Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Good Morning Scotland to be replaced with ‘pacey’ news show
BBC Radio Scotland has axed its flagship show, which has been running for more than 50 years, after conceding that “audience habits change”.
Good Morning Scotland first aired on Hogmanay 1973 and became the longest-running and most-listened-to show on the station.
Earlier this month The Times reported that the programme, which ran from 6am to 9am on weekdays, was set to be dropped permanently as part of a shake-up of Radio Scotland’s output. The national broadcaster initially declined to comment, but confirmed the change on Tuesday morning.
ChatGPT firm hits $500bn in profit shake-up
OpenAI has finalised a restructuring plan with its external shareholder Microsoft that values the ChatGPT maker at $500billion and clears the way for it to become a for-profit business.
Under the deal OpenAI, which was founded as a research-focused non-profit business in 2015, will take on a more investor-friendly structure to allow it to raise capital. A non-profit called the OpenAI Foundation will hold equity in the company’s for-profit arm.
Microsoft, which first invested in OpenAI in 2019, will own a 27% stake in the restructured artificial intelligence company worth about $135billion, the companies said on Tuesday.
SFA to close performance schools in youth football review
The Scottish FA is closing its performance schools following a youth development review.
The system, which has been in operation since 2012, sees young players receive elite training alongside their normal schooling and has kickstarted the careers of Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour, Everton defender Nathan Patterson and Crystal Palace's Emma Watson.
However, it is understood the decision to close the schools, including the programme at Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen, has partly been taken due to a lack of talent coming through the ranks.
Ben & Jerry's co-founder says Unilever blocked Palestine-themed ice cream
The co-founder of ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's says that its parent company Unilever blocked it from launching an ice cream flavour that expressed "solidarity with Palestine".
Ben Cohen announced that he will independently create the new flavour as part of a personal series highlighting causes the company has been barred from addressing publicly.
Ben & Jerry's is known for its activism on social issues and has consistently spoken out on political, environmental and humanitarian matters - including the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The BBC has contacted Unilever for comment.
Irish racing tycoons sell UK care homes group for £5.2bn
Three of Ireland’s wealthiest men have sold their British care homes group for more than £5billion to the world’s largest real estate investment trust.
JP McManus and John Magnier, the horse racing tycoons, and their business partner Dermot Desmond, Celtic FC’s largest shareholder, have sold Barchester Healthcare, the largest operator of care homes in the UK, to Welltower, the American real estate investment trust that invests in healthcare infrastructure, for £5.2 billion.
While Welltower is keeping Barchester’s management team, The Times understands that the three billionaire shareholders, who also own the Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados together, will no longer be involved in the business.
Read the full story in The Times.