Accountants to merge, offering new challenge to UK’s ‘big four’
ACCOUNTANCY firms BDO and PKF yesterday revealed plans to merge that will see them vying with Grant Thornton to be the fifth largest player in the UK with revenues of about £400 million a year.The two...
View ArticleBarack Obama election vistory fails to lift markets
Barack Obama’s victory in the presidential election failed to lift the markets yesterday as investors’ focus switched to the looming “fiscal cliff” in the US and downgraded economic forecasts across...
View ArticleRupert Murdoch’s News Corporation reveal healthy quarterly profits
RUPERT Murdoch’s News Corporation revealed better-than-expected quarterly profits yesterday thanks to a strong performance from its cable television networks. The owner of the Times and Sun newspapers...
View ArticleComment: Obama’s victory is just first step in a hard war
ALMOST as soon as the re-elected President Barack Obama claimed in his victory speech that the US “economy is recovering”, pundits began warning that he needed to stand up to a hostile Republican House...
View ArticleBulloch to head BoS branches
Lloyds Banking Group has appointed Robin Bulloch to head up the Bank of Scotland’s 295-strong branch network.Bulloch, currently managing director of general insurance, has held a number of senior...
View ArticleWelcome for Tesco pledge on UK meat
Scottish farming leaders yesterday welcomed a commitment by supermarket giant Tesco to purchase more beef and pork from British farmers, especially as the supply contracts will be for a three-year...
View ArticleGrant Property launches Aberdeen arm with £20m investment boost
INVESTMENT firm Grant Property yesterday signalled its intention to grab a slice of the Aberdeen market after unveiling a £20 million war chest to buy up to 15 properties in the next year.The cash,...
View ArticleOnline hits Day as print media slides
DAY International, the Dundee plant of international printing company Flint Group, is expected to axe about a quarter of its workforce as a result of reduced Europe-wide demand for print media.Flint...
View ArticleOnline guru Shaw takes the chair at Lees
LEES Foods, which earlier this year completed a management buy-out, has appointed online entrepreneur Charles Shaw as non-executive chairman.Shaw – a former whisky industry executive and co-founder of...
View ArticleMarkets: Serco early victim of market’s slide
Outsourcing giant Serco gave up early gains yesterday as a broker downgrade and the wider market sell-off cancelled out news that it was buying out its Australian joint venture partner.In a note...
View ArticleNumber of firms hits an all-time high, as angels pump in cash
THE number of companies in Scotland has hit a record high after more people launched their own businesses, according to figures published yesterday, while angel investors pumped even more cash into...
View ArticleWool marketing body admits it was ‘too optimistic’
Sheep producers were in sombre mood yesterday as they listened to Malcolm Corbett, chairman of the British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB), state that the company had been “too optimistic” in its...
View ArticleAer Lingus expecting London to Edinburgh update next week
Irish airline Aer Lingus expects to get a progress report next week on its application to take over former BMI routes between Edinburgh and Heathrow after announcing a 30 per cent jump in operating...
View ArticleStagecoach agrees to buy a second Greater Manchester bus outfit
Stagecoach yesterday agreed to buy a bus business in north Manchester for £2 million, its second acquisition in the north-west of England in as many weeks.The Perth-based transport group said that all...
View ArticleConcern over First dividend freeze after West Coast rail link fiasco
SCOTRAIL owner FirstGroup froze its interim dividend yesterday after the controversial withdrawal of the new West Coast mainline franchise, triggering City fears of a lower full-year pay-out.The...
View ArticleSoftware firm Craneware benefits from pressure on American hospitals
Craneware chief executive Keith Neilson will tell investors at today’s annual general meeting that the Edinburgh-based firm is continuing to benefit from the pressure being put on American...
View ArticleScottish Business Briefing – November 8th 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.ECONOMICSThink-tank: No recovery for 2...
View ArticleSales up but margins down at IndigoVision
IndigoVision, the Edinburgh-based CCTV systems maker, today announced a rise in first-quarter sales but its shares fell as it warned that margins were down and costs had risen as it invested in the...
View ArticleAegon blames regulation changes for sales slump
LIFE and pensions firm Aegon UK has blamed looming regulatory changes for a drop in third-quarter sales, but its profits more than doubled thanks to cost-cutting measures and better investment...
View ArticleTax hikes and consumer squeeze hit Flybe
REGIONAL airline Flybe flew back into the red this summer and warned of possible job losses amid “the most challenging conditions” it has ever faced.A combination of squeezed consumers and soaring...
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