In the news
Investment levels for smaller businesses are ‘improving’ in Scotland, says bank report
Equity investment levels in Scotland’s smaller businesses grew in 2024, bouncing back from a challenging 2023, according to research from the British Business Bank, the UK government’s economic development bank….


Tax rises and defence issues will register with Scottish’s voters in 2026, says Deloitte findings
The phoney war has begun, yet the actual date of Scotland’s election in 2026 has not yet been decided. Behind the scenes, the major political parties are cranking up for…
Bank’s £6.7m funding raises prospect of further 100 jobs to 900 in pipeline for offshore wind manufacturing
The Scottish National Investment Bank has announced a round of funding to support a subsea marine anchoring company working with offshore floating wind developments. The investment comes within months of…
Guinness Zero – a Six Nations favourite- slipping down well for Diageo
Johnnie Walker makers Diageo – with massive drinks production in Scotland – have announced a doubling in investment in Guinness 0.0 to meet demand for their zero alcohol stout. Guinness…
Women in Legal Business
Women have prospered and succeeded in Scotland’s legal world. Their levels of attainment within the legal profession easily outstrip professional achievement in most other areas of commerce and business. According…
Economic growth? Definitely. But not at any cost to our planet, is the message from deal advisers
The mantra of Chancellor Rachel Reeves to ‘invest, invest, invest’ in her first Budget and the imperatives of sustainable economic growth are a definite rallying call for Scottish business entering…
Here’s to 2025: Welcome to the ‘Second Quarter’ of the 21st Century.
Those who remember the grand firework displays heralding the Millennium in 2000 felt a frisson of hope and excitement about the new century. As we prepare for 2025, we have…
Legal Review 2024: Inheritance tax makeover brings big changes for business owners in 2025
The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget calls time on three decades of a relatively benign inheritance tax treatment of wealth comprised in trading business. Since 1996, 100 per cent business property relief…
Legal Review 2024: Employment reform and the law of unintended consequences
Recent government policy announcements, from Rachel Reeves’s maiden Budget speech as the UK’s first female Chancellor of the Exchequer to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s introduction of legislation for a…
The Big Interview
The Big Interview: Why Tony Rodgers is the best connected CEO in Scottish manufacturing
Globe-trotting Tony Rodgers is a difficult man to pin down for long. The group chief executive of Emtelle has touched down at his Glasgow office hours before zooming off again…
Deals & Dealmakers
Economic growth? Definitely. But not at any cost to our planet, is the message from deal advisers
The mantra of Chancellor Rachel Reeves to ‘invest, invest, invest’ in her first Budget and the imperatives of sustainable economic growth are a definite rallying call for Scottish business entering…
Anderson underlines crucial role of independent chair
Professor John Anderson, who sits on several company boards, focused his comments on the critical role of the chair. He explained that the chair plays a pivotal role as both…
Is Scotland’s deal flow ready for take off in 2025 ?
After a period of relatively slim pickings for legal advisers in Scotland, a flurry of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the final quarter bodes well for the sector in…
Food and drink deals still looking pretty tasty
Drinks companies, food service companies and makers of fine chocolate and even tofu have all been munched up in a flurry of M&A activity in the summer of 2024. The…
Hydrogen – a new asset class in renewable energy
One of the technologies projected to play a role in the race to net zero for the UK is hydrogen. Hydrogen presents the opportunity to be a cleaner fuel alternative…
Tax changes fuel prospects of increase in activity
Advisers anticipate end-of-year upsurge in deals after UK budget With speculation rife over potential tax changes in the upcoming UK budget, Scotland’s dealmakers are preparing for a busy end to…
ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY
Can GB Energy turbocharge the country to clean energy by 2030?
