Scottish business briefing: 26th July 2013
FINANCE
RSM Tenon, the UK’s only listed accountancy practice, yesterday revealed it was in takeover talks with mid-market rival Baker Tilly. Any deal would create one of the UK’s biggest accountancy firms with fee income of more than £370m. But shares in RSM Tenon, which has offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow plunged on the announcement.
Pensions company Aegon UK has lured a lucrative contract from one of its main rivals as it seeks to secure more corporate customers. The group has replaced fellow Edinburgh firm Standard Life on a panel of “preferred suppliers” chosen by financial services consultancy Mercer to offer pensions and other savings products to employers and their staff.
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Hide AdAlliance Trust boss Katherine Garrett-Cox yesterday said the fund is making moves to ditch its “boring” reputation after its equity portfolio outperformed the market. Garrett-Cox hailed the Dundee-based firm’s half-year performance, as its report for the six months to 30 June showed its equity investments enjoyed growth of 14.5 per cent.
ENERGY
POWER giant SSE yesterday warned that UK government policy was delaying vital investment and did not provide enough incentives for investors to fill a looming gap in generation capacity. In strongly-worded comments accompanying a trading update, the firm said the risk of “imminent shortages” was not being addressed.
FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE
Scotland’s North Sea herring fishery has been given a stamp of approval by the Marine Stewardship Council. The organisation, which examines fish stocks every five years, has renewed the existing sustainability certificate. It means products can be marked with the MSC ecolabel logo. That proves no long-term damage is being inflicted on the fishery which is worth £20m-a-year to the country’s economy.
TRANSPORT & INDUSTRY
SCOTSMAN CONFERENCE
The Future of the UK Aerospace Industry, 5 Sept, Prestwick
Join expert speakers including: Michael Moore MP & Secretary of State for Scotland; Scott McLarty of Spirit AeroSystems; Gavin Campbell of Bombardier and Murdo Morrison of Flight International as they discuss the big issues facing the UK aerospace industry. For full details see The Scotsman Conferences website.
MEDIA, TECH & LEISURE
Annual profits at BSkyB have risen, with the satellite broadcaster saying that new services were “resonating strongly” with its customers. It reported pre-tax profits of £1.26bn for the 12 months to 30 June, up 6% on the previous year. The company gained 547,000 new customers over the year to bring its total customer base to 11.2 million.
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