What I've been working on this past month...
For those who have been around long enough to recall what it all might mean, November saw a few interesting developments in the "old skool" of Scottish business.
The month kicked off with the news that Souter Investments has taken a majority shareholding in a business that used to make up part of the business empire of another contemporary of Stagecoach co-founder Sir Brian Souter. The family office of Souter Investments took a majority shareholding in Premier Hytemp, a provider of metal and precision engineering services to the energy sector.
READ MORE: Souter family acquires former Murray steel business
The business has a total of 120 staff with operations in Singapore, Malaysia and its facility in Edinburgh’s Newbridge Industrial Estate. The Souter family is backing Premier Hytemp chief executive Mohit Sreen in a management buy-out of the business, though exact terms of the deal, including the transaction price, were not disclosed.
Formerly part of the mini-conglomerate controlled by Sir David Murray, Premier Hytemp was sold by Murray International Holdings (MIH) in 2012 in a £34.5 million management buyout backed by Edinburgh-based private equity firm Dunedin. The business was formed in 2008 when Sir David's Premier Alloys, established in 1985, acquired Sheffield-based Hillfoot Steel.
Only a few days later it was announced that Glasgow’s Intelligent Capital is set to become part of the Adam & Co private banking operation based in Edinburgh following its acquisition by Canadian giant Canaccord Genuity.
In a late afternoon announcement to coincide with the start of trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canaccord announced that it had acquired Intelligent Capital for an undisclosed sum via its UK wealth management business. The Glasgow operation, which has 17 employees and £220 million in client assets, will operate under the Adam & Co brand going forward.
READ MORE: Glasgow's Intelligent Capital joins the fold at Adam & Co
The investment management business of Adam & Co, which was established in Edinburgh in 1983, was acquired by Canaccord from NatWest Group in a £54m deal that completed in October 2021. The sale included the Adam & Co name, but not its banking and lending operations which remained with NatWest and were absorbed into its Coutts & Co private banking business.
Another Scottish business stalwart, Scottish Gas, unveiled plans in the middle of November to recruit an additional 350 people at its call centre in Edinburgh to provide more localised assistance to customers struggling to pay their bills as the UK heads into the harsh winter months.
The company, a subsidiary of energy giant Centrica, said the roles will all be in post by the end of this year with continuing hiring taking place in January as part of a campaign to move all its call centre operations to the UK. In total, Centrica said it is hiring more than 700 people across its customers service centres in Edinburgh, Leeds, Cardiff, Stockport and Leicester.
READ MORE: Scottish Gas recruits 350 staff to help struggling customers
Like others across the industry, Scottish Gas experienced a spike in call volumes during last winter's energy crisis that has led to a boom in profits for the major domestic suppliers.
Centrica, which also owns British Gas and supplies more than 10 million residential and business customers, posted its highest-ever first-half profits of £969 million in the first six months of this year. That came on top of record annual profits of £3.3 billion for 2022.
READ MORE: Glasgow welcomes new zero-deposit rentals
It subsequently emerged that the energy price cap set by industry regulator Ofgem is set to increase by 5% from January, putting further financial pressure on billpayers at the coldest time of the year. This leaves customers in arrears from last winter’s spike in energy prices particularly vulnerable.
It’s therefore no surprise to hear that a deposit-free family rental neighbourhood in Glasgow has been overwhelmed with enquiries after welcoming its first residents.
Located in the Springboig, Glasgow, Casa Vista Park will eventually comprise 156 homes under the single-family housing (SFH) model, a relatively new concept in the UK in which developers own and operate neighbourhoods in suburban locations. The 6.5 hectare neighbourhood is the city's first of its kind from Casa by Moda, a division of Yorkshire-headquartered development group Moda.
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