by just over £55,500, from £173,337 in 2006 to £228,902 in 2016. House prices across Britain generally have increased by just over a quarter over the past ten years, from £200,059 to £251,679 – an increase of around £51,600.

Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, said: “Milton Keynes has been the best-performing of all the new towns created following the Second World War in terms of house price performance since 1986.”

Mr Ellis added that many of the new towns with the strongest house price growth over the past ten years are in the London commuter belt, with prices in Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead seeing particularly strong gains since 1986.

Scotland’s new towns have seen among the lowest levels of growth, UK-wide.

He said: “Many of these new towns are within easy commuting distance of major commercial centres, where property is typically more expensive, particularly in the south-e ast, where the average property price is well below that in London. This makes them a highly popular choice with home buyers, explaining their relatively good house price performance, and this popularity has been particularly notable during the last decade.”

New towns were created in waves after the Second World War, generally emerging between the 1940s-60s and helped to alleviate housing shortages following the war.

Scotland’s New Towns came into being after the Local Government (Scotland) Act of 1947 with the construction of East Kilbride that year and Glenrothes a year later. Irvine was the last, built in 1966. They re-housed tens of thousands of people, attracted new industrial and commercial developments and were key sites for modern planning and architecture. A sixth new town was proposed for Stonehouse, in Lanarkshire, but was later abandoned.

ScotRail boss denies exit is linked to poor performance

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ScotRail Alliance chief Phil Verster has condemned the linking of his surprise departure with poor train performance as “totally wrong”.

It came as transport minister Humza Yousaf accused Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale of a “bare-faced lie” in claiming punctuality had got worse since he ordered improvements.

ScotRail parent firm Abellio announced on Friday that Mr Verster was stepping down to lead a new rail project in England.

The news followed months of intense scrutiny for the train operator since it was ordered to implement an improvement plan after performance fell below acceptable levels.

The official measure of punctuality, the “moving annual average” [MAA] has improved to 90 per cent since then, but is still 1.1 percentage points below par.

Mr Verster is to become managing director of East West Rail - a new line between Oxford and Cambridge - after being approached last year.

Mr Verster told The Scotsman that media coverage linking his decision to quit with ScotRail’s performance was incorrect.

He said: “It’s totally wrong and looking to sensationalise my decision to take on a new challenge”.

Mr Verster said on Friday his new job was “great for me and my family”, which is understood to refer to his wife being keen to move back south.

They moved from York to Edinburgh after he becoming managing director of the ScotRail Alliance with Network Rail in 2015.

Nigel Harris, managing editor of RAIL magazine, said: “He’s not a quitter. I do not believe for a second he’s off with his tail between his legs.”

Mr Harris said Mr Verster would have been attracted by the rare and “genuinely exciting” new role at East West, where control of trains and tracks will be more integrated anywhere than since privatisation 20 years ago.

Scottish Conservatives transport spokesman Liam Kerr said: “Phil Verster may well be seeking a fresh challenge but events of the past week would strongly suggest there was friction between ScotRail management and the SNP Government.

“Humza Yousaf now needs to ensure this upheaval at the top level does not impact further on service delivery.

“Rail users will care little for who is at the helm of ScotRail - they simply want to see improvements and they want the trains to run on time.”

Scottish Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby said: “Passengers will make up their own mind.

“The reality is the man ultimately in charge of the performance on Scotland’s railways is Humza Yousaf - who frequently tried to talk tough about ScotRail to deflect attention away from himself, and then produced a back of a fag packet fares plan which ScotRail admitted they had not costed.

“The buck clearly stops with the transport minister.

“With uncosted fares plans, poor performance, and the ScotRail boss moving on, Humza Yousaf must be feeling the pressure.”

Mr Yousaf tweeted that a claim by Ms Dugdale that “things have got even worse” since the improvement plan was a “bare-faced lie”.

He said: “Last period saw 6 per cent improvement on PPM [public performance measure] & improvement on contractual MAA + reduction in skip-stopping.”

However, Labour demanded an apology.

A spokesman said: “He agreed a ScotRail improvement plan when PPM was 90.7 per cent. The figure for the last four weeks is 89.7 per cent.

“It is simply unacceptable for a minister to falsely accuse an opposition leader of lying.”

