Scottish Business Briefing – Thursday 26 June 2008

Published on Thursday 26 June 2008 08:25

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

Ferrans to quit Insight

Douglas Ferrans, is set to leave Edinburgh banking giant HBoS amid claims of a disagreement with HBoS chief Andy Hornby. The bank has denied the highly regarded head of Insight Investment was leaving under a cloud and claimed the departure was 'all very amicable'. A spokesman said: "Dougie has made an outstanding contribution to Insight and HBoS. He spearheaded the launch of Insight and made it the success it is in the City today." A leading fund management industry figure added: "Dougie is a young, high-energy individual. This development doesn't surprise me as at his age most successful fund management bosses would probably think they have one big executive job left in them. Being non-executive obviously didn't press all his buttons." (The Scotsman)

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ECONOMY

Credit crunch catches up with Scotland

The Scottish economy is seeing the full effect of the global credit crunch as slowing output, rising costs and falling business expectations start to make themselves felt. The new Lloyds TSB Scotland business monitor survey has revealed the slowdown is hitting the service sector more severely than manufacturing. The poll of 1800 businesses also revealed the gap between services reporting an increase in turnover and those showing a decrease has fallen sharply while expectations of increasing turnover have slumped. Chief economist at Lloyds TSB Scotland Professor Donald MacRae commented: "This business monitor shows the Scottish economy experiencing the full effects of the credit crunch. After above-trend growth in 2007, the economy is facing reduced growth over 2008 in the range 1.5 to 1.75 per cent." (The Scotsman)

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ENERGY & UTILITIES

SSE to work on more Portuguese wind farms

Scottish & Southern Energy has sealed deals for two more joint ventures to create an additional 400 megawatts of wind farm capacity in Portugal. Perth-based SSE's Air-tricity division will hold a 60 per cent stake in a new joint venture with Portuguese real estate and property development firm Riviera – the joint venture firm hopes to develop several wind farms with a total capacity of 250MW. The group also announced a deal which will see it take a 90 per cent stake in a separate joint venture with Portuguese and Spanish wind farm developer Hispano Lusa which could see up to eight new sites developed in the Baiao, Amarante and Monsim de Basto areas of northern Portugal. (The Herald)

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FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE

Audit reveals 15 million fraud

An audit of Scottish mineral water firm Campsie Spring has uncovered a 15 million fraud with parent company Greencore admitting the loss had been incurred through a deliberate concealment of costs rather than embezzlement. It is believed the fraud was committed by a former financial controller who left the company before the problem with the books was discovered. Three managers at Campsie have since left the company and a new managing director and financial director have been installed at the Lennoxtown group. The BBC believe the company's overall profit for the current financial year will be reduced by more than 7 million following the discovery and that Campsie will be forced to restate its accounts to reduce profits by more than 6 million in 2007 and 3 million in 2006. Glencore are currently seeking legal advice as to whether the monies can be recovered. (BBC Scotland Online)

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MEDIA & LEISURE

City council give go ahead to Haymarket hotel

Edinburgh City Council has approved a 200 million development in the city's Haymarket which will see a 17-storey hotel built above the area's railway station. The development will also see a large-scale business complex created on a nearby gap site. Developer Tiger Developments is planning both a 5-star hotel on the site and a three star six-storey Travelodge on the Dalry Road side of the mooted complex. Convenor of the city council's planning committee, Jim Lowrie commented: "The committee was minded to approve the application put forward for this high quality development. Redevelopment of this site will create the opportunity to introduce a variety of new uses into the area, such as leisure, business and commercial facilities which will bring positive benefits to the city's economy." The council's economic development convener, Tom Buchanan added: "The Haymarket development is a significant regeneration project for Edinburgh. The site occupies a location of strategic importance, and is a key gateway into the city centre. This development will breathe new life into an area that is in much need of redevelopment, and will enable it to play a major role in the future economic and social life of the city." (BBC Scotland Online)

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

TECHNOLOGY

Braveheart alter strategy to cope with slowdown

Business angel investment group Braveheart Investment has revealed it will investment in fewer new companies as the credit crunch continues to impact on the economy. The announcement came as the Perth-based group unveiled healthy pre-tax profits for its first year as a listed company. The group posted pre-tax figures of 106,000 compared to a loss of 164,000 in the previous 12 months. Chief executive Geoffrey Thomson commented: "Things are still pretty tight out there and the IPO market has more or less dried up. We're not having trouble raising money, but our exits this year will be all trade sales. We expect maybe half a dozen exits this year." (The Herald)

Andrews to quit Maxima

Finance director at Maxima Holdings, Linda Andrews, is to quit the fast-growing information technology group on 'health grounds', the company has revealed. Andrews will leave the Hillington firm on July 1 and be replaced by John Taylor, who is set to join the company on the same day. A spokesman for the Renfrewshire group said: "She has an illness that is not life-threatening, but the stress of work is making it worse." (The Herald)

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TRANSPORT

Stagecoach call for timetable change delay

A change to the timetable on the West Coast Main Line should be delayed until Network Rail can prove it can maintain the line, according to Stagecoach chief Brian Souter. The group, which is a joint venture partner in Virgin Trains, want to see the change delayed until Easter 2009 with Souter claiming they 'want to avoid over-runs'. Head of Stagecoach's rail business Ian Dobbs added: "We have always been concerned that the project was very ambitious. That is not to say Network Rail will not deliver it. They have got a lot more to deliver than the upgrade work but we remain worried about their ability to deliver a reliable service from that point." The comments came after Virgin Trains chairman Sir Richard Branson had claimed he had seen a sharp fall in the reliability of the service recently and worried that the new, more frequent timetable would only add to the problems on the Glasgow to London line. A spokesman for Network Rail responded: "We appreciate Stagecoach have their concerns but Network Rail have to take a much wider perspective." (The Herald)

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