Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
King Charles reveals he paid £12.9m in tax for 2024-25
King Charles has disclosed he paid £12.9m in tax for 2024-2025 - becoming the first monarch to reveal their tax bill.
The level of tax paid by the King puts him in the top 100 of UK taxpayers.
The Prince of Wales declared he paid £7.76m tax over the same period, the figures in the annual royal report and accounts show.
Read more on the BBC website.
Pittodrie Bar outdoor seating and Cineworld booze fears as new licences debated in Aberdeen
Outdoor drinking areas, bewilderment over beer caves and fears over alcohol being sold at Cineworld were all topics of discussion at a recent Aberdeen licensing meeting.
Members of the city council’s licensing board met this week to work through a lengthy agenda featuring various venues across the Granite City.
The Press and Journal has picked out some highlights in this Aberdeen licensing round-up, including popular bars, restaurants and even a cinema.
Read more here.
Latest drone images show futuristic Aberdeen Beach playpark coming to life
Aberdeen Beach has burst into life this week with scenes reminiscent of its glory days as the popular Silver City with the Golden Sands tourist mecca.
And city leaders are hopeful that it will soon be more than just the sunny weather drawing the crowds down to the seafront.
As part of a major multi-million-pound masterplan, work is now nearing completion on a playpark and events area stretching between Codona’s and the Beach Ballroom.
The P&J has been following the project in some depth, and its drone photographer Kenny Elrick this week took to the skies to get the latest images of the destination as construction continues.
Check out the images here.
New boss at Waterstones Barnes & Noble fuels listing speculation
The City heavyweight Michael Roney has been appointed chairman of Waterstones Barnes & Noble as speculation builds over a possible listing in London this year.
The American fund manager Elliott Management is said to be gearing up to float the holding company that owns the two booksellers either in London or New York. The British capital is believed to be the frontrunner.
Roney, 71, has served as chairman of Next, the FTSE 100 clothing and homeware chain, since 2017, and is also a non-executive director of Brown-Forman Corporation, the American spirits and wine business.
Find out more in The Times.
Apple raises iPad and Mac prices as chip crisis bites
Apple has raised prices of iPads and Macs by about a fifth worldwide, saying it can no longer afford to absorb an unprecedented rise in the cost of memory chips fuelled by demand from artificial intelligence companies.
Apple said: “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly. We have shielded our customers from these increases so far, but we have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products.”
The MacBook Neo, which launched at £599 in March to take on cheaper Windows and Chromebook laptops, was yesterday being sold “from £699”. Similar rises have been introduced for the rest of its iPad and Mac line-up, as well as smart-home devices and Vision Pro virtual reality headsets. The iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch were unaffected.
Read more in The Times.
EasyJet rejects fourth offer but opens books to US suitor
Easyjet has knocked back a fourth takeover offer from its North American suitors, this time for 650p a share, which values the low-cost airline at more than £4.9billion.
The short-haul airline said, however, it would partially open up its books to the bidders, led by the US fund Castlelake, backed by the giant Canadian investment house Brookfield, in the hope that they might improve the offer.
After two non-binding, conditional indicative offers in the past fortnight priced at 560p and 600p, Castlelake had a third for 625p rejected at the weekend and went hostile, appealing directly to easyJet’s shareholders to support their bid.
Get the full article on The Times website.