Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Fortnum & Mason plots first UK stores outside London
Fortnum & Mason is plotting its first UK stores outside of London after a surge in customer demand for regular top-ups of luxury teas, biscuits and jam.
Tom Athron, the chief of the luxury retailer, said he would be interested in opening stores “up the spine of the country”, adding: “We do like the idea of stepping beyond Piccadilly [where it has its flagship store], and certainly stepping beyond London.”
Fortnum & Mason currently only has four UK stores – including at St Pancras station, a “tea salon” in London and Heathrow Terminal 5, as well as one site in Hong Kong.
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Sainsburys and Morrisons told to stop tobacco ads
The government has written to Sainsbury's and Morrisons asking them to stop "advertising and promoting" heated tobacco products, which it says is against the law.
The BBC reported in February the supermarkets were displaying posters and video screens showing devices which create a nicotine-containing vapour by heating tobacco with an electric current.
At the time, both supermarkets said they believed the adverts were legal.
Son of Estee Lauder, who took the brand global, dies aged 92
Leonard Lauder, the businessman who built Estee Lauder into one of the world's biggest cosmetic makers, has died aged 92.
Lauder joined his parents' company in 1958 and served as chief executive for 17 years. He was an accomplished dealmaker and bought brands including Clinique, Bobbi Brown and MAC. The New York-born billionaire had an estimated fortune of $10.1billion (£7.5bn), according to the 2025 Forbes rich list.
Lauder passed away on Saturday surrounded by his family, said Estee Lauder in a statement.
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Retail giants ‘face £600m bill’ as new business rates bite
Britain’s biggest supermarkets and shops in London’s West End are expected to be hit hardest by a £600million surge in property taxes next year.
Government reforms of business rates, due to take effect next April, will disproportionately hit larger stores with a valuation above £500,000, according to analysis by Colliers, the property agents.
The reforms, which are intended to save the high street, will lower the business rates multiplier for smaller retail, hospitality and leisure properties from next year — but will fund the cut by increasing the multiplier on larger commercial properties across all sectors.
Ivy owner apologises for demanding discounts from suppliers
Richard Caring has apologised to suppliers of his restaurant businesses after a letter was sent out informing them there would be a “mandatory” 2.5% cut to their invoices.
Caring’s restaurant empire, which includes The Ivy Collection and Bills, wrote to suppliers earlier this month telling them that “to ensure our business can remain strong” a 2.5% “discount” would be applied to their accounts.
After suppliers baulked at the unilateral demand for a discount, Caring told The Times that the letter had not been approved and apologised for it, adding that it was “totally incorrect”.