Scottish Business Briefing - Wednesday 8 June, 2011

ECONOMY

House prices hit recession depths across the Lothians

HOMEOWNERS in the Lothians have been dealt another blow as new figures have revealed that house prices have fallen back to levels last seen during the depths of the recession (Scotsman).

Scottish R&D projects receive 74m boost

SCOTTISH Enterprise funded more research and development projects by smaller indigenous firms in the year to March, as US-based companies reduced their investment in innovation in Scotland, figures revealed yesterday (Herald).

Read all today's economics news from scotsman.com

ENERGY & UTILITIES

10m cash injection for Scots energy consultancy Xodus

SCOTTISH energy consultancy Xodus Group, regarded as one of the country's fast-growth companies, has secured 10 million from investors that will enable it to almost triple its workforce to 900 over the next four years (Scotsman).

Families stunned as power bills soar to 1,391

SCOTTISH households are facing another wave of steep energy price rises, after a leading provider revealed looming increases which will see the average annual gas and electricity bill rocket by 180 (Scotsman).

Read all today's energy and utilities news from scotsman.com

FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE

Scots salmon production looks set to leap

Scotland's salmon production could expand by almost 50 per cent over the next ten years as global demand continues to grow, industry leaders said today (Scotsman).

Read all today's food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.com

INDUSTRY

Mactaggart leaves iconic Glasgow office base after 113 years in city

MACTAGGART Heritable Holdings, one of the longest established mainstays of the Scottish business landscape, has cut a 113-year-old link with Glasgow to set up headquarters in London (Herald)

Read all today's industry news from scotsman.com