Crispy, roasted potatoes ‘potential cancer risk’

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Roasting and frying starchy foods could increase the risk of cancer, a government body has said.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a ­public warning over the risks of ­acrylamide – a chemical ­compound which forms in some foods when they are cooked at temperatures above 120C.

A new campaign tells ­people how they can cut their risk, including opting for a gold ­colour – rather than darker brown – when frying, roasting, baking, grilling or toasting.

Acrylamide is found in high levels in a range of foods including breakfast cereals (not porridge), chips, potato products (such as waffles or children’s potato shapes), ­biscuits, crackers, crispbread and crisps.

It is also found in coffee, cooked pizza bases, black olives and cereal-based baby foods. Root vegetables including potatoes, sweet potatoes, ­beetroot, turnip, swede and parsnips can all carry high levels of the compound once they have been roasted or fried until darker brown or crispy.

As well as high temperatures, long cooking times can increase levels of acrylamide even further. Foods such as skinny fries and crisps appear to have the highest levels.

Acrylamide forms due to a chemical reaction between certain sugars and an amino acid (asparagine) in the food.

However, boiling, steaming and microwaving appear far less likely to cause the ­reaction.

Studies in mice have shown that high levels of acrylamide can cause neurological damage and cancer.

While studies in humans have proved inconclusive, experts believe the compound has the ability to cause cancer in humans.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has said ­acrylamide is “likely to be ­carcinogenic to humans” and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organisation, says it is a “probable human carcinogen”.

In its new campaign, the FSA said people could take ­simple steps to reduce their ­consumption of acrylamide.

As a “rule of thumb”, people should aim for a golden yellow colour or lighter when frying, roasting, baking or toasting starchy foods.

For example, roast potatoes should not be “fluffed up” to maximise dark brown crispy bits and they should be roasted to the lightest colour that is acceptable. Toast should also be browned to a light colour.

Brian Ferguson: T2 shows how much Edinburgh still has to change

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T2 shows how much the capital still needs to change, writes Brian Ferguson

When the world premiere of Trainspotting’s long-awaited sequel was confirmed for Edinburgh, the last place I expected to watch Danny Boyle introduce the film was in London. But that was the slightly surreal scenario last week when the first journalists saw arguably the most hyped film in Scottish cinematic history.

London provided the backdrop to the first film’s finale, but it still felt strange to watch such an important Scottish movie in a country many Scots now regard as a foreign land.

Much has changed in Scotland since ­Trainspotting was released in 1996 – the year before Tony Blair got into power and the long-held dream of a Scottish Parliament became a reality.

I suspect audiences in Scotland will react ­differently to those south of the border to the end result – and not not just due to the many scenes injected with author Irvine Welsh’s pitch-black sense of humour.

Much of T2 covers familiar territory, thanks to flashbacks, in-jokes, a largely nostalgic soundtrack, scams, run-down housing schemes, ­brutal violence and, of course, drug-taking.

Long-standing fans may shuffle uncomfortably in their seats as T2 tackles the drifting apart of old friends, the breakdown of relationships, the disappointments of middle age and fear of the future.

But it also confronts issues which may prove equally uncomfortable for any Scottish ­politicians tempted to bask in its reflected glory.

Some scenes would rival any VisitScotland campaign and are bound to bring spin-offs to the city. Edinburgh’s unfinished tram network has also become a sexy 21st century transport system.

However, T2 also highlights issues which have generated surprisingly little debate in ­Edinburgh.

Among these are creeping gentrification of Leith, dereliction and deprivation which has been untouched by the property boom, the ­sectarian strife blighting working class ­communities, and the crime kingpins operating behind the doors of seemingly legitimate businesses.

For Renton’s updated rant against the curses of modern-day life, the bleak backdrop of the Highlands was swapped for a sleek bar on St Andrew Square, the epicentre of the regeneration revolution in the east end of New Town – to the dismay of conservationists and delight of real estate firms.

While there are more multiplex cinemas, ­student housing developments and budget hotels, the city centre has suffered from the loss of several important cultural venues, including the Odeon, scene of so many past premieres, and the Venue, on Calton Road, one of the key locations in both movies.

Leith itself may boast fashionable bars and restaurants on its waterfront, like the one ­Renton and Sick Boy frequent, but its historic theatre has been boarded up for the best part of 30 years. The city is still badly lacking a film studio where the filmmakers of the future can learn their trade.

