ECONOMYOutsourcing expert calls for 'Scots Bangalore'One of the UK's leading legal experts in the global outsourcing and technology sectors has called for Scotland to develop its own Bangalore to boost the GDP by
billions. Andrew Rigby believes Scotland has a window of opportunity in which it can cash in on its status as a leading player in the financial, energy and life science sectors but that it must develop a joined-up strategy to benefit. The Indian city of Bangalore has benefited hugely from outsourcing by companies across the globe and Rigby has created a think-tank in a bid to push Scotland in such a direction. He told the Herald: "Onshore, there are huge amounts of financial service companies in London we could provide knowledge-based services for. Near-shore, Germany, France and Spain have big financial centres or big pharmaceutical companies wanting R&D, and of course everyone is interested in the energy sectors at the moment. We have established skills in all of those sectors. On an off-shore basis, the Americans do actually send a lot of stuff to India but I think, at the knowledge end, the protection of intellectual property requirement, they would be much happier to offshore to somewhere like Scotland than to somewhere like China or India, which have debatable intellectual property protection regimes."
(The Herald) Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comENERGY & UTILITIESRamco back in blackEnergy explorer Ramco Energy has booked a pre-tax profit of £602,000 against the previous year's loss of £5.4 million. The group made a gain of £3.8 million on the back of selling its interest in spin-off Lansdowne Oil and Gas but was forced to write down £800,000 on its Montenegro venture. Founder and executive chairman Steve Remp commented: "We have the team in place which has done it before, and we have the projects and initiatives in place which we believe will deliver the results over time."
(The Herald) Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.comINDUSTRYWarship deal moves closerThe contract for the construction of two giant aircraft carriers has moved a step closer after the formation of a maritime joint venture company. BVT Surface Fleet, a consortium of BAE Systems and VT Group, has officially launched yesterday and is expected to sign a contract with the Royal Navy in the near future. Both BAE Govan and Babcock Marine in Rosyth are expected to benefit from the contract which is will be worth more than £4 billion and could create up to 10,000 jobs across the UK. Chief executive of BVT Surface Fleet, Alan Johnston commented: "The formation of BVT will not only ensure that we are able to efficiently deliver the very best naval capability to the UK's armed forces, but also become a globally competitive and innovative leader in the export market for surface warships, support ships and through-life support."
(BBC Scotland Online)Pringle considers jobs cutsKnitwear group Pringle of Scotland has revealed proposals to stop production at its Hawick headquarters with the loss of 80 jobs. The company, owned by the Fang Brothers, would continue to operate its head office and sales functions from the Borders town but has claimed it must review its manufacturing base in the light of the continuing economic slowdown. Chief executive Douglas Fang said: "We have to consider ways to improve the performance of the business and closure of the manufacturing operation at the plant is, very regrettably, something we must consider. Any decision to close the operation is not one we would take lightly, but due to changing customer demands and the competitiveness of the industry, we have to consider this possibility."
(BBC Scotland Online) Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comMANAGEMENTArdana slips into administrationEdinburgh pharmaceutical company Ardana has place itself in administration after an unsuccessful battle to find cash to prop up the business. The company effectively placed itself up for sale in February and invited interested parties to come forward with proposals to buy or merge. However, the firm announced yesterday that while a number of possible licensing deals had been proposed it would be unable to complete them before its cash reserves were exhausted. A statement added: "As a result, the board of Ardana has taken advice and, with great regret, no longer believes that the company is in a position to continue its operations. It is expected that the appointment of administrators will formally occur later... following which the administrators will take such measures as they believe appropriate including continuing to seek a buyer for the company and its assets."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's management news from scotsman.comTECHNOLOGYThus move closer to C&W dealCable & Wireless bought a major stake in Glasgow telecoms group Thus yesterday as the group moved towards a complete takeover. C&W were handed access to Thus's books last week and revealed yesterday that it has already spent nearly £100 million acquiring a 29.9 per cent strategic stake in the business. It is believed the industry giant has now tabled an improved offer for Thus, with the group being valued at 180p a share or £329 million. The ease with which C&W managed to acquire the strategic stake indicates many institutional shareholders are confident there will be no higher counterbid and are accepting the putative takeover. Meanwhile, Thus has claimed the increased offer was not a 'compelling proposal' and will not be recommending its acceptance by shareholders, however, it did concede the offer was 'worth of consideration by shareholders'. A spokesman added: "There are quite a lot of small cap companies whose shares have been so hammered by the market that what appears to be a healthy premium isn't necessarily judged by the board as full and fair." Landsbanki analyst Dan Gardiner countered: "Although Thus shares were trading higher than this level last year... we feel in this environment Thus's management would have to work hard to justify a share price above 180p on organic basis."
(The Scotsman)Axis-Shield books 'excellent growth'Scottish-Norwegian in-vitro diagnostics company Axis-Shield has announced its revenues for the six months to June 30 are set to show 'excellent growth'. The group believes its figures could be up as much as 27 per cent over the same period last year. A company statement read: "The growth figure includes sales from our newly acquired Swiss subsidiary and has been positively affected by the strength of the Norwegian currency. Underlying revenues, excluding the contribution from the Swiss subsidiary and on a constant currency basis, were also strong, increasing by 14 per cent."
(The Herald) Read all today's technology news from scotsman.comPROPERTYHouse price slump predictedNew Bank of England mortgage approval figures have increased pressure on the housing market, with predictions process could fall even more sharply than expected. The central bank revealed that only 42,000 mortgages were approved for purchase in May, a fall of 28 per cent on the previous and a massive 64 per cent on the same month last year. UK economist at Capital Economics, Vicky Redwood claimed the new figures pointed to a fall in house prices of up to 20 per cent. She added: "The latest news on the UK housing market is absolutely dire, with the number of mortgage approvals for new house purchase slumping way below the early 1990s lows. And with fixed mortgage rates still rising, don't expect a recovery in housing market activity any time soon." However, director general of the Building Societies Association, Adrian Coles urged caution: "It is important not to read too much into one month's very low figures. However, the figures o reflect the considerable adjustment in housing market activity. We expect activity to remain at low levels for some time."
(The Scotsman) Read all today's property news from scotsman.com
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