Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
‘Why rally extravaganza will be BIGGER for Aberdeen than Tall Ships – with a major cash boost for hotels’
Aberdeen City Council’s top cash chief has spelled out why the World Rally Championship (WRC) could end up being bigger and better than the Tall Ships for the city.
Finance convenor Alex McLellan spoke to The P&J about how the world’s top off-roading action could bring a bumper boost to the local economy.
The WRC features events across four continents, and brought close to four million spectators to its stages across the world in 2024. If all goes to plan, it would be zooming into Aberdeen at some time in 2027 – launching at P&J Live with racers then haring across the North-east countryside.
Make-up brand Barry M bought by rival Warpaint
One of Britain's last family-run make-up brands has been bought out of administration by cosmetics rival, Warpaint.
Barry M, which was set up in north London in 1982 by Barry Mero, collapsed earlier this month. Inspired by the punks and New Romantics of that era, analysts said Barry M had struggled to continue innovating and been overtaken by competitors.
The £1.4million takeover by Warpaint will see the closure of Barry M's factory in the capital and puts 100 jobs at risk.
Millions invested into Ellon firm drilling for nickel and copper in Aberdeenshire
Millions of pounds have been invested in an Ellon firm exploring for nickel, copper and cobalt in Aberdeenshire.
Aberdeen Minerals is focusing on the area around its Arnrath project, believed to host the largest nickel deposit in the UK.
The North-east has been highlighted in the UK government’s 2025 Critical Minerals Strategy, which calls for developing domestic sources of critical raw materials to boost resilience and secure the country’s industrial future.
HSBC and Barclays face $12bn lawsuit over Epstein-linked trust
HSBC and Barclays are facing a $12billion lawsuit over a Jersey trust allegedly linked to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
The UK banks and related entities are among the defendants in a United States legal claim concerning La Hougue, a now defunct offshore trust business suspected of being at the heart of a large fraud.
Barclays and HSBC and certain subsidiaries, along with a trust business called Zedra, are accused by an American heiress and her husband of breach of trust and dishonest assistance tied to an alleged improper offshore transfer of assets via La Hougue.
UK gets another streaming service as HBO bets on Harry Potter series to win subscribers
Britons who want to watch the upcoming TV adaptation of Harry Potter and rewatch The Sopranos will be forced to fork out for yet another streaming service.
The Harry Potter series – which will premiere next year and run for a decade – will only be available on HBO Max, a new streaming service slated to launch in the UK and Ireland next month.
HBO confirmed Max will be available for a starting price of £4.99 per month for a basic package with adverts, rising to £14.99 for the premium tier.
Retail spending bounces back after disappointing in December
Retail spending accelerated over the past month as a “drab December gave way to a brighter January” that saw consumers take advantage of the new year sales, researchers said on Tuesday.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the sector lobby group, and KPMG, the consultancy, showed that retail sales increased by 2.7% on an annual basis in January, up from growth of just 1.2% in the previous month.
The BRC and KPMG said that the rise in consumption last month was driven by shoppers capitalising on post-Christmas discounts after a period of unusually weak spending over the festive period, which tends to be crucial for tipping retailers into profitability.
Wetherspoon boss backs Reform’s plan for pubs
JD Wetherspoon’s founder Sir Tim Martin has backed Reform UK’s plan to save pubs from soaring tax bills.
Sir Tim, who chairs the 800-pub chain, said Nigel Farage’s proposal to slash value added tax (VAT) would “utterly transform the competitiveness of pubs”.
He told the Telegraph: “On the tax issue, Reform is streets ahead. Its policies would increase employment and investment, especially in often derelict town centres and high streets – and would therefore be self-financing in the medium term.”
NatWest strikes £2.7bn deal for Evelyn Partners
NatWest has ditched expected plans to spend about £2billion on share buybacks over the next 18 months in order to fund the £2.7billion cash purchase of wealth manager Evelyn Partners.
Shares in Britain’s fourth-biggest bank slid by 6 per cent to close at 620p on Monday, wiping more than £3billion from its market value after the news emerged.
While it did announce one £750million buyback, NatWest said it would then not do any more until the interim results in the summer of 2027. Analysts had pencilled in a total of £2.7billion or £2.8billion in buybacks between now and then.