The UK Government is claiming the biggest investment in home-grown clean energy in UK history. Industry figures share their views on how it could work Prince, the music icon, would…
Office politics come into play in workplace transformation
There is an overwhelming consensus that the workplace – and hence our cities – have no alternative but to confront the ‘new normal.’ What exactly that might be is much…
How warehouses became a vital part of the circular economy
With retail warehousing remaining in high demand, 2024 has been named the ‘Year of Warehousing’. The sector is celebrating sustained growth and is continuing to adapt to supply chain trends…
Bigger, better deeper: Why floating wind farms are the energy future
Much as it has done with oil and gas, the North-east of Scotland is pioneering the path to a low-carbon energy system Through panoramic windows facing the North Sea, visitors…
Legal Review 2024: Food for thought for hospitality industry under pressure
In many respects Scotland’s hospitality industry defines us a nation. We cannot escape from the fact that visitors and our own citizens enjoy what we do best. A warm welcome,…
A feast of ideas for that early getaway in 2025
How many of us promised to be more organised in 2024? With the season of gift giving in full swing, it is inevitable some of us will be wishing we’d…
Legal Review 2024: Food for thought for hospitality industry under pressure
In many respects Scotland’s hospitality industry defines us a nation. We cannot escape from the fact that visitors and our own citizens enjoy what we do best. A warm welcome,…
A feast of ideas for that early getaway in 2025
How many of us promised to be more organised in 2024? With the season of gift giving in full swing, it is inevitable some of us will be wishing we’d…
Women in Legal Business
Women have prospered and succeeded in Scotland’s legal world. Their levels of attainment within the legal profession easily outstrip professional achievement in most other areas of commerce and business. According…
Legal Review 2024: Inheritance tax makeover brings big changes for business owners in 2025
The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget calls time on three decades of a relatively benign inheritance tax treatment of wealth comprised in trading business. Since 1996, 100 per cent business property relief…
Women in Legal Business
Women have prospered and succeeded in Scotland’s legal world. Their levels of attainment within the legal profession easily outstrip professional achievement in most other areas of commerce and business. According…
Legal Review 2024: Inheritance tax makeover brings big changes for business owners in 2025
The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget calls time on three decades of a relatively benign inheritance tax treatment of wealth comprised in trading business. Since 1996, 100 per cent business property relief…
Legal Review 2024: Inheritance tax makeover brings big changes for business owners in 2025
The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget calls time on three decades of a relatively benign inheritance tax treatment of wealth comprised in trading business. Since 1996, 100 per cent business property relief…
Royal London completes the transfer of Aegon UK’s individual protection business
Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company, with offices in Edinburgh, will see the completion of the transfer of life insurance, critical illness, and income protection…
Legal Review 2024: Inheritance tax makeover brings big changes for business owners in 2025
The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget calls time on three decades of a relatively benign inheritance tax treatment of wealth comprised in trading business. Since 1996, 100 per cent business property relief…
Royal London completes the transfer of Aegon UK’s individual protection business
Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company, with offices in Edinburgh, will see the completion of the transfer of life insurance, critical illness, and income protection…
Appointments
Forth Ports appoint a new financial chief
Stuart MacGregor – the former head of North-East construction company Stewart Milne – has been appointed chief financial officer of Forth Ports Ld. He also joins the port group’s main…
Ellis joins Lawson at helm of Burness Paull
New managing partner to ‘build on success’ and engage with AI future Law firm Burness Paull has appointed Mark Ellis as its managing partner, working alongside Peter Lawson who will…
Independent Schools
Providing children with building blocks for life
Is the High School of Dundee on your radar? You might be surprised by what we can offer. Of all the things you could invest in, what could be better…
Sector adapting to political landscape that is being redrawn
Independent schools are continually evolving and adapting as the social, cultural, educational – and political – landscape changes. There is no denying that the UK Labour Government’s plan to impose…
Well schooled in sporting success
After an exciting summer of sport, the role independent schools play in the success of British athletes has been in the headlines, with much of the silverware earned by their…
Luxury Living
A feast of ideas for that early getaway in 2025
How many of us promised to be more organised in 2024? With the season of gift giving in full swing, it is inevitable some of us will be wishing we’d…
Discover the Balmoral’s group experiences in Edinburgh
The Balmoral, an iconic Edinburgh hotel, can be found at the city’s most prestigious address, No1 Princes Street. Since its grand opening in 1902, the hotel has been one of…
Hotel that’s redefining luxury in Edinburgh’s historic Old Town
Following a £10 million refurbishment, the former Holyrood Hotel has relaunched as the Edinburgh Marriott Hotel Holyrood, redefining luxury in Edinburgh’s historic Old Town. Rebranded in February 2024, this stunning…
Business Education
Anderson underlines crucial role of independent chair
Professor John Anderson, who sits on several company boards, focused his comments on the critical role of the chair. He explained that the chair plays a pivotal role as both…
Discover the Balmoral’s group experiences in Edinburgh
The Balmoral, an iconic Edinburgh hotel, can be found at the city’s most prestigious address, No1 Princes Street. Since its grand opening in 1902, the hotel has been one of…
MBAs give grounds for optimism about energy transition
If this summer was to have a soundtrack it would be REM’s It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine). Soaring record temperatures, floods…
Legal Review 2024: Positive signs emerging on the road to recovery
The commercial real estate scene has been through a torrid time in recent years. As the Legal 500 notes, this has especially affected the retail sector: “The traditional brick-and-mortar retail…
Forth Ports appoint a new financial chief
Stuart MacGregor – the former head of North-East construction company Stewart Milne – has been appointed chief financial officer of Forth Ports Ld. He also joins the port group’s main…
Legal Review 2024: Positive signs emerging on the road to recovery
The commercial real estate scene has been through a torrid time in recent years. As the Legal 500 notes, this has especially affected the retail sector: “The traditional brick-and-mortar retail…
Forth Ports appoint a new financial chief
Stuart MacGregor – the former head of North-East construction company Stewart Milne – has been appointed chief financial officer of Forth Ports Ld. He also joins the port group’s main…
Transport
Managers highlight key challenges for moving to electric light commercial vehicles
For companies operating a fleet of light commercial vehicles (LCVs), the transition to electric vans is far from straightforward. To fully understand the issues facing LCV operators, Grosvenor Leasing, the…
The charge towards zero emissions
Is Scotland on the right green track? There is vaulting ambition in the Scottish Government’s declaration to see renewable electricity meet almost all of the nation’s future transport energy needs….
How First Bus is steering towards a greener future
Modern 21st-century buses are leading what is seen as a transport revolution. Every day, the fleets operating on our roads become greener. New hydrogen and electric vehicles are emission-free, and…


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