Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
UK announces first Middle East repatriation flight
The UK government has chartered a repatriation flight from Oman to help British nationals who want to leave the Middle East, as attacks continue to take place across the region.
The flight, the first specifically arranged by the UK government, is currently scheduled to leave Muscat International Airport on Wednesday night at 23:00 local time (19:00 GMT) - and will prioritise the most vulnerable people first.
British nationals and their spouse or partner, and their children under the age of 18, will all be eligible.
Union Street: £500k war chest to back six-point plan to fill up empty shops
A retail savant who pitched a plan to restore Union Street trading to “almost pre-Covid levels” will be signed up to deliver on his promise.
Aberdeen City Council is poised to fund half of Jonathan De Mello’s fee as the SNP and Lib Dems continue work to fill up empty shops. The shopping specialist recently set out his six-point plan to bring jingling tills back to Aberdeen city centre, which “obviously impressed” the council’s finance chief Alex McLellan.
Alongside this, council chiefs hope an extra £500,000 can help fill bigger empty units on the Granite Mile over the next two years.
TRNSMT changes set times to show Scotland world cup match
Scotland's most popular music festival will bring forward the set time of their headliner so revellers can watch Scotland play in the World Cup.
TRNSMT's Friday headliner Richard Ashcroft will take to the stage earlier than planned so fans can stay behind to catch kick-off for the Scotland v Morocco game at 23:00.
Festival organisers say the "largest screens in the country" will be in Glasgow Green to show the match.
Government no longer backs business, says Asda chief
The Government has become “more and more difficult” to deal with and less supportive of business, the chairman of Asda has said.
Allan Leighton said that decisions made in Westminster were having a bigger impact on companies than when he first ran the supermarket in the 1990s.
Mr Leighton, who is the executive chairman of Britain’s fourth largest supermarket, said when he last led Asda in the 1990s, the Labour Party had gone “out of their way to try to engage with businesses”, but that today the environment was “less helpful”.
Reeves says her plan is working as growth forecast cut for this year
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said her economic plan is working in an "uncertain" world, although the growth estimate for the UK has been lowered for this year.
The government's official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), cut its expected growth rate for 2026 to 1.1% from the 1.4% it predicted in last year's Budget, but has upgraded estimates for later years.
Reeves announced the figures in her Spring Statement, adding the OBR now expected inflation to be lower this year than previously thought.
Greggs doubles down on store expansion despite fall in profits
The chief executive of Greggs has doubled down on the bakery chain’s expansion plans despite reporting a sharp drop in profits and slowing sales growth in the new financial year.
The company has been dogged by slower sales since the middle of 2024, which it has put down to a weak consumer backdrop. This was compounded by last year’s summer heatwave which curbed demand for the company’s sausage rolls and steak bakes that led to a profit warning in July.
Roisin Currie, the chief executive of the Newcastle-based chain, said that while “easing inflationary pressures” should boost consumer spending this year, she expected consumer confidence “to continue to be a headwind”.