An island-based home fragrance and body care brand that usually supplies the hotel and hospitality industry with high-end bath and body care products is donating over £100,000 worth of its products to key workers this week.

It is hoped the care packages, being gifted to over 100 care homes, care in the community providers and hospitals throughout the country, will help lift workers' spirits, Arran Sense of Scotland said.

The company said with the travel sector "all but shut down, the team at decided to gift the miniature toiletries and trade supplies that would usually go to hotels and guest houses as a thank you".

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The company is distributing care packages made up of miniature shower gels, soaps and body lotions to care homes across the country.

About 38,000 units have been dispensed across Scottish care homes and hospitals.

A donation will also be sent to Age Scotland for the key workers at Age Scotland’s office in Edinburgh and in Age Scotland’s partner groups, including those running befriending services, food deliveries to elderly residents and care home staff.

Andrew Russell, of Arran Sense of Scotland said: "To say thank you for everything they’re doing during this difficult time, we would like key workers to enjoy a small gift from Arran Sense of Scotland as our way of saying thank you until they get the chance to enjoy a well-earned break."

Ron Swanson, of Ayrshire Hospice, which received its gifts this week, said: “This is such a lovely gesture and an excellent idea to put a smile on the faces of all our amazing key workers.

The brand has given over 15,000 free soaps to residents on the Isle of Arran as well as providing shower gel, hand soap and body lotion to homeless people on the mainland via the Simon Community Scotland’s #GiveHope appeal.

Formerly Arran Aromatics, the company is a family run business based on the Isle of Arran.

Heavy machinery giant JCB has warned that up to 950 jobs are at risk of redundancy at its UK plants after demand for its products fell by half as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

The company wrote to its employees on Friday to advise that jobs are under threat at its 10 plants south of the Border.

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A 45-day consultation period will begin on Monday. Around 500 Guidant agency employees, who work at JCB's UK sites, are also being released from the business.

JCB said the announcement was as a result of the severe disruption caused to its business by the current crisis.

Chief executive Graeme Macdonald said the decision to restructure JCB's business had been extremely tough but that the company "had no choice but to take difficult decisions to adapt to this new economic reality".

He said: "In 2020 we had planned to sell and produce over 100,000 machines. With so much global uncertainty, that figure right now is looking more like 50,000 machines.

"In the UK, around 85% of everything we manufacture is exported and our UK factories will now produce machines at half the rate we had planned just a few months ago.

"As a result, we have no choice but to align our cost base to demand for the rest of the year.

"It is deeply regrettable that we have had to take these steps to restructure the business and that it will have an impact on so many people. No business could have anticipated the scale of the Covid-19 crisis and its economic consequences."

JCB currently employs around 6,700 people in the UK, including agency employees.

Stuart Harrison, of the GMB union, said: "This announcement is devastating to everyone involved.

"GMB's senior representatives have entered into urgent talks about the future of the business with management.

"We will keep fighting to avoid job losses at all costs, for our members and their families."

United Capital has completed its largest deal to date as it acquired national central heating and electrical services firm Saltire Facilities Management.

United Capital, which acquired former Scotland Top 500 company, McGill, and Angus-based electrical services firm, Alliance Electrical in 2019, has significantly expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Saltire Facilities Management, a company with over 320 direct employees and annual turnover of around £30 million.

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Glasgow-headquartered Saltire Facilities Management was founded in 2000 as a public/private partnership with North Lanarkshire Council.

United Capital described it as one of the UK’s largest central heating and electrical service providers with offices across Scotland and south west of England.

Graeme Carling, United Capital chief executive, said: “Our team are delighted to get this deal over the line, Saltire is an exciting addition to the United Capital family.

"Saltire are exactly the type of business that we are looking to acquire, they are a profitable business, deliver facilities management services on large public sector contracts and most importantly have a solid and vastly experienced management team leading the company.

“The existing staff, operatives and management will remain in place and it will be business as usual.”

John Reynolds, Saltire Facilities Management general manager, said: “The team at Saltire are happy to have completed the sale of the business to United Capital, but of course, the work doesn’t end.

"Our experienced team of staff, operatives and managers will continue to run the business on a day-to-day basis with the added support of Graeme and his team. It is an exciting time for Saltire as we join the United Capital family."

United Capital set out its ambitious strategy in December 2019 which sees the company target the acquisition of UK building services and facilities management companies with a collective turnover of £300 million over the next three years.