Scottish Business Briefing – November 8th 2012
ECONOMICS
Think-tank: No recovery for 2 years
SCOTLAND’S economy remains stuck in recession, one of the country’s leading economic think-tanks declares today, in what it describes as a continuing “after-shock” of the 2008 financial crash. The country will largely miss out on the Olympic bounce which saw the UK economy as a whole record 1% growth in the third quarter of this year.
Number of firms hits an all-time high, as angels pump in cash
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Hide AdTHE 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 start-ups. Waves of job losses across the public and private sectors during the recession have led to redundant staff setting up their own businesses rather than looking for jobs elsewhere.
http://www.scotsman.com/business/media-and-leisure/number-of-firms-hits-an-all-time-high-as-angels-pump-in-cash-1-2620691
INDUSTRY
Cala hunt for buyer in £250m sale talks
DIRECTORS of high-end housebuilder Cala are in sale talks with a number of private equity firms as well as listed builder Taylor Wimpey. Cala is thought to be valued at around £250 million and its sale would allow an exit for Bank of Scotland, which has 32% of voting rights in the company after a debt-for-equity swap in 2010.
RETAIL
Morrisons sales fall in ‘fragile’ market
Supermarket chain Morrisons, one of the UK’s big four grocers, has reported another quarterly drop in sales, citing “fragile” consumer confidence. Like-for-like sales - which strip out the effect of new store openings - fell 2.1% in the three months to 28 October.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20248817
TRANSPORT
Concern 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.
Aer 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 profits for the first nine months of the year.