Scottish Business Briefing – June 5th 2013
BANKING
Osborne to reject call to split RBS
CHANCELLOR George Osborne is likely to reject calls to nationalise Royal Bank of Scotland into good and bad banks to encourage business lending. A draft report from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards is understood to include the radical option, whose supporters include former Tory Chancellor Lord Lawson of Blaby, and Sir Mervyn King, outgoing governor of the Bank of England.
ECONOMICS
Scottish independence ‘brings foreign investment’
INTERNATIONAL firms are being attracted to invest in Scotland by the prospect of independence, a major new survey has indicated. Foreign investments in Scotland reached a 15-year high last year with a total of 76 major projects secured in 2012. This was up by almost 50 per cent on the previous year.
ENERGY & UTILITIES
Dart Energy appeals to Holyrood over gas field
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdTHE company behind plans to drill for gas in the Forth valley is to appeal directly to the Scottish Government after a local council missed a deadline on deciding whether it can go ahead. Dart Energy has invested £60 million in Scotland already and plans to spend a further £100m, half of it north of the Border, if the plan for 18 drills goes ahead.
INDUSTRY
Building new homes in Scotland ‘hits 65-year low’
Scotland’s house-building crisis has deepened with the number of homes being constructed at a 65-year low, according to figures. The country is now facing a shortfall of 140,000 homes in the years ahead, industry body Homes for Scotland warned. There were 14,877 homes, including private and social housing, built in 2012. That is a drop of more than 42 per cent on 2007 levels and is the lowest number since 1947, when there were 12,149 new-builds.
MEDIA & LEISURE
Golf worth £1bn a year to Scotland’s economy
GOLF is now worth a staggering £1 billion a year to the Scottish economy and employs more than 20,000 people, according to new research. The findings revealed that the industry now generates a total of £1.171 billion in revenues - equivalent to more than £3 million a day - and accounts for one in every 125 jobs in the country. Wages alone total £300 million
RETAIL
Tesco reports fall in UK sales
Supermarket giant Tesco has reported a fall in UK sales over the past three months. Like-for-like sales, excluding petrol and VAT, dropped by 1% during the 13 weeks ending 25 May 2013. The supermarket is undertaking a programme of store refurbishments and is planning to refit almost 70 of its larger outlets.