Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
FirstGroup agrees £48m sale of rail software business
FirstGroup has agreed to sell its rail software subsidiary Mistral Data Services to Tracsis for an enterprise value of £48 million, with the cash sale expected to complete by 31 October, subject to regulatory approval.
The transport group said the disposal would reduce First Rail's FY2027 adjusted operating profit by around £4 million but increase expected free cash generation to around £435 million over the next three years.
Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup chief executive, said: "The sale of Mistral Data, which we have successfully grown into an attractive, high-quality asset, is another example of our ability to create and realise value as the UK transport sector evolves. The sale proceeds will further strengthen our balance sheet, supporting continued growth in attractive UK bus and rail markets and meaningful returns to our shareholders."
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Saudi Arabia joins US in strikes on Iran-backed militia
Saudi Arabia has joined the US in carrying out strikes against an Iran-backed militia in Iraq - in a potential escalation of the Middle East conflict.
US Central Command (Centcom) said the strikes were against "Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure".
The statement did not name the militia. However, the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) said at least 10 of its members had been killed.
Read the full article on the BBC website
Building once known as 'first hotel in Scotland' to become business hub
Plans to convert a building once known as "the first hotel in Scotland" into a business hub have been approved.
The Greens Hotel in Gretna - formerly known as the Garden House Hotel - was used for years for weddings and tourist accommodation. It was called the first hotel in Scotland due to its position close to the border.
The hotel ceased trading due to the impact of the Covid pandemic but reopened briefly as a restaurant in 2023, before closing again in the face of worsening economic conditions and the cost of living crisis.
Read more from the BBC
Apple touches $5trn as tech stocks recover from sell-off
Apple briefly broke through the $5 trillion stock market valuation level on Tuesday, joining Nvidia as the only two public companies in history to reach this threshold, as big technology stocks recovered from a sell-off over fears about overspending on AI and growing competition from China.
After reaching the milestone, shares in the iPhone-maker closed up $3.17, or 0.9 per cent, at $340.08 with a market capitalisation of $4.99 trillion, while Nvidia came back from Monday’s 5 per cent drop with a gain of $0.82, or 0.4 per cent, to $197.33 and a value of $4.77 trillion.
The fall in Nvidia’s stock had spooked investors in the Asia Pacific, with South Korea’s Kospi index dropping more than 10 per cent to a three-month low on Tuesday, with chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung among the biggest losers. The steep decline triggered a “circuit breaker” as the Kospi headed for its largest monthly loss on record, surpassing declines suffered during the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
Read more in The Times.
Energy watchdog to clamp down on data centre projects joining grid
Ofgem has proposed clamping down on the explosion in data centre projects across Britain amid concerns about how much energy they will demand from the electricity grid.
There has been growing backlash in parts of the country about the wave of proposals to build data centres to power the artificial intelligence revolution, including in Scotland.
The energy regulator proposed charging a fee of between £237,500 to £712,500 per megawatt for projects that want to connect to the grid. Data centre projects would have to hit milestones during their development to keep their place in the queue to connect to the grid.
Find out more in The Times.