Much more importantly, there are undoubtedly those still suffering from extreme poverty, drug addiction and unemployment on the fringes of Edinburgh.

Wandering through Leicester Square, I ­wondered whether Renton had returned to a city of even more extremes and contradictions than two decades previously, and whether Edinburgh was changed for the better or worse.

Cautious optimism for finance sector after gloomy 2016

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Confidence among Britain’s financial services firms dropped again in the last three months of 2016, although some sectors forecast an improvement in business conditions in the current quarter, according to research published today.

The latest survey of finance firms by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and PwC found that optimism regarding the overall business situation fell for the fourth quarter in a row, making 2016 the “gloomiest” period for the sector since the 2008 financial crisis as Brexit fears and global uncertainty took their toll.

Banks, general insurers and finance houses were the most pessimistic, as sector profit growth ground to a halt and business volumes fell flat in final quarter of the year.

READ MORE: Clydesdale reveals list of 40 Scottish branches set to close

About 45 per cent of firms were less optimistic generally compared to the previous three months, while only 10 per cent were more optimistic, giving a balance of minus 35 per cent. That is compared to minus 13 per cent in quarter to September.

However, the pace of hiring is expected to accelerate in the current quarter, and giving further cause for celebration was the expectation that profitability will take a turn for the better, although not for building societies, as cost pressures ease off.

CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith said that despite uncertainties over the outlook, “it’s encouraging to see the financial services sector charting a steady course, with firms expecting to raise investment and step up the pace of hiring, while continuing to deliver improvements to the bottom line.

“As we head into the New Year, a mixed picture emerges from financial services firms about their hopes and fears.”

Looking ahead, the biggest challenges for financial-sector firms were identified as preparing for the UK leaving Europe, plus macroeconomic uncertainty and regulatory compliance.

Bearing in mind Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to rule out single-market membership,

Newton-Smith added: “Business stands ready to support the negotiations to get the best possible deal for the UK by ensuring that the economic case is heard loud and clear.”

READ MORE: Inflation soars to 1.6% as weak pound pushes up prices

Meanwhile, a separate study published today is challenging the Bank of England over its “unconventional” monetary policy, calling for ultra-low interest rates and quantitative easing to end now.

Brian Sturgess argues in the report, published by the Centre for Policy Studies, that the central bank’s approach is having “severe” financial economic consequences, exposing the economy to great risk, and failed to stimulate economic growth or reduce deflationary pressures, for example.

Bank governor Mark Carney last week said household debt and rising consumer credit will be a crucial consideration for the bank’s monetary policy committee as it decides whether to raise interest rates in coming months.

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£1bn renewable project sails ahead with subsea cable move

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A £1 billion project to deliver renewable power from Scotland to homes and businesses in England and Wales has taken a step forward with what is claimed to be the world’s largest subsea power cable coming ashore.

The move saw the cable, which measures about 240 miles, come on land at Ardneil Bay in North Ayrshire as part of the five-section Western Link initiative, a joint venture between ScottishPower and the National Grid.

READ MORE: German U-boat – abandoned due to ‘sea monster’ – found in Stranraer

Consequently, energy can be converted so it can be used in the existing electricity-transmission system. Construction of the project is being carried out by a consortium of Siemens and Prysmian, and power is expected to start flowing along it this year.

It was revealed in October that while surveying off the Wigtownshire coast, marine engineers laying the cable found the wreck of a German U-boat said to have been attacked by a sea monster prowling the coastline at the end of the First World War.

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Investors enjoy record fourth quarter for UK dividends

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UK dividends last year experienced what was “comfortably” a record fourth quarter, lifted by the downturn in sterling and special dividends more than doubling, according to new data.

The latest monitoring of the ­sector by Capita Asset Services, the shareholder-services arm of outsourcing group Capita, found an 11.7 per cent year-on-year jump in headline dividends to £16.6 billion.

This led to the annual headline total coming in at £84.7bn, up 6.6 per cent from 2015, with the weak pound accounting for £4.8bn of the £5.2bn gain. At an underlying level, ­dividends climbed 2.6 per cent to £78.5bn, as firms struggled to boost profitability.

READ MORE: Time to cash in after the market surge?

Justin Cooper, chief executive of shareholder solutions, part of Capita Asset Services, said 2016 started “pessimistically”, hit by high-profile cuts.

