Scottish Business Briefing - Monday 18 March, 2013
ECONOMICS
Borrowing up, growth down – double blow for Osborne
CHANCELLOR George Osborne faces a double blow ahead of the Budget this week as official forecasters are expected to downgrade UK growth and confirm an £8 billion borrowing overshoot, according to the Ernst & Young Item Club. The Item Club said the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is likely to slash its growth forecasts to just under 1 per cent for 2013 from 1.2 per cent (Scotsman).
MEDIA & LEISURE
Number comes up for bowls firm
THE last maker of wooden bowls in Scotland has been saved from the threat of closure after securing funding to help capitalise on a change of competition rules. George Mackay Limited is preparing for a lift in demand for its services as many competitive players prepare to comply with a requirement that their bowls have serial numbers (Herald).
RETAIL
Scottish retail suffering a decline in footfall
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Hide AdSCOTTISH shoppers continued to prove elusive in February, with high streets and retail centres suffering another decline in footfall against an improving backdrop for the UK as a whole. The latest footfall monitor from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) showed shopper numbers were down 2.5 per cent, better than January’s 6.3 per cent decline but worse than the UK as a whole, which saw a small improvement (Scotsman)
TECHNOLOGY
Diagnostic Capital to fund Angel management rescue
LIFE science financier Diagnostic Capital is funding a management rescue of part of failed listed firm Angel Biotechnology. The group has set up a new company, Collbio, together with former senior management team members Stewart White and Ross Andrews, and has bought the assets of Glasgow-based Angel Biomedical (Scotsman).
Daktari boss praises Scotland for industry
SCOTLAND’s attractions for firms in the key life science sector have been underlined by a former adviser to Bill Clinton who runs a US firm that plans to create 126 jobs in the country. Bill Rodriguez, chief executive of Daktari Diagnostics, said Scotland had beaten off competition from around the world to be chosen as the likely base for a plant where the company will manufacture diagnostic tests for use in connection with infectious diseases such as HIV (Herald).
TRANSPORT
Virgin’s ‘zero fares’ on Scots routes in BA battle
VIRGIN Atlantic has escalated its battle with bitter rival British Airways (BA) on two lucrative Scottish routes after it offered “zero fares” – where passengers pay only taxes and charges. BA has responded with £1 fares, weeks before the airlines go head-to-head between Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Heathrow, where BA has had a monopoly since taking over BMI last year (Scotsman)