Scottish Business Briefing - Tuesday February 7, 2012

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.

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

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GRAHAM 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).

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