ITV buys stake in studio behind gun and duck shows
BROADCASTING giant ITV has bought a controlling stake in television company Gurney Productions – but has vowed that its best-known series, American Guns, will not be making a comeback.ITV paid $40...
View ArticleCelebrity-toppling Alastair Storey sees catering trade as table laden with...
HAVING recently knocked celebrity chef Jamie Oliver from his perch as the “most-influential man in the UK hospitality industry”, Alastair Storey believes the time has come to put paid to the perception...
View ArticleHard times and marketing spend hit profitability at Albert Bartlett
PROFITS at potato producer Albert Bartlett have dipped after “competitive” retail markets chipped away at sales and the Airdrie-based firm ramped up spending on advertising.The company continued to...
View ArticleUK overtakes Brazil in world league table
BRITAIN has re-taken sixth spot in the world economic league table from Brazil following the weakness of the South American country’s currency, according to rankings published today.The weakness in the...
View ArticleTriple-dip in prospect as British economy zig-zags to recovery
The longest double-dip recession since the 1950s may have just ended but fears are already rising that the UK economy will enter triple-dip territory in 2013.The Bank of England now thinks it is likely...
View ArticleBoost Juice Bars targets Scotland after Business Growth Fund injects £2.5m
A JUICE bar chain with more than 280 shops around the world is eyeing up sites for its first move into Scotland after securing an investment from the £2.5 billion Business Growth Fund (BGF).Boost Juice...
View ArticleSupport is vital to preserve livestock industry
The Scottish livestock industry “desperately needs” an injection of targeted support to kick-start the revival of the breeding sector and reverse the downward drift in cattle and sheep numbers.The...
View ArticleLSE seals takeover of LCH.Clearnet but at lower price
The London Stock Exchange has cut its offer for a 60 per cent stake in trans- atlantic clearing house LCH.Clearnet by a quarter to €366 million (£300m) to reflect new capital requirements.The companies...
View ArticleProfits felled at biggest sawmill firm
BSW Timber, Britain’s biggest sawmill operator, saw pre-tax profits for the year to March fall to £6.8 million from £17.2m in the previous period.The Berwickshire-based company, which operates six...
View ArticleRosneft secures TNK–BP loan deals
Russian oil giant Rosneft has signed two loan agreements with a group of international banks for $16.8 billion (£10.4bn) to finance the acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP from BP.Barclays is...
View ArticleComment: Footsie rises in thin trading as ‘fiscal cliff’ looms
LONDON’S blue-chip stocks made modest gains during the half-day’s trading on Christmas Eve, although a lack of agreement over tackling the “fiscal cliff” in the United States held back sentiment.The...
View ArticleAortech reaches £2.4m settlement
AorTech International, the former darling of Scotland’s life sciences sector, has settled its long-running dispute with customer St Jude Medical.Under the agreement, which resolves an argument over the...
View ArticleRenewables starting to catch oil and gas as Scots M&A deals hot up
SCOTLAND’S powerhouse oil and gas sector will continue to drive mergers and acquisitions (M&A) throughout 2013, according to senior dealmakers, but the renewables sector is expected to begin...
View ArticleCharities gain as Fujitsu helps recycle computers
ELECTRONICS giant Fujitsu is spending £300,000 to divert thousands of pieces of computer equipment from landfill to charities across the Highlands.Up to 3,500 items will be processed by specialist...
View ArticleMarkets: Nikkei hits high as Abe takes control
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index soared to a nine-month high yesterday as the country swore in a new prime minister promising dramatic measures to restore the world’s third-largest economy to...
View ArticleSmall firms eye 2013 sales growth despite Britain’s economic woes
Almost half of the UK’s smaller businesses are looking forward to sales growth in 2013 despite meagre prospects for the economy.A survey of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the Co-operative...
View ArticleUK close to green energy targets
BRITAIN is on track to hit “ambitious” European targets to source 15 per cent of all energy from renewable sources by 2020, according to a “renewable energy roadmap” published today by Energy Secretary...
View ArticleInvestors get excited over oil stocks as North-east firm snatches the limelight
XCITE Energy, the Aberdeen-based oil company, has cemented itself as one of the most-popular stocks among private traders after vying for the top spot in a list of the most bought and sold shares...
View ArticleConsultancy lands Cisco director to grow its client list
A FORMER technical director at American computer giant Cisco Systems has joined fast-growing Scottish technology consultancy FarrPoint to expand its reach into the private sector.Richard Moir joins the...
View ArticleWeldex picks Nigg Bay for Scotland’s first ‘crane school’
CRAWLER crane hire specialist Weldex is to open Scotland’s only training school for crane drivers in the New Year as the firm celebrates its busiest period in Scotland for a decade.The Inverness-based...
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