featured articles
Deals Review: Autumn Budget concerns drive continuing rise in deals action
Despite continuing global geopolitical instability – and particularly the US-Iran war and its impact on global oil prices – Scotland’s dealmakers enjoyed a busier-than-expected summer as investors and businesses alike...
Wish you were here: Burnham’s Manchester teaches Scotland the importance of a Cannes-do attitude
Manchester has been attending MIPIM in force for 20 years. Andy Burnham’s brigade has been at the forefront. The city shells out a lot of money for a huge pavilion...
The Big Interview: Eyes on the enterprise and net zero race with SE chief executive Adrian Gillespie
What did Scottish Enterprise ever do for us? Quite a lot, as its highly-focused chief executive Adrian Gillespie outlines Monty Python’s Life of Brian springs to mind when speaking with...
The new order: A renaissance in relationship banking in Scotland
Fifty years of tumultuous change has transformed the face of banking, from handsome stone edifices to snazzy apps on smartphones. But beneath the surface a resurgence in old style relationship...
Tribunals overwhelmed by AI-generated claims
Employers facing significant rise in time and financial burdens Disgruntled employees in Scotland are turning to artificial intelligence to make claims which are threatening to overwhelm an employment tribunals system...
Accountancy review: A hotbed of dealmaking opportunity
Private equity investment and consolidation is reconfiguring Scotland’s fragmented and dynamic accountancy sector Only a few years ago, the accountancy profession was viewed as industrious but rather staid. Today, it’s...
The numbers don’t add up: Why is no-one addressing this imminent financial black hole?
The challenge facing Holyrood: Scottish Government’s own projections show a £4.8bn shortfall between spending and funding by 2030. Our political parties spent this year’s Holyrood election campaign promising more spending,...
Deals
Deals Review: Autumn Budget concerns drive continuing rise in deals action
Despite continuing global geopolitical instability – and particularly the US-Iran war and its impact on global oil prices – Scotland’s dealmakers enjoyed a busier-than-expected summer as investors and businesses alike...
Energy, tech and AI lead next wave of dealmaking as investors pursue M&A deals across sectors
As the summer recedes, there is a renewed push to get M&A deals across the line. The two industrial sectors that we are seeing leading the charge are energy and...
CSignum secures £2.6m funding to roll-out water testing technology
CSignum, a provider of wireless communications from beneath the surface of water, ice and ground, has completed a £2.6m funding round to accelerate commercial deployment of its EM2 product portfolio....
Business
Shetland’s mussel power: A shining example of co-operative spirit
How co-operation powers Shetland’s Island’s mussel industry: Every one of the Shetland boats is family-owned and worked by the family. On a brisk and breezy summer morning, Kenny Pottinger steers...
Business succession: The four Fs in family enterprises
There are many Fs that could be considered regarding family enterprises, the obvious one being ‘family’ itself. But there are four other Fs which have been significant issues during my...
Why our pandemic saviours need a national champion
Practitioners tell The Business DealMakers’ event that life science sector is battered by lack of funding Scotland desperately needs a national champion to re-ignite its struggling life science sector –...
Economy
Wish you were here: Burnham’s Manchester teaches Scotland the importance of a Cannes-do attitude
Manchester has been attending MIPIM in force for 20 years. Andy Burnham’s brigade has been at the forefront. The city shells out a lot of money for a huge pavilion...
The numbers don’t add up: Why is no-one addressing this imminent financial black hole?
The challenge facing Holyrood: Scottish Government’s own projections show a £4.8bn shortfall between spending and funding by 2030. Our political parties spent this year’s Holyrood election campaign promising more spending,...
CSignum secures £2.6m funding to roll-out water testing technology
CSignum, a provider of wireless communications from beneath the surface of water, ice and ground, has completed a £2.6m funding round to accelerate commercial deployment of its EM2 product portfolio....
The Big Interview
The Big Interview: Rock star Alistair Borthwick is stretching way beyond core quarrying business
Chief executive officer of the Hillhouse Group, has big plans for the future of the company We’ve all learned that Scots invented the modern world. Two hundred years ago, John...
