Scotland's Economy

Scottish Business Buzz (23.08.17)

Written by Michelle Rodger

Business for Scotland director Sandy Adam has seen his construction company Springfield Properties push sales past £100 million for the first time,

Based in Elgin, the housebuilder increased completions by 25% in the year to May 31 2017, with 620 new homes handed over. This boosted revenue by 22% to £111m, and pre-tax profits increased 31% to £6.7m.

In addition to the financial milestone, Springfield completed its 4,000th home in the year.

The results are another sign of strength for Scotland’s housebuilding sector.

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Business for Scotland releases Research Briefing on Scotland’s oil and gas sector

Business for Scotland’s research team has been asking previously unasked, yet vitally important questions on oil and gas revenues and how that affects Scotland’s fiscal position as part of the UK.

Summary of findings:

  • Norway generated £381 billion more than the UK Government in tax revenue from North Sea oil and gas between 1964 to 2016— whilst producing 4.7% less oil and gas.
  • In the two years since the oil price dropped, Norway generated more than £29 billion in oil and gas revenues, whilst the UK Government are predicted to lose £23 million in the same period.
  • Over the last two years since the oil price dropped, the UK’s taxpayers gave Shell £179 million in tax rebates, whilst Shell paid Norway £4.589 billion.
  • UK taxpayers gave BP £342 million in tax rebates in the two years since the oil price dropped – Making the UK the only country out of the 23 countries where BP operates where they received money rather than paid taxes.
  • The UK tax rebates were not specifically linked to any commitment to save jobs, and the UK sector seems to have shed significantly more jobs (120,000 since 2014) than the Norwegian sector (47,000 since 2013).

You can read the full Research Briefing here: http://www.businessforscotland.com/research-briefing-resource-governance-taxation-track-record-uk-government-uks-oil-gas-sector/


Coffee drinkers may soon face a new tax on their cups in a bid to boost recycling efforts.

The proposal for the tax, along the lines of the 5p tax brought in to combat the environmental impact of carrier bags,  is to be debated at the SNP’s annual conference in October.  SNP MSP Stuart McMillan suggested replicating the 5p charge for plastic bags which has been credited with dramatically cutting litter and waste and replicated in the rest of Britain.

Ministers were urged to back the shake-up because of a daily “coffee-drinking culture” with disposable cups being thrown into bins and not recycled.

Zero Waste Scotland, an official agency promoting recycling, claims that Scots throw away 208 million disposable coffee cups every year.

McMillan’s resolution acknowledges that some businesses provide an “incentive for customers who bring their own cups to be filled with new coffee and drinks”, he said a compulsory scheme was needed to cut use of disposable cups along similar lines to the carrier bag charge.

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As a result of strong performance figures from the seafood sector for exports so far in 2017, the largest ever Scottish contingent of seafood companies is in Japan for the region’s largest seafood show.

The Japan Seafood Expo takes place from today until Friday, and will be attended by more Scottish companies than ever before,  showcasing a range of Scottish smoked and farmed salmon, mackerel, herring, crab, langoustines.

As one of the largest consumers of seafood in the world, Japan is a key market for producers from Scotland, with a growing demand for high-quality, sustainable seafood in volume.

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About the author

Michelle Rodger

Michelle is a former national newspaper journalist who co-founded an award-winning IT business before launching Tartan Cat Communications. A social media and crowdfunding expert she manages media and communications for Business for Scotland.

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