Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Sport Aberdeen ‘under inquiry’ by charities watchdog
Crisis-hit Sport Aberdeen is under investigation by the charities watchdog, The P&J can reveal.
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (Oscr) has confirmed an inquiry has been opened into the publicly funded city leisure operator.
It comes after six months of turmoil and leadership uncertainty at the council’s arms-length external organisation, set up to run Aberdeen’s public leisure and sports centres.
Taxpayers provide around £4million of annual funding to the charity, which runs around 30 venues across Aberdeen. Now the watchdog has escalated the attention it is giving to Sport Aberdeen.
Read the exclusive on the P&J website.
Saudi Aramco chief says Iran war could disrupt oil until next year
Disruption to global oil markets from the Iran war could extend into next year unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened imminently, according to the world’s largest oil company.
Amin Nasser, the chief executive of Saudi Aramco, said the world had lost about one billion barrels of oil over the past two months, after the start of the Middle East war in late February.
While the state-owned Saudi petroleum and gas company has been able to redirect some oil via its east-west pipeline to the Red Sea to bypass the strait, global oil supplies have been strained. Nasser said that if the crucial trade waterway was not reopened soon, the disruption to markets would get progressively worse.
Netflix and Amazon Prime subscribers to ‘pay TV licence fee’
Netflix and Amazon Prime subscribers could be forced to pay the TV licence fee under plans to safeguard the future of the BBC.
Industry sources involved in the discussions told The Times that the government was wary of moving towards a model funded by advertising or subscriptions.
It is instead thought to favour an expansive approach, retaining the licence fee while extending it to cover streaming platforms.
Plans to turn Aberdeen’s Commerce House into private GP practice approved
Plans to convert the historic Commerce House near Aberdeen harbour into a private GP practice have been given the go-ahead.
Aberdeen-based property developer Cromdale unveiled proposals to bring the “striking” former Commerce Street School back to life earlier this year.
International Workplace Group will operate the practice once it’s up and running, making it the firm’s first Scottish site for its “Humanly” health brand.