Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Future of Aberdeen’s job-boosting Net Zero Technology Centre ‘must be secured’
The UK Labour government is facing calls to secure the future of a key North Sea innovation hub based in Aberdeen.
The Net Zero Technology Centre was created in 2017 to support the North Sea energy industry and accelerate the transition to net zero.
It formed part of the Aberdeen City Region Deal and was backed with £180million of UK and Scottish government funding – which ends in March 2027.
Read the full story in the P&J.
UK driverless cars unlikely until 2027 - but Uber says it's ready now
Uber has said it is "ready to go" now with driverless taxis in the UK - but the government has put back the date it expects to approve fully self-driving vehicles.
The previous administration, said fully autonomous cars were "set to be on roads by 2026", but the new government says it is now more likely to happen in the second half of 2027.
While limited self-driving technology is already permitted on UK roads, a human driver must be at the wheel and responsible for the vehicle, even if automated technology is being used.
Santander UK freezes salaries and cuts jobs in commercial banking arm
Santander UK is freezing salaries, slashing bonuses and cutting jobs across its commercial banking arm as part of a wider shake-up that could help make the bank more attractive to potential buyers.
The bank began unexpectedly changing bankers’ job titles and shuffling staff into new teams earlier this month amid a larger review of the Spanish lender’s UK business, where there is mounting frustration over regulations and costs.
The moves, and the abrupt way they were communicated, have upset bankers, many of whom have been forced into teams where the pay ranges are up to 25% lower than before.
Click here to read more.
Debt load of businesses seeking finance is double pre-Covid level
The indebtedness of businesses seeking finance is more than double the pre-pandemic level, a study of thousands of loan applications has found.
The average debt-to-turnover ratio of small companies seeking loans “appears to have settled”, a report by Funding Xchange concluded, but at a level that undermines many businesses’ chances of securing finance.
Access to finance remains “stubbornly below” pre-2020 levels, particularly for working capital, the company’s quarterly lending monitor found.