Director dealings: Office firm foresees increase in profits
SHARES in business services company office2office dipped sharply this month after it warned of a fall in contract revenues.Although the group was seeing overall sales up on the same period last year,...
View ArticleAberdeen benefits as investors continue to dump bonds for shares
MARTIN Gilbert, chief executive of fund manager Aberdeen Asset Management, is expected to report a strong start to the financial year this week amid a flow of investment away from low-yielding bonds...
View ArticleBill Jamieson: Fiscal doubts sour the Scottish debate
A STIR has been caused by forecasting group Capital Economics over its report last week on what Scottish independence would mean for the rest of the UK. I am not surprised. I read it with a growing...
View ArticleSea-change as farm grows fish on land
THE world’s biggest onshore salmon farm is to be built in Scotland in a move that could revolutionise production of the increasingly popular fish.Dunkeld-based FishFrom will this week submit a planning...
View ArticleUS investor tips Blipfoto as $1bn firm
ONE of Barack Obama’s entrepreneurship advisers believes Edinburgh-based picture website Blipfoto is on course to become a “$1 billion company”.Ken Morse, who sits on the American president’s National...
View ArticleDixons chief set to report Comet boost
DIXONS chief executive Sebastian James will reveal this week how much the firm has benefited from the collapse of rival Comet in the run-up to Christmas.The owner of the Currys and PC World chains will...
View ArticleJeff Salway: Banks go back to old bad behaviour
THE banks are riding high again, in the markets at least. If you’re an investor you’ll welcome the strong start to 2013 that bank shares have made, led by Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays.It may also...
View ArticleNurseries owner hits out at government cuts
THE owner of a chain of nurseries has lashed out at funding cuts to childcare provision, which he claims are making him think twice about expanding his business.Mahyar Mortazavi, who runs the Wee Gems...
View ArticleUsed car prices at lowest since 2011
Used car prices are now at their lowest for 15 months, but some regions are missing out on the good deals.Prices of second-hand vehicles dipped by an average of 1.71 per cent between November and...
View ArticleG4S Olympic losses may hit £100m
G4S is expected to take a bigger hit over the Olympics security fiasco than the £50 million it originally estimated.The FTSE100 company, which is in the final stages of negotiations with Games...
View ArticleDemand leads to 800 more jobs at Jaguar Land Rover
PREMIUM carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plans to create 800 jobs at its Solihull factory in the West Midlands due to demand in China, Russia and the United States, it has been reported.JLR, owned by...
View ArticlePeople: Decades of soapy bubble and Greek tragedies
THE group that told us men would have to do more washing up in the 1990s than in the 80s and predicted the “Diana effect” would crush retail sales on the day of the Princess of Wales’ funeral is...
View ArticleHotel room for improvement in Edinburgh
EDINBURGH is one of only a handful of European cities which are expected to enjoy robust growth in hotel occupancy in 2013, a report published today shows.Accountancy firm PwC said hotels in the...
View ArticleInterview: Rod Ashley, chief executive of Airdrie Savings Bank
THERE is a new man in town at the head of the venerable Airdrie Savings Bank (ASB), but don’t expect any dramatic changes at one of Scotland’s most stable financial institutions, writes Erikka...
View ArticleBellringer for Wireless Infrastructure as VC backs management buyout deal
A FIRM which owns mobile phone masts has been sold in a management buy-out deal thought to be worth up to £200 million.Bellshill-based Wireless Infrastructure Group (WIG) is now backed by Wood Creek...
View ArticlePicture of mixed fortunes painted by review of Scottish office sector
There was a jump in demand for central office space in Scotland’s two biggest cities last year, according to property consultant GVA.However, although take-up of space in Edinburgh rose 40 per cent,...
View ArticleServices drive improving performance by Scotland’s private sector
SCOTLAND’S private sector ended 2012 on a sound footing and is entering 2013 “in growth mode”, with the latest estimate showing firms hired workers in December as orders picked up.The Bank of...
View ArticleBioCity to take hand in helping its start-ups find funding
BIOCITY Scotland, the incubator centre for life sciences firms created in the former Merck drugs factory at Newhouse, Lanarkshire, has unveiled plans to help start-up companies raise funding from...
View ArticleComment: There’s value around for those who will look
A COMMON complaint among investors is that their investment choices lack that one-off upward surprise that can lift performance out of the mediocre. If you hug the cautious managed funds and stick with...
View ArticleBusiness briefs: Intertek and Maersk | Hellman & Friedman | Baugur | Terra Firma
INDUSTRIAL services group Intertek has won a £3 million contract with Maersk Oil UK to carry out scientific work from its new laboratory in Aberdeen.Intertek has provided services to the oil and gas...
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