Notice: The Chamber's documentation and customs declaration services announce festive opening hours. Click here to view.

Here are the top business stories making the headlines in the morning newspapers.

Insolvency experts called in

Aberdeen-headquartered Awilco Drilling has appointed insolvency experts for one of its subsidiaries after losing a £6.8million case against HMRC.

Energy Voice says Awilco has been in a long-running tax dispute linked to the termination of a contract for the WilHunter rig in 2015.

After losing its latest appeal in December, the company has decided not to proceed with a further challenge.

Its subsidiary, WilHunter (UK) "is not in a position to fund a further appeal nor is it in a position to settle the tax liability that has now fallen due", it said.

HMRC has been advised and the subsidiary has appointed insolvency partners to begin a liquidation process.

Awilco Drilling said the tax liability of £6.8million has been reflected in full in the subsidiary company and is also reflected as a liability of the consolidated group.

Job losses at Scottish energy supplier

More than 220 workers at oil and gas supplier OVO Energy's Perth office will take voluntary redundancy, local politicians have confirmed.

The BBC says the remainder of staff at the base, which employs about 700 people, will work from home.

Two sites in Edinburgh, one in Cumbernauld and another in Dunfermline will close, in addition to Perth.

Shop prices soar

Prices in shops rose at their fastest rate in over a decade in February, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) says.

Shop price inflation jumped from 1.5% in January to 1.8% in February, according to the BRC-NielsenIQ price index.

The BBC says it marks the highest rate of inflation it has recorded since November 2011.

The sharp rise was partly driven by fresh food price rises and higher prices for other goods such as beauty and furniture products.

Charm offensive for military firms

The British Government is planning to launch a charm offensive on behalf of military manufacturers amid fears ethical investing is posing a "fundamental risk to British sovereignty" in the wake of Russia's assault on Ukraine.

The Telegraph reports the Ministry of Defence and No 10 have begun discussions on how to support the defence industry as it comes under increasing pressure to avoid bidding for work managing nuclear weaponry and other defence resources from funds concerned about the ESG (ethical, social and governance) impact of their money.

The newspaper understands that the process is being led by Downing Street special adviser Sheridan Westlake, one of the longest-serving political appointees in Downing Street, having initially joined under David Cameron in 2015.

The action comes amid mounting concerns within the Ministry of Defence that the cost of procuring weapons is likely to rise as lenders vet customers to ensure they meet their ESG credentials, potentially undermining the UK's defences.

Cafes go at Sainsbury's

About 2,000 jobs are at risk after Sainsbury's revealed plans to close 200 in-store cafes.

The Telegraph says the supermarket told staff it was looking to shut most of the cafes in its supermarkets next month, affecting about 2,000 roles.

It said 67 Sainsbury's cafes would stay open while it reviewed the estate, and staff will be prioritised for vacancies in other parts of the company.

The closures are part of a wider shake-up within the stores, with Sainsbury's set to bring in more Starbucks cafes and food halls.

The retailer will open another 30 Starbucks stores in its supermarkets in the next year and a further 30 The Restaurant Hubs. They sell food and drink from chains including Carluccio's and Gourmet Burger Kitchen.

Backing for wave-power firm

Scottish wave-power firm Mocean Energy has secured major new investment to accelerate the commercial rollout of its flagship technology.

Energy Voice says the company has raised £730,000 of equity funding from existing backers - led by angel syndicate Equity Gap together with Old College Capital, Edinburgh University's in-house venture investment fund and Scottish Enterprise.

The cash will enable Mocean to advance the design of its Blue Star wave machine and drive its adoption in subsea oil and gas.

Last year, the Edinburgh-headquartered company successfully trialled its Blue X prototype at the European Wave Energy Centre in Orkney.

Work is currently ongoing with partners to advance a demonstrator project, dubbed Renewables for Subsea Power, to show how the technology can be coupled with underwater energy storage.

If successful, it could pave the way for providing green energy to subsea equipment and autonomous underwater vehicles.

More like this…

View all