Scottish Business Briefing - 11/11/09

Published on Wednesday 11 November 2009 08:18

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.

BANKING & INSURANCE

Fifth of Lloyds' job cuts to be in Scotland

LLOYDS Banking Group said yesterday that 1,000 Scottish jobs will be affected in its plans to axe 5,000 posts across the UK by the end of next year (Scotsman). The scale of the job losses at the bank, which has been bailed out with billions of pounds of taxpayers' money, angered politicians and union leaders.The cuts will affect 1,000 positions in Scotland. The jobs will be lost from offices and branches in the Central Belt, where the majority of the 23,000 people employed by Lloyds in Scotland are based.

Read all today's banking news from scotsman.com

ECONOMY

Battered economy prepares for return to growth

BRITAIN'S battered economy is preparing for a return to growth in the fourth quarter of this year after suffering its longest recession since the Second World War, according to a poll of economists (Scotsman). Policymakers have been hoping the weak pound could encourage an export-led recovery and help re-balance Britain's economy. Forecasts from 30 economists polled for Reuters show that the economy will grow 0.4 per cent in the current quarter and continue growing between 0.3 and 0.5 per cent well into 2011.

Read all today's economics news from scotsman.com

ENERGY & UTILITIES

Oil executives reap rewards in 20m sale of Cyclotech

Aberdeen oil services company Cyclotech has been sold to US-headquartered M-I SWACO for a price approaching 20m – triggering multimillion-pound gains for three of the Scottish firm's management team and for private equity backer Maven Capital Partners. The disposal is a significant transaction at a time when deal-makers have been enduring quieter times in the Aberdeen oil and gas sector amid the global economic downturn, after years of frantic activity.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/corporate-sme/oil-executives-reap-rewards-in-20m-sale-of-cyclotech-1.931827

Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.com

INDUSTRY

Gladedale to rebuild local brands from ground up

PROPERTY giant Gladedale will today announce the resurrection of its former housing brand Bett Homes, following a massive restructuring in September that wiped out its owner's shareholding (Scotsman). Accounts filed at Companies House reveal the extent of the restructuring of the group, which owns major projects in Scotland including the 450 million Quartermile project in Edinburgh and housebuilding companies across the UK, including an operation headquartered in Stirling.

Babcock rail review puts Scottish jobs on the line

The fate of 1600 employees is uncertain after Babcock International, the engineering giant and major dockyard operator, revealed it is considering selling or possibly closing its Glasgow-based rail division (Herald). Group chief executive Peter Rogers made the announcement yesterday but warned there was 'no need for anyone to panic'. He added: " We are reviewing the business, as you would expect under the circumstances."

Read all today's industry news from scotsman.com

RETAIL

'Strong sales' boost Sainsbury's

Sainsbury's has seen its latest half-year profits rise by one-third, buoyed by an increase in sales (BBC). The supermarket group's pre-tax profit in the six months to 3 October totalled 342m, up 32.6% from 258m a year ago. Its like-for-like sales excluding fuel, which strips out the impact of new store openings, rose 5.7%. Sainsbury's said its latest results represented a "strong performance" given the current tough economic climate

Read all today's retail news from scotsman.com

Scotsman Business Club

Get to the heart of the issues affecting Scottish business at www.scotsman.com/businessclub. Features include blogs from The Scotsman's formidable team of business writers - including Bill Jamieson, Martin Flanagan, Peter MacMahon and Scott Reid, a diary of forthcoming company announcements and networking events and video interviews with leading business experts covering a wide range of useful topics."