Scottish Business Briefing - Wednesday October 3, 2012
ECONOMICS
Service sector the key after construction output slips
BRITAIN will have to rely on the dominant services sector to pull it out of recession after fresh figures showed construction output continued to shrink in September (Scotsman).
FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE
Europe’s troubles water down exports for key whisky sector
SCOTCH whisky exports flat-lined in the first six months of the year at £1.8 billion as the eurozone debt crisis and a tax hike in France took their toll on Scotland’s national drink (Scotsman).
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Highland dress maker opens Chinese store
SCOTTISH Highland dress maker Kinloch Anderson is setting up shop in Guangzhou as part of its expansion into the burgeoning Chinese market. The family-owned firm is also preparing to open an outlet in Brooks Brothers’ New York department store on Madison Avenue and is considering additional opportunities in the US (Herald).
RETAIL
Tesco reports fall in half-year profits
The UK’s biggest supermarket chain, Tesco, has reported its first fall in profits since 1994. Pre-tax profit for the six months to 25 August came in at £1.7bn, down 11.6% from the same period last year (BBC).
Optical Express closes 40 stores
OPTICAL Express, run by Scots entrepreneur David Moulsdale, is to close 40 stores after a subsidiary went into administration. Forty other outlets will be absorbed into the parent company along with all 750 staff (Scotsman).
TRANSPORT
West Coast rail franchise: Government cancels contest over ‘unacceptable mistakes’
THE bitter battle between Virgin Trains and FirstGroup for control of the Glasgow-London west coast main line has taken an extraordinary twist with the UK Government cancelling the contest over flaws in how it handled the process. The decision quashes Aberdeen-based FirstGroup’s victory over incumbent Virgin Trains, which is 49 per cent owned by Perth-based Stagecoach, and means Virgin will continue to run trains for the time being (Scotsman).