http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-newsSmall Medium Business | Herald ScotlandenCopyright 2012 Herald & Times Group all rights reservedSat, 26 May 2012 09:35:03 PDTCopyright 2012 Herald & Times Group all rights reservednoSmall Medium Business | Herald Scotlandhttp://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/hsbc-pay-report-wins-90-backing.17666603http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/hsbc-pay-report-wins-90-backing.17666603HSBC survived the shareholder spring relatively unscathed, receiving nearly 90% support for its pay report while its Glaswegian chairman Douglas Flint was convincingly re-elected.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/standard-life-pay-report-approved.17666628http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/standard-life-pay-report-approved.17666628THE chairman of Standard Life has said the key role played by its investment arm in the shareholder spring meant the company had to make sure its own remuneration was "in order".http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/aggreko-finance-boss-ftses-best.17666563http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/aggreko-finance-boss-ftses-best.17666563THE finance director of temporary power supplier Aggreko has been named the best in the FTSE-100.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/john-lewis-sales-climb-but-scottish-picture-remains-mixed.17666565http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/john-lewis-sales-climb-but-scottish-picture-remains-mixed.17666565JOHN Lewis Partnership has reported an 8.3% rise in weekly sales to £167.59 million but there was a more mixed picture in Scotland.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/clydesdale-deposits-drop-amid-ratings-fall.17666634http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/clydesdale-deposits-drop-amid-ratings-fall.17666634CLYDESDALE Bank saw wholesale deposits fall by £3.1 billion in just six months as big companies moved their money in response to a drop in the Glasgow-based institution's credit rating, its latest accounts reveal.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/payments-collection-times-cut-by-firms.17695415http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/payments-collection-times-cut-by-firms.17695415BUSINESSES have succeeded in cutting the average time it takes them to collect money due from 52 days to 49 days in the last 10 months, based on £6.7 billion worth of sales studied by Glasgow-based Clydesdale Bank's invoice finance team.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/details-published-on-next-generation-broadband.17702011http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/details-published-on-next-generation-broadband.17702011THE Scottish Government has published more details about its forthcoming invitation to companies to tender for next generation broadband roll-out, due to start in September.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/ath-plunges-after-halting-ayrshire-mine-extension.17666377http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/ath-plunges-after-halting-ayrshire-mine-extension.17666377SHARES in surface miner ATH Resources plunged as much as 31.3% after it halted a multi-million-pound extension of its Glenmuckloch mine in Ayrshire following a plunge in coal prices.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/incentive-scheme-scrapped-by-faroe.17666369http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/incentive-scheme-scrapped-by-faroe.17666369ABERDEEN-based oil explorer Faroe Petroleum blamed a change in shareholder sentiment as it ditched plans for a controversial incentive scheme which could have seen chief executive Graham Stewart take a 1% stake in the company.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/salmon-hatchery-in-line-for-13m-upgrade.17666383http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/salmon-hatchery-in-line-for-13m-upgrade.17666383SCOTTISH Sea Farms is spending £1.3 million on improving its fresh water salmon hatchery at Holywood near Dumfries.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/strathclyde-wins-korean-venture.17666440http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/strathclyde-wins-korean-venture.17666440STRATHCLYDE University has beaten several other academic institutions to be named European partner for South Korea's global research and commercialisation programme.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/mothercare-to-axe-stores-as-losses-grow.17666455http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/mothercare-to-axe-stores-as-losses-grow.17666455MOTHERCARE is pressing ahead with plans to cut more than one-third of its UK stores after reporting a £102.9 million loss.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/property-database-launch.17666365http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/property-database-launch.17666365SCOTTISH Enterprise is launching a database of more than 5000 business premises for sale or lease.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/scottish-buses-are-core-to-firstgroup.17666117http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/scottish-buses-are-core-to-firstgroup.17666117FIRSTGROUP chief executive Tim O'Toole insisted its Scottish bus business remained core to the transport group after it said "deteriorating economic conditions" north of the Border were hitting earnings and announced a "repositioning" that would see it sell some of its operations.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/investors-miss-bigger-picture-at-resilient-rbs.17666111http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/investors-miss-bigger-picture-at-resilient-rbs.17666111ANALYSTS at finance house Investec said many would-be investors perceive Royal Bank of Scotland as a "zombie bank" but believe the Edinburgh-based institution has become far more resilient, albeit not very profitable.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/faroe-faces-rebellion-over-bonus-scheme.17666113http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/faroe-faces-rebellion-over-bonus-scheme.17666113ABERDEEN-based Faroe Petroleum is today facing a shareholder rebellion on a new bonus scheme, corporate governance adviser Manifest has warned.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/funding-for-online-furniture-retailer.17666155http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/funding-for-online-furniture-retailer.17666155A Scottish online furniture and interiors portal has secured ongoing funding support from the investment group which backed successful e-commerce retail sites ASOS and The Hut.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/house-of-fraser-sales-rise-as-chain-survives-weather-impact.17666123http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/house-of-fraser-sales-rise-as