Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
First UK-based firm gets space launch licence
A Scottish company has become the first UK-based rocket firm to receive a space launch licence.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) licence allows Skyrora to launch from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland.
If a future launch is successful, the company could become the first British company to manufacture and launch a rocket into space from the UK.
Click here to read more.
River Island fails to win landlord backing for restructuring
River Island’s proposed restructuring has been left hanging in the balance after it failed to win backing from all creditor groups in a crucial vote.
The 76-year-old fashion retailer won backing from about 80% of its creditors by value under a court-supervised vote on Friday. However, The Times understands that not all creditor classes approved the plan, which means the final approval rests on a judge’s ruling at a sanction hearing on Thursday.
Under restructuring rules, at least 75% support was required from each creditor class, including landlords, trade creditors and business rate authorities, for a plan to be automatically sanctioned.
Britain has lost 1,100 pubs and restaurants since Budget
Britain has lost more than 1,100 pubs and restaurants since Rachel Reeves’s Budget, underlining the devastating impact of the Chancellor’s tax raid on the hospitality sector.
Bars, restaurants, clubs and pubs are closing at a rate of two every day according to new figures from data providers CGA and AlixPartners, with 1,122 venues shutting since last October alone.
Graeme Smith, of AlixPartners, said: “After a period of relative stability for pub and restaurant businesses last year, the first half of 2025 has proved more challenging, with the net closure rate increasing again – the big question for hospitality is what happens from here.”
Read more in The Telegraph.
Tesla awards boss Elon Musk $29bn in shares
Tesla has granted its chief executive Elon Musk $29billion (£21.7bn) worth of its shares, in an attempt to keep the billionaire at the firm.
The move comes after a US court struck down his 2018 pay package, worth more than $50billion, ruling that it was "unfair to shareholders".
Musk has been appealing against the decision made by the Delaware court in 2024 and on Monday Tesla told shareholders it was "confident" that the $29billion of shares "will incentivize Elon to remain at Tesla" especially as "the war for AI talent is intensifying".