Scottish Business Briefing - Monday 15 June, 2009

Published on Monday 15 June 2009 09:53

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.

ECONOMY

CBI predicts worst of recession is over, but Scotland 'won't perk up until next year'

THE CBI today predicted that the worst of the recession is over – upgrading its growth forecasts for the first time in two years – but warned that Scotland could lag behind (The Scotsman). In its latest quarterly economic survey, the CBI reiterated its forecast that Britain would return to growth in the first quarter of 2010, and added that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is likely to contract only marginally in the second half of 2009. But David Lonsdale, assistant director for CBI Scotland, said that Scotland's economy would "not perk up until well into next year". The CBI's UK-wide report said that after shrinking by more than 2 per cent in the second quarter, GDP will contract only marginally in the last six months of this year – 0.1 per cent over two quarters – before rising by 0.1 per cent in the first three months of 2010.

Read all today's economics news from scotsman.com

INDUSTRY

Spotless cleans up on the back of economic downturn

SPOTLESS Commercial Cleaning has reported a 10 per cent rise in turnover as the recession forces more businesses to put cleaning contracts out to tender (The Scotsman). The Edinburgh-based cleaning firm, which employs about 1,000 people throughout the UK, said revenues in the year to 12 October reached 7.7 million, up from 7m. Pre-tax profit rose from 95,100 to 154,711 on the back of new deals, including winning the contract to clean the National Galleries of Scotland. Roger Green, chief executive of Spotless, said: "Tough economic times have the effect of shaking businesses out of complacency and contracts being put out to tender. "The marketplace is more competitive, and this has created opportunities for us to win new contracts."

Read all today's industry news from scotsman.com

MEDIA & LEISURE

Endemol to discuss Setanta stake

DUTCH media giant Endemol, the maker of hit show Big Brother, is in talks to take a substantial stake in ailing Irish sports broadcaster Setanta (BBC). Endemol is believed to be interested in taking a stake of up to 49% in the company, along with other investors. It is not clear how much Endemol would pay for such a stake. Setanta has not met subscriber targets, and has lost some broadcast rights for English Premier League games, to whom it must make a 30m payment on Monday. The instalment is the latest tranche of cash due in its 392m, three-year contract with the league.

Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.com

FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE

Punch Taverns aims to raise 350m

UK pub owner Punch Taverns, which last week sold 11 pubs to Greene King, says it is looking to raise 350m ($571m) through a shares issue (BBC). Punch is the UK's largest pub chain but it has heavy debts, which last autumn were put at 4.5bn. The firm said it would use part of the money raised to purchase its outstanding convertible bonds. Punch also said it should meet its financial expectations for the year, but that it remained cautious. "While we are confident of the longer-term expectations of the group and our expectations for the full-year remain unchanged, we remain very cautious over the near-term due to the lack of forward visibility on trading outlook," the company said. Punch shares closed at 148.5 pence on Friday, having fallen by 64% in the past year.

Read all today's food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.com

RETAIL

Shopping centre set for final 20m expansion

SILVERBURN, the super-size shopping centre on the south side of Glasgow, is set to invest 20m in the third and final phase of its expansion programme - a move that comes in stark contrast to the crisis in confidence elsewhere in a sector still plagued by the consumer-spending slump (The Herald). While most shopping centres and big retail chains are closing stores and radically cutting back on new outlets, the director of Silverburn, Richard Low, told The Herald that detailed plans for expanding the giant mall, on the 75-acre site off Junction 2 on the M77, will be submitted to planning authorities "within two weeks".

Read all today's retail news from scotsman.com

TECHNOLOGY

Ardana 'close to being sold' after year in administration

ADMINISTRATORS of biotech firm Ardana believe they may finally be close to a sale of the business – almost a year after their appointment (The Scotsman). Hailed as one of the brightest biotechnology prospects in Scotland, Ardana was developing high potential treatments for reproductive health conditions. In late 2007, the Edinburgh-based company, which was listed on the London Stock Exchange had a market capitalisation of almost 80 million. But it ran out of cash last year as investors refused to pour money into drugs which were years away from commercial release. Ernst & Young was appointed as administrator at the end of June, but despite holding meetings with "literally dozens" of potential investors, none had put in a credible bid for the company.

Read all today's technology 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."