The Big Interview: Eyes on the enterprise and net zero race with SE chief executive Adrian Gillespie
What did Scottish Enterprise ever do for us? Quite a lot, as its highly-focused chief executive Adrian Gillespie outlines Monty Python’s Life of Brian springs to mind when speaking with...
The Big Interview: Rock star Alistair Borthwick is stretching way beyond core quarrying business
Chief executive officer of the Hillhouse Group, has big plans for the future of the company We’ve all learned that Scots invented the modern world. Two hundred years ago, John...
The Big Interview: Eyes on the enterprise and net zero race with SE chief executive Adrian Gillespie
What did Scottish Enterprise ever do for us? Quite a lot, as its highly-focused chief executive Adrian Gillespie outlines Monty Python’s Life of Brian springs to mind when speaking with...
Private Banking & Wealth
Energy, Just Transition & Net Zero
Power Shift: Minister signals Scotland’s moment to lead the energy transition
The UK’s Energy Minister used the platform of the UK’s largest energy conference to set out his stall for the country’s clean energy transition making it clear that Scotland is...
OPPORTUNITY NORTH: How the Highlands can ensure a ‘Decade of Delivery
The Business Dealmakers’ ‘Golden Age for the Highlands?’ panel put forward a strategy for the region The £2.1bn Highland Investment Plan, a programme of capital investment for the next 20...
Renewable energy developments on croft land offers opportunities for rural Scotland
Scotland’s drive towards net zero by 2045 continues to create significant opportunities for renewable energy and infrastructure development across Scotland. Advances in onshore wind, solar and battery storage technology and...
Legal
Tribunals overwhelmed by AI-generated claims
Employers facing significant rise in time and financial burdens Disgruntled employees in Scotland are turning to artificial intelligence to make claims which are threatening to overwhelm an employment tribunals system...
The cost of caution: how is employment reform shaping hiring and business growth?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced a significant package of reforms being phased in over several years. Businesses need to stay abreast of the changes; make necessary adjustments to internal...
Tribunals overwhelmed by AI-generated claims
Employers facing significant rise in time and financial burdens Disgruntled employees in Scotland are turning to artificial intelligence to make claims which are threatening to overwhelm an employment tribunals system...
The cost of caution: how is employment reform shaping hiring and business growth?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced a significant package of reforms being phased in over several years. Businesses need to stay abreast of the changes; make necessary adjustments to internal...
Banking & Finance
35 most influential women in finance in Scotland
The inspiration for this year’s most influential women list is Dame Susan Rice, the banker, former Bank of England director, an economic advisor and member of the First Minister’s Council...
CHALLENGING TIMES: Ritchie believes investment bank on right course despite £138m losses on early failures
The new chief executive officer of Scotland’s national investment bank, David Ritchie, remains upbeat about the future despite posting yearly results which show a net loss of £138m. These losses...
FRAME AND FORTUNE: How Colin Frame built his fintech firm Stellar Omada
Colin Frame left school in Biggar at 17 without qualifications. Today the company he founded, Stellar Omada, is a national brand employing 300 people. His motto? ‘You can make your...
Accountancy & Advisory
PE investment must respect need for audit quality: ICAS calls for a review
Supporters of the buyout trend maintain that private equity will help mid-tier firms gain the financial backing and expertise to compete with the Big Four accounting firms – Deloitte, EY,...
Accountancy review: A hotbed of dealmaking opportunity
Private equity investment and consolidation is reconfiguring Scotland’s fragmented and dynamic accountancy sector Only a few years ago, the accountancy profession was viewed as industrious but rather staid. Today, it’s...
How to ensure professional and business services sector powers growth
Scotland has a professional and business services sector that is both economically important and historically deep-rooted. Our culture of high professional standards, specialist knowledge and international credibility helps shape Scotland’s...
‘It’s a year of looking back at the heritage but hang on, it’s about the future’
Johnston Carmichael is celebrating its 90th anniversary. Its chief executive, Lynne Walker, is already focused on getting to 100 years and beyond In 1936, towards the end of the Great...