Nonetheless, “the second-largest haul of special dividends on record, with the added alchemy of huge exchange-rate gains following the pound’s devaluation in the summer, ultimately turned a rather leaden year golden”.

For 2017, the Capita unit expects underlying dividends to rise to £84.4bn, a “healthy” year-on-year jump of 7.5 per cent, still benefiting from the weaker pound. Headline ­dividends are forecast to grow 3.3 per cent to £87.5bn.

Cooper said some factors give cause for optimism this year, but “investors will also be looking for improving profitability from companies, and for this to feed through into underlying dividends, so that improving payouts are more sustainable and less dependent on currency gains”.

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Possible float of Green Investment Bank in place of sale

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The UK government is to ditch plans to sell the Edinburgh-based Green Investment Bank (GIB) in favour of a £3.8 billion flotation, according to a newspaper report yesterday.

The report, in the Sunday Times, came after calls from politicians north and south of the Border to halt the acquisition of the renewables-focused lender by Australian investment firm Macquarie, chosen in October as preferred bidder, with concerns including asset-stripping.

READ MORE: Green Investment Bank sell-off launched by UK government

Additionally, MSP Alison Johnstone said last week that in the ­current ­circumstances “it would be foolish for the GIB to be purged of its successful ­ventures in financing key environmental projects throughout Scotland and the UK”.

A separate report has cited a Whitehall official ­saying that while an initial public offering was a possibility, it was not set to take place in the short term.

The GIB was founded in 2012 by the UK government, backed by public funds, and has invested more than £2.7bn in environmental projects.

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Bill Jamieson: Alliance Trust assembles its orchestra

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Those who have caught a snatch of contemporary classical music on Radio Three are often immediately struck by a sense of wild and tuneless cacophony: a sound comprising many notes but no identifiable theme.

Followers of Alliance Trust may well encounter a similar sensation of dissonance and utter strangeness on reading of the latest changes to the investment management of Scotland’s must venerable investment trust.

Instead of one combined fund management or “orchestra”, there are eight separate managers, each managing 20 stocks. And it is immediately disorientating to discover that the “orchestra” is not assembled on a single stage but is scattered round the globe, their contributions piped in from London and Toronto, Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale (Look in vain for Dundee).

READ MORE: Alliance Trust reveals list of new investment managers

Welcome to the wonderful world of Willis Towers Watson (WTW), the “leading investment group” which is to become the investment manager of this £3.3 billion trust. At this point one expects to see a reference to WTW’s pedigree establishment and long-run record of investment management through the storms and upheavals of the past century. But the company was only formed in January last year – and after an appropriately disputatious merger.

Instead of one conductor there are to be three: Craig Baker, chief investment officer of WTW, who will lead the eight-strong “team” responsible for the combined portfolio, with David Shapiro and Mark Davis as co-portfolio manager. By way of fall-back, Towers Watson Investment Management (Ireland) Limited will be appointed as alternative investment fund manager.

This multi-manager approach to fund management is not new: fund manager Witan has ten external managers for its £1.6 billion trust with modest though not outstanding success. Critics of this approach point to the dangers of an unwieldly spread of different shareholdings at Witan – 600 at one point – which can work as an anchor on performance. And what of capital protection – who decides when to go liquid faced with a “Black Swan” moment?

To be fair, it makes sense to break up a portfolio of this size across different competencies. Chairman Lord Smith and the Alliance board cannot be faulted for seeking to bring in the best from around the world.

And there is a harmony of sorts, or at least in the stylised vocabulary of investment objectives. For example, this about First Pacific fund managers Pierre Py and Greg Herr, who “typically employ a long-term value investment approach, investing in companies that they believe have sustainable business models, exhibit financial strength, are run by operationally strong managers and whose stocks trade at a significant discount…” Don’t all investors aspire to this? Where is the point of distinction?

Or this, about Lyrical Asset Management (New York): “Value matters most to Lyrical and the team also maintains a strict discipline of investing in quality companies that they believe are relatively easy to analyse. They believe the combination of value, quality, and straightforward business model creates resiliency in the portfolio and the greatest likelihood of long-term absolute performance and outperformance.” Familiar?

Or there is Rajiv Jain head of investments at GQG Partners, Fort Lauderdale, who “looks for high-quality and sustainable businesses through a fundamental investment process utilising both traditional and non-traditional sources of information.” Don’t we all?

