Scottish Business Briefing - Wednesday 17 June, 2009

Published on Wednesday 17 June 2009 09:17

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

Economists condemn proposed reforms as 'recipe for instability'

THE financial reforms proposed by the Calman Commission have been condemned by a group of leading economists. In an article for The Scotsman today, eight internationally renowned economists call proposals for limited tax reform "at best an opportunity missed and at worst a recipe for economic instability in the future" (Scotsman). They attack the proposals, which include giving Holyrood limited borrowing powers along with control of almost half the income tax raised in Scotland and several smaller taxes including stamp duty. These tax powers would give the Scottish Parliament control over 9 billion of the 31bn Scottish budget, but the economists say this is not nearly enough.

PwC debt advisory team to cash in on shortage of funding

PriceWaterhouse Coopers hopes to capitalise on the opportunities created by the fall-out from the credit crunch by forming a new team to advise companies that are grappling with a serious shortage of debt funding in Scotland (Herald). The "big four" accountant has formed a specialist debt advisory team that will make money by helping firms deal with the dramatic change in funding markets over the last two years. This has left many firms struggling to raise debt on affordable terms. The pool of lenders has shrunk as a result of some banks collapsing or quitting the British market.

Read all today's economics news from scotsman.com

MEDIA & LEISURE

Relegation haunting Premier Inn as sales take a dive

LEISURE group Whitbread wrongfooted the stock market yesterday when it reported a slump at its previously high-stepping main budget hotels division (Scotsman). City analysts said the 7.9 per cent slide in like-for-like revenues at Premier Inn was particularly surprising as it had previously shone as customers traded down in the economic downturn. Whitbread also said revenue per available room – a key hotels industry indicator – had fallen 9.6 per cent at Premier Inn in the 13 weeks to 28 May. "This has definitely come out of left-field a bit, quite a disappointment," one leisure analyst said. Total sales at Premier Inn, which has 576 hotels in Britain and contributes three-quarters of group profits, were flat.

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

RETAIL

Sainsbury's targets faster growth

High Street supermarket Sainsbury's has said it is planning to raise 445m in order to accelerate its growth plans (BBC). Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King said the money would give the retailer the "financial flexibility" to grow "further and faster". The news came as Sainsbury's announced that its like-for-like sales - which strip out new store space - for the 12 weeks to 13 June were up 7.8%. On Tuesday, rival Tesco said its UK first-quarter sales had risen by 4.3%.

Green shoots shrivel on the branch as retailers continue to suffer

HOPES of "green shoots" in the retail sector were quashed today as new figures revealed that Scottish shoppers tightened their belts again last month, creating the biggest sales decline in eight years (Scotsman). May high street sales were at their lowest level since August 2000, the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) said, revealing that like-for-like sales – excluding new store openings – fell by 1.2 per cent. The latest figures are a blow to the sector, which enjoyed a 4.3 per cent leap in sales values in April, sparking claims that a recovery was on the horizon. The SRC today branded April's strong performance as a "blip", saying the sales boost was likely to be caused by the timing of Easter compared with 2008.

Read all today's retail news from scotsman.com

TECHNOLOGY

Lifescan Scotland profits fall 4.5m on back of slow sales

A diabetic monitoring device supplier Lifescan Scotland, the biggest private employer in the Highlands, saw profits and revenue dip slightly as a result of fewer sales, the company's latest set of accounts have revealed (Herald).The medical device firm, based in Inverness and now part of the global Johnson & Johnson healthcare empire, unveiled pre-tax profits of 66m for the year to December 28, 2008, compared with 70.5m the year before. Turnover fell to 170.9m, down from its record 183.2m last time, which had been boosted by successes in Brazilian and Mexican markets.

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."