Business Gateway has announced that nominations are open for its annual staff Impact Awards. The awards celebrate exemplary service, commitment and impact made by Business Gateway staff in supporting business owners across the country. Last year’s awards saw eight advisers recognised for their outstanding contribution to the local business community.  Nominations are being sought from smes and business owners who have benefited from the service and would like to acknowledge t

Sephra Popcorn, based in Kirkcaldy, has ended the year with a new deal, with Scotmid. The firm’s popcorn is now available in 145 Scotmid stores in Scotland, including 68 in Edinburgh.  Other retailer stockists to date include Morrisons, SPAR, RS McColl and Asda.  All of the 145 Scotmid stores are now stocking flavours such as sticky toffee pudding and gingerbread, in 200g tubs. In 118 of the stores, 140g tubs of both Sephra’s sweet and salty, and its sweet flavour are availab

An Edinburgh-based biologist-turned-entrepreneur has combined ancient fermentation techniques with modern biotechnology to create a non-alcoholic fermented drink, free from artificial sweeteners, flavours or preservatives. Quas Drinks, founded by Dr Anton Puzorjov, produces kvass – a traditional Slavic beverage made from rye and barley. Drawing on his PhD in biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh and supported by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC),

The Edinburgh Boiler Company (EBC) is targeting growth by acquisition as it prepares for its next stage of expansion. The firm is on track to post a record turnover of £10m for its latest set of accounts with a successful transition into renewables underpinning another strong financial performance. However, rather than relax after what will be record growth for the third year running, its leadership team is already laying ambitious foundations for the coming 12 months – and a

The next annual British Business Awards ceremony will take place on 30 April 2026, at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. The aim is to again raise a minimum of £1m for Edinburgh homelessness charity, Social Bite.  The 2025 awards featured a performance from Sting and keynote speech from Sir Bob Geldof. The next event will include a special guest appearance and conversation with award-winning actor and humanitarian, George Clooney. He will attend both the awards ce

Heritage Portfolio, part of Sodexo Live! has announced the extension of its partnership with The Signet Library, for a further 12 years. The partnership has been in place for more than 25 years to date. The new contract includes investment from Heritage Portfolio to enhance the historic building. The upgrades include the installation of a new lift, which will provide step-free access to the building's Upper Library event space for the first time. Work will begin in spring 202

New research from Business Gateway has revealed that 55 per cent of Scottish smes anticipate growth in their business over the next year. The findings came from the second annual Business Baseline survey, which gathered responses from over 500 smes, entrepreneurs and business owners across Scotland. The objective of the survey is to gain insight into the opportunities and challenges faced by Scottish businesses, as well as the types of support they may require. Two new questi

The cream of local businesses has been recognised at the West Lothian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Excellence Awards 2025. More than 150 guests attended the ceremony, where Capital Service Solutions Group won the ‘best business of the year’ award. The firm delivers services across Scotland and England from its West Lothian HQ, where it employs more than 170 local staff supporting clients in health care, life sciences, education, hospitality and manufacturing. Congratulating

Leith-based, independent whisky business, Tailored Spirits has launched the latest four releases, in its ‘Experimental Series’.   The firm specialises in Scotch whisky and premium spirits, working with private clients and businesses worldwide to source, mature, design and bottle luxury whiskies and other spirits.  The Experimental Series invites whisky drinkers to explore the diverse flavours of Scotland’s most characterful distilleries through limited-edition micro-releases,

Thermapply, a specialist in engineered anti-slip surface systems, has successfully completed the first phase of a major project to enhance both safety and aesthetics at Scottish Gas Murrayfield stadium, the home of Scottish Rugby. The project saw the installation of the firm’s patented anti-slip, stadium-stairs system, Thermagrip, across multiple key areas of the stadium, including the royal box, player access routes and spectator steps, ahead of Scotland’s opening match in t