Chartered accountants add to clamour for tax system reform in Scotland
Why are Scottish chartered accountants are calling for tax reform? ICAS members highlight findings in a recent survey that show Income Tax and National Insurance, ahead of Business Rates, Council...
TEN YEARS AFTER BREXIT: Are we learning from our mistakes? How global finance impacts us all
Dr Russell Napier, the founder of the Library of Mistakes, gives a lesson in how global finance impacts us all. Dr Russell Napier, founder of the Library of Mistakes and...
Commercial Property & Housing
Philanthropy & Charities
Bellfield shows the way for community share schemes
A former church near Portobello’s seafront offers a practical lesson in community finance. Action Porty raised £186,750 from more than 1,000 shareholders to help improve Bellfield, now a hub for...
Thinking about philanthropy? What to consider before setting up a charity
How employment law reform is changing recruitment decisions Philanthropy is admirable, and usually also personally rewarding, but it needs to be carefully planned. Here are the main questions to ask...
Purpose, people and performance: Why partnerships matter
For many years, charity partnerships were seen primarily as a way for businesses to ‘give something back’. Today, that mindset is changing. Increasingly, organisations recognise that strong partnerships create value...
Scotland's Finest
Laings going for gold in return to Argyll Arcade in Glasgow
Luxury jeweller Laings is opening a showroom in the company’s former Argyll Arcade store in Glasgow. The arcade remains one of Scotland’s best known and most popular places for jewellery...
The local heroes who know premium homes market
There is a global market for Scotland’s premium homes. But selling them is mostly entrusted to local firms There is a curious mixture of envy and admiration when we delve...
Local know-how meeting city’s property needs
Behnam Afshar, a director of AMA Homes, which has been in the housing market for more than 40 years, says local knowledge plays an essential part in meeting local needs....
New owners making waves in Port Edgar Marina
There is much happening at the tranquil, picturesque Port Edgar Marina Just across from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the waterfront community of Sausalito is where movie and music stars...
The ‘world’s best’ surf park is right in heart of Scotland
Park and ride: Lost Shore Surf Resort has been acclaimed as the world’s best surf park – with good reason Step into a Scottish stay with a difference this spring,...
Making Wool Cool
Fast fashion watch out. The Scottish textile industry is fighting back The hardy sheep has played a rough and scratchy part in Scotland’s history. Those docile grazing beasts have been...
Arts, Culture & Tourism
Edinburgh’s festivals: Are we playing with fire?
They bring £0.5bn into the capital every year. But insiders say we are in danger of killing the golden goose of Edinburgh festivals by continuing to treat them as cash...
The high-wire juggling act for Edinburgh Fringe event organisers
What are the key elements of ensuring sustainability for performing arts organisations, business events and venues? What are the trade-offs between box office returns and maintaining creative innovation and astonishing...
Edinburgh Fringe Festival is open for business
Love the Fringe’s corporate membership programme gives Scottish businesses a compelling reason to invest in the world’s greatest arts festival — and a tangible return on every pound spent. Every...
The Five-Minute Interview with Kenny Kemp
The Five-Minute Interview with Elizabeth Atia, brand ambassador for Lerwick Distillery
Hello. Thank you for inviting me in to enjoy a dram with you in Lerwick. You’re very welcome. Come on in out of the Shetland wind. Grab a glass; the...
The Five Minute Interview: Founders of Unorthodox Roasters, Neil Buchan and Chris Bode
Hello, Neil and Chris, thank you for inviting me in for a coffee here in Kinross. Really great you’ve come to visit Unorthodox Coffee roasting HQ. Can you tell us...
‘I often say you’re only as good as your last match, or business wise, the last experience of the guests you’ve had to stay’.
THE FIVE-MINUTE INTERVIEW WITH EILIDH SMITH, CAPTAIN OF GB MASTERS TENNIS TEAM, AND OWNER OF MORTON OF PITMILLY, RURAL HOLIDAY RESORT IN FIFE. Hello, Eilidh. Thank you for inviting me...
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