BANKING & INSURANCE
HBoS warns of 9% house price fall
Britain's biggest mortgage lender, HBoS, has predicted a nine per cent fall in house prices this year, nearly double what it was forecasting earlier in the year. The Edinburgh banking giant also revealed it expected transactions to fall almost by half by the end of 2008. The comments came as the banking group announced writedowns in its Treasury Trading Book had increased by £58 million since its last trading update on April 29; the running total now stands at £1.028 billion. Confirming the writedown, a statement from the bank added: "First-half performance will be impacted by negative fair value adjustments to the Treasury Trading Book, but we look forward to a stronger second half-ear. In a more difficult trading environment, HBoS expects a resilient performance in 2008, which will provide a sound platform for the future." (The Scotsman)
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ECONOMY
Retail sales surge stuns City
New Office of National Statistics figures have revealed a stunning surge in the level of retail sales, with the numbers up 3.5 per cent in March alone. Such a growth rate would annualise to 42 per cent and have stunned the City which was predicting a 0.1 per cent fall in sales volume for the month. According to the ONS, the rise is the greatest since retail sales data series began in 1986 and is believed to be the biggest month on month jump since June 1979. The surge has reignited talk of a rise in UK base rate interest levels. Chief economist at consultancy Global Insight, Howard Archer commented: "These retail sales figures are absolutely astounding, even allowing for the fact that food and perhaps the better weather lifting clothing sales were major factors. However, this was by no means the whole story as there was strength elsewhere. The data seem totally at odds with the survey evidence and with consumer confidence standing at an 18-year low. Although the CBI and BRC surveys had indicated there had been some pick up in retail sales in May after muted performances in April and March, they did not suggest that growth was anything like this. Furthermore, the Bank of England's agents reported in June that consumption growth had eased further, and was at its weakest pace since the autumn of 2005." (The Herald)
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FOOD, DRINK & AGRICULTURE
Loch Fyne Oysters secure English base
Loch Fyne Oysters are set to complete a move for Surrey-based Simson's Fisheries after an 18-month search for a base in the south of England. The deal is expected to give the firm access to a wider range of white fish and will also increase distribution possibilities in the huge south-east England market. Under the terms of the deal, Simson's director Tim Lucas and Richard Organ will stay on with the firm as will the 45 staff members employed by the company which buys in fish caught off the south coast of England and southern Europe. Loch Fyne Oysters managing director Bruce Davidson welcomed the deal: "It gives us access to more species. It also gets us closer to our customers. Loch Fyne is beautiful but it is not the most accessible place." (The Herald)
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MEDIA & LEISURE
Golf plan gets first stage go-ahead
Aberdeenshire Council has given the green light to a plan for 230 houses on the Ury Estate near Stonehaven. The housing development is the first stage in plans for a £40 million Jack Nicklaus-backed golf development on the site and was voted through unanimously by the local authority's infrastructure committee. The scheme will also help fund the restoration of Ury House. (BBC Scotland Online)
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TECHNOLOGY
Factonomy finds £1 million funding
East Lothian software company Factonomy is planning an expansion after securing nearly £1 million in second round funding. The firm is currently licensing products it claims will dramatically reduce the cost of developing IT applications and has secured £860,000 from investors including Sigma Innovation Fund which kicked in £300,000. Barwell, Tri Capital and Scottish Enterprise's co-investment fund have also invested in the firm which plans to use the cash to expand its sales and marketing functions and take on more staff. Chief executive Geoff Kell commented: "We were aiming for £1 million so £860,000 is a good approximation. It gives us the wherewithal to grow fast." (The Scotsman)
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TRANSPORT
Bus firm back on track
Alexander Dennis, the Falkirk bus maker, has bounced back from a fall in pre-tax profits. The group has announced it has secured a large bus order for Britain and Ireland and is pushing ahead with an innovative scheme to ship vehicles to Hong Kong. The Arriva order will see 200 new buses delivered over the next 12 months and is believed to be worth more than £30 million to the company, which booked a near £4 million fall in profits in December 31 2007. The Herald has also claimed that Dennis is on the verge of securing a deal which will see it shipping kits from Falkirk to the Chinese mainland for assembly. Chief executive Colin Robertson said: "We have increased our manufacturing capacity by 50 per cent in the last year. We are on course to grow revenue by 30 per cent in 2008. We have significant new orders from our home and export markets and have confirmed we are going to build our business in China and are exploring our options in the United States." (The Herald)
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PROPERTY
Ravenscraig to host 'future homes'
An 'innovative park' of four homes incorporating the latest in green technology is to be built on the site of the former Ravenscraig steelworks. The Building Research Establishment hopes to channel more than £2 million of new technology investment into the project which they intend to influence the future of housing development north of the Border. BRE Scotland has given construction companies until June 26 to express an interest in the project which should be completed by 2010. Director of Ravenscraig Ltd Jim Fitzsimons commented: "We want Ravenscraig to be a showcase of health, wealth and vitality, where cutting-edge design and technology in our buildings will promote a sense of wellbeing. It is a tremendous endorsement of our ambition that BRE have chosen Ravenscraig as the location for their Scottish innovation park. We have already insisted that the house to be built at Ravenscraig must adhere to some of the strictest environmental guidelines in the country. We look forward to those being created on the innovation park spotlighting the path the construction industry will follow in the years to come." (BBC Scotland Online)
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