Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Oil & gas decommissioning firm ‘due to close’
A Scottish oil and gas decommissioning company is threatened with closure because of a slowdown in orders.
Livingston-based Cesscon Decom, is said have had its bank account frozen and has not paid staff since May, according to The Scotsman.
Andrew Bell, Scotland organiser for the GMB trade union, said its 20 employees were told in an email from director Lee Hanlon that the firm had received a petition to liquidate the business.
The firm was suffering from a shortage of decommissioning work and the postponement of projects, said Mr Hanlon, which had put the company “in this very difficult position which has now been taken out of our hands”.
Click here to read more in Daily Business.
Britain’s gas imports surge, according to new data
Britain’s imports of gas have surged as Ed Miliband’s shutdown of the North Sea triggers a slump in production.
Government figures published on Thursday show imports jumped by 20% between January and March just as North Sea gas output plummeted 6.9pc. The fall comes as the Energy Secretary’s rise in windfall taxes and ban on new drilling begin to bite.
The revelations come just days after Donald Trump lambasted Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Miliband for imposing a 78pc windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas profits and for banning new drilling.
Click here to read more in The Telegraph.
Business confidence worse than during Covid
Business confidence has plunged to an all-time low to surpass the pandemic and Liz Truss’s mini-Budget after Rachel Reeves unleashed record taxes on employers.
Bosses said they were “frustrated” that the Chancellor had hit businesses with a barrage of cost increases while failing to improve the economic backdrop.
The survey published by the Institute of Directors (IoD) showed the share of business leaders reporting they were pessimistic about the economic outlook exceeded those who were optimistic by 72%.
Click here to read more in The Telegraph
Car finance compensation landmark ruling due
A ruling by the UK's most senior judges later could pave the way for millions of motorists to claim compensation for motor finance mis-selling.
The Supreme Court will decide whether or not to uphold an earlier ruling which found that hidden commission payments to car dealers were unlawful.
Around nine in 10 new cars are bought on finance, so a decision could lead to billions of pounds being claimed by people who bought cars over many years.
But the industry says it did nothing wrong, leaving lenders, drivers and the government waiting for clarity from the Supreme Court later.
Click here to read more on BBC News.