The 2025 European Hotel Industry and Investment survey by Deloitte has revealed that London is the most attractive city for hotel investment in Europe in the year ahead. It also found that Edinburgh remains the most attractive regional UK city for investment for a fifth consecutive year. The Scottish capital was ranked most attractive by over half (54 per cent) of respondents, followed by Cambridge (41 per cent).  Oxford and Manchester took third and fourth place respectively

Entries for the 2025 Scottish Excellence Awards, which showcase hospitality-industry achievements, close at midnight on Friday 21 November.   Winners will be revealed at a gala dinner on 26 March 2026, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa, Edinburgh. The initiative, which originally launched in 2004 as the CIS Excellence Awards, is a celebration of Scotland's hospitality, food service and tourism sectors. From outstanding chefs, restaurants, hospitality educators and hotels, to

TheBusinessDesk.com has launched the Scotland Business of the Year Awards to recognise the country’s most successful and ambitious businesses. The awards, which are sponsored by PwC, are now open for entries, with a deadline of Friday 16 January. TheBusinessDesk.com already runs Business of the Year awards in five English regions. There are 13 categories of awards, spanning businesses of all sizes and sectors, including fast-growth business, international trade, investment

Chartered accounting and business-advisory firm, Saffery, is continuing its expansion in Edinburgh, after appointing 15 new team members across its corporate tax, accounting and audit divisions. In its corporate-tax team, Saffery has appointed Louise Anderson as senior manager and Aimee O’Hara-Wilson as manager. Sophie Murray joins as a tax assistant. George Dickson and Oliver Kelly join the firm’s audit division as senior associates and Max Venditti has been appointed as an

Scotland’s first dedicated district-heating education centre has been established at the Energy Training Academy (ETA) in Edinburgh. A purpose-built conference and events facility, the heat-network suite is a dedicated area which will be used to help educate people on the benefits of district-heat networks. Located on the second floor of the academy, the suite can accommodate more than 60 people.  It complements the gas and renewables industry training already available at th

Law firm Burges Salmon has advised CNG Fuels Ltd (CNG Fuels), Europe’s largest supplier of 100 per cent renewable biomethane to the transport industry, in securing a £25m five-year debt facility from The Foresight Group. The funding, alongside operational cash flow, will enable the construction of three new high-capacity, bio-CNG refuelling stations, supporting CNG Fuels’ strategy to double its UK-wide dispensing capacity by the end of 2028. Part-owned by Oslo-listed ReFuels

Holyrood PR has strengthened its senior team   with the appointment of two communications professionals from a fellow Edinburgh agency. The move sees Annie Diamond and Roddy Scott join the firm, following a record year of growth. Both bring decades of experience across journalism, higher education, events and agency leadership. Annie joins as associate director, following six years in a leadership role at another PR agency, where she led award-winning campaigns. She will also

Accountability Edinburgh is hoping to complete a memorable year with success at the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Impact Awards. The firm has been shortlisted in three categories – Practice of the Year, Digital Finance Pioneer and Bookkeeper of the Year. Winners will be announced at a gala ceremony in London today (Friday 7 November). The firm recently landed a hat-trick of prestigious awards. As well as being crowned Bookkeeping Partner of the Year for the seco

Judging is underway for this year’s Business Excellence Awards run by the West Lothian Chamber of Commerce. The final nominations came in last week, with the winners to be announced at a gala dinner at the Macdonald Houstoun House Hotel, Uphall, on Friday 28 November. The awards showcase organisations that have achieved business excellence across all the categories. Joint headline sponsors for the 2025 awards are DYW (Developing the Young Workforce) West Lothian Regional Grou

Funding-solutions specialist, UMi, has announced a UK-wide roadshow, ‘FUEL’, to help businesses understand, prepare for and access the finance they need to fuel their growth or overcome cashflow hurdles. The first of the events will be held in Edinburgh, at Murrayfield Stadium, on 28 January.  The roadshows will bring together funders and experts to support local business leaders from different industries, commercial backgrounds and disciplines to help them identify what type