Scottish Business Briefing - Wednesday 11 January, 2012
ENERGY & UTILITIES
North Sea investment hits record levels driven by high oil prices
Investement in UK oil exploration and production hit record highs last year despite a North Sea tax raid announced by the UK government in its last Budget, a major report has revealed (Scotsman).
EDF Energy to cut gas price by 5%
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Hide AdOne of the UK’s largest energy suppliers, EDF Energy, has said it is to cut its gas bills by 5% from 7 February (BBC).
RETAIL
Co-op swoops to buy Scottish convenience chain David Sands
DAVID Sands, the Kinross-based convenience store chain, has been snapped up by the Co-operative Group as the food retailer pushes ahead with its expansion north of the Border (Scotsman)
Sainsbury’s Christmas sales hit record
Supermarket group Sainsbury’s has reported another “record-breaking” Christmas as sales rose modestly on last year. Excluding petrol, like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of sales from new stores, rose by 2.1% in the 14 weeks to 8 January from a year earlier (BBC).
Tesco tax will strip stores of 10% of profits, say analysts
SUPERMARKETS have claimed Scottish Government plans for a new “Tesco Tax” will strip them of up to 10 per cent of their profits, acting as a deterrent to new stores opening and further jobs being created in the sector (Scotsman).
TECHNOLOGY
Craneware shares slump after trading update leads to warning
THE shine came off stock market darling Craneware yesterday as shares in the Edinburgh-based software firm plunged by a third following a “negative” first-half trading update (Scotsman).