READ MORE: Time will tell if Alliance can restore trust

The logic is that the pursuit of one theme or “tune” in today’s investment world is old hat, and that a greater harmony – performance – will ascend out of this immediate dissonance. In truth, we will not know the sound of these stylised ensembles until we see the investments they have made. But it does all seem to be over-elaborate to a fault – and keeping the disparate performers faithful to their briefs a demanding task. Ambitious targets have been set: the overall equity portfolio to outperform the existing benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index, by 2 per cent a year net of costs, over rolling three-year periods, and recommitment to the dividend policy: generating revenue to continue the 49-year track-record of increasing dividends year-on-year.

The Alliance board will host informal forums for shareholders to ask questions of Craig Baker and David Shapiro: one in Dundee on Friday 27 January (at West Park, Perth Road, 2pm) and in Edinburgh on Monday 30 January at the EICC, 150 Morrison Street at 2.30pm.

A shareholder general meeting to approve the proposals will be held on 28 February. There may be a multi-media screen and a cacophony of noise from eight different fund managers – but shareholders still get just one vote.

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On the move: Latest appointments and promotions

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Independent commercial building surveying firm Malcolm Hollis has ­promoted three staff in Scotland.

In Edinburgh, Clare Holyoake takes on the role of associate. She joined the firm in London and now specialises in dilapidations, acting for a number of local and national clients, including Wolseley UK and Amec Foster Wheeler. In Glasgow, Colin Edgar is promoted to partner. He has 29 years’ experience in the industry, specialising in vertical transport and electrical engineering. Gerry McGuigan, a specialist adviser in building and condition surveys, is promoted to associate. He advises local and national clients including Quidnet Capital, the British Heart Foundation and Faifley Housing Association.

Brodies, Scotland’s largest law firm, has appointed three partners, saying this enhances the service provided by its banking and finance, corporate, projects, infrastructure and real estate teams. Drysdale Graham, who specialises in social and economic infrastructure projects, joins the energy and infrastructure team and will be based primarily at the firm’s Edinburgh office when he starts in May. Set to arrive at the same office is trust and tax specialist Heather Thompson, who starts in April and will work across the firm’s top tier-ranked corporate and personal tax teams. Joining in the summer, and set to be based at ­Brodies’ Glasgow office, is Chris Dun, who covers investment and development property finance, property investment trusts, social housing finance, education finance and securitisation and bond issues.

Business and financial adviser Grant Thornton has appointed ­Barry Fraser to lead the further development of its Aberdeen office, together with advisory director Ian Knott who joined from Simmons last year, as it continues its investment in the North-east. Fraser was most recently executive director at accountancy giant EY, leading the firm’s transaction team in ­Aberdeen, covering corporate finance, transaction support and restructuring.

Munro Partnership has started the year by welcoming Scott Moore to its Glasgow team as the financial planning firm looks to recruit for key positions before it joins Standard Life financial planning business 1825 later this year. Moore takes on the role of financial planner with duties such as providing advice on wealth and investment strategies.

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Trump win and lucky punters hit Paddy Power’s takings

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Donald Trump’s shock election victory and unfavourable sporting results dented takings at bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair to the tune of £40 million in the fourth quarter.

The company, born out of a £7 billion merger between Paddy Power and Betfair, said the controversial businessman’s successful US presidential bid in November cost it £5m alone.

Like other bookmakers it also flagged a dire December when European football results, such as Chelsea’s string of victories – only ended by a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham earlier this month – saw punters cash in on bookmakers’ woes.

READ MORE: Ladbrokes to hit targets despite flurry of punter wins

In a trading update, Paddy Power Betfair said: “We estimate that the impact on group revenue from the customer-friendly results, before any benefit from the recycling of winnings, was approximately £40m in the quarter.

“The impact on profitability of these results was partially offset by lower than expected marketing and staff costs.”

Nevertheless, overall revenues in 2016 were up 18 per cent to £1.5bn, or 11 per cent on a constant currency basis, and the group said that underlying earnings are expected to come in at the “mid-point” of the £390m to £405m range of expectations.

Revenue rose 10 per cent to £388m in the last three months of the year, but was flat on a constant currency basis.

The adverse sporting results saw revenue down 3 per cent at Paddy Power Betfair’s online division in the fourth quarter, despite a 15 per cent rise in sporting stakes.

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