Scottish Business Briefing - Wednesday 11 September, 2013
RETAIL
Best August in four years for Scotland’s retailers
SCOTTISH retailers enjoyed their best August in four years with a surprise upturn in sales of big-ticket items such as furniture and televisions bolstering confidence on the high street. Today’s monthly sales monitor from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and accountancy firm KPMG is the latest sign that the economic recovery may be gathering momentum (Scotsman).
ENERGY
Shetland’s Schiehallion and Loyal oil fields see £1bn of contracts awarded
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Hide AdMore than £1bn of contracts have now been awarded to UK-based companies for the redevelopment of the Schiehallion and Loyal oil fields west of Shetland, operator BP has said. The fields have produced nearly 400 million barrels of oil since 1998. There are an estimated 450 million barrels still available, more than originally thought (BBC).
FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE
Mothballed Rosebank distillery set to reopen
Arran Brewery today secured a £500,000 grant from Historic Scotland to help bring the Rosebank distillery in Falkirk back into operation. The company wants to open a brewery, micro-distillery and visitors centre on the site. Rosebank, which opened in 1813, is often called one of Scotland’s great “silent” distilleries following its closure in 1993 (Scotsman).
Whisky boom puts Glencairn on growth path
GLENCAIRN Crystal is on track for another year of strong growth as the company capitalises on the booming popularity of Scotch overseas. The East Kilbride-based firm has seen sales of its glassware surge in recent months in a development that shows how the success of the country’s whisky producers is creating benefits across the supply chain (Herald).
(http://www.scotsman.com/business/food-drink-agriculture|Read all today’s food, drink and agriculture news from scotsman.com|Click here}
TRANSPORT & INDUSTRY
Don & Low hails successful year after profits rise
DON & Low, the Scottish speciality textiles producer, has said it expects to enjoy a successful year after growing profits by more than a third in 2012 against a tough backdrop. The Forfar-based firm posted a £7.7m pre-tax profit for the year to December, up 38% on the £5.6m it made in the previous year (Herald).
MEDIA, TECH & LEISURE
North Sea oil surge stokes Aberdeen hotel prices
ABERDEEN’S booming oil and gas sector left the Granite City with the most-expensive hotel rooms outside London during the opening six months of the year, according to a report published yesterday. Average prices in Aberdeen rose by 10 per cent year-on-year to hit £86, the fastest rise in Scotland, with Edinburgh notching up a 3 per cent increase to £74 to take third spot in the UK table (http://www.scotsman.com/business/retail/north-sea-oil-surge-stokes-aberdeen-hotel-prices-1-3085603|Scotsman|scotsman}).