Farming: Supermarkets ‘are ignoring Scottish lamb’
Asda and Tesco have come under fire from Scottish sheep farmers for failing to give their full support to Scotch lamb at the peak of the marketing season.An impromptu survey by NFU Scotland has found a...
View ArticleFarming: MEPs reject eight-hour journey limit
The European Parliament’s agricultural committee has rejected calls for an eight-hour journey time limit for animals destined for slaughter.In confused voting on a non-legislative report on animal...
View ArticleScottish Business Briefing - Friday 12 October, 2012
WELCOME to scotsman.com’s Scottish Business Briefing. Every morning we bring you a comprehensive round-up of all news affecting business in Scotland today. BANKINGSmall investors hold key share as...
View ArticleScots smart meter firm Energy Assets in £13.5m swoop for Gazprom subsidiary
A SCOTTISH “smart meter” company has bought a subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom in a £13.5 million deal that analysts have claimed is “transformational”. Energy Assets will acquire the...
View ArticleShadow over iconic cabs as manufacturer Manganese Bronze’s shares suspended
THE future of black cab manufacturer Manganese Bronze was plunged into doubt yesterday as it suspended its shares after discovering a defect in its latest model.The Midlands-based company said its...
View ArticleCool weather heats up sales at John Lewis
The arrival of cooler autumn weather gave John Lewis a boost last week, with the department store chain enjoying a 16.2 per cent sales bounce to £69.9 million.The employee-owned group said its physical...
View ArticleBritish Construction falls once again
British construction output suffered a further fall in August, official data yesterday revealed, though analysts cautioned against reading too much into the figures.Output slid 11.6 per cent on the...
View ArticleFlybe plans to expand Scandinavian leasing
Regional airline Flybe said it would grow its contract work in Scandinavia yesterday after it took on more routes for partner Finnair.The two firms launched a joint venture called Flybe Nordic last...
View ArticleG1 profits soar, built on Edinburgh acquisitions
The acquisition of a number of venues in Edinburgh paid off for nightclub tycoon Stefan King’s G1 Group last year, helping profits increase by more than 40 per cent.The company bought The Three Sisters...
View ArticleComment: Centrica’s ‘greed’ should be put in perspective
PREDICTABLY, Centrica is being given a media bashing for putting up consumer prices by 6 per cent. However, like all capital-intensive energy companies, Centrica’s profit margin is piddling.Turnover is...
View ArticleDebenhams has Georgia on its mind
Department store chain Debenhams is pushing on with plans to double the scale of its international business over the next five years as it opens stores in Abu Dhabi and Tbilisi this weekend.The Tbilisi...
View ArticleHarper hands reins to Smith as Angel Biotech revamp continues
THE head of Angel Biotechnology is to step down after eight years at the helm as part of an on-going restructuring programme aimed at generating what the company has described as “sustainable...
View ArticlePaul Tucker talks up Bank’s new lending scheme
BANK of England deputy governor Paul Tucker said yesterday that he was confident the central bank’s new scheme to boost bank lending would help lower interest rates faced by businesses and...
View ArticleCheaper mortgages prompting hopes of US housing recovery
MORE evidence emerged yesterday of a slow recovery in the US housing market when two of the country’s biggest banks reported a surge in mortgage refinancing.Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JP Morgan...
View ArticleTravelodge halves debt in CVA restructuring
BUDGET hotelier Travelodge has completed a restructuring to nearly halve its bank borrowings as it seeks trim its 500-plus estate by nearly 10 per cent.Under the terms of the Company Voluntary...
View ArticleSantander pulls out of £1.65bn deal to buy 300 RBS branches
ROYAL Bank of Scotland was last night forced to re-think its plans to sell more than 300 branches after Spanish giant Santander pulled out of the £1.65 billion deal.Santander UK had agreed to buy the...
View ArticlePark’s of Hamilton confident despite ‘modest’ fall in turnover
Park’s of Hamilton, the car sales and coach hire empire founded by former Hearts director Douglas Park, remains in a “good financial position”, according to annual accounts which reveal a modest fall...
View ArticleUnion urges support for ‘flatline’ budget
The Franco-German axis which has helped set many of the major policies within the European Union in the past 40 years this week announced its support for a flatline Common Agricultural Policy...
View ArticleMarkets: Global worries cast a shadow on FTSE
Renewed fears over the health of the global economy and a lacklustre opening in New York cast a cloud over end-of-week trading in London.A sector-wide broker upgrade for UK banking stocks and...
View ArticleBusiness news in brief: Innes Smith | Avaloq | Aberdeen Asset Management | Laing
Innes Smith has been appointed managing director at Springfield Properties, one of Scotland’s largest privately-owned housebuilders.The company now operates from 20 sites across Scotland and expects to...
View Article