Scottish Business Briefing - Tuesday February 7, 2012
FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE
Vestey moves to snap up top Scottish butcher in ‘£30m deal’
A PRIVATE food conglomerate has bought a Scottish butcher with a Royal Warrant for a price understood to be in the region of £30 million. Vestey Group bought a controlling stake in Inverurie-based Donald Russell after it was put up for sale last year (Scotsman).
BANKING
Saracen chief buoyant over fund performance
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdGRAHAM Campbell, chief executive of Scottish investment house Saracen Fund Managers, has revealed his Global Income & Growth fund has outperformed the All-Share Index in its first full six months, and declared that equities offer “very good value” (Herald)
ENERGY & UTILITIES
BP ups dividend as profits rise
BP has raised its dividend to shareholders by 14%, the first increase since the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, following sharply higher profits. Replacement cost profit, which is profit stripping out the effect of oil and other price movements, for the three months to the end of December 2011 was $7.6bn (£4.8bn) (BBC).
INDUSTRY
DB Schenker aims to boost exports by rail
SCOTLAND’S exporters could receive a major boost under plans by German rail firm DB Schenker to expand the volume of goods delivered to Europe by train (Herald).
MANAGEMENT
Legal world tipped for merger rush after McGrigors seals deal
PARTNERS at McGrigors, Scotland’s largest law firm by turnover, have voted to merge with London-based practice Pinsent Masons in a move which could spark a wave of consolidation across the sector (Scotsman).
TRANSPORT
Scots car sales are moving up a gear
HOPES grew yesterday that Scotland’s car dealerships will have a better year than previously forecast as sales in the opening weeks of 2012 motored ahead (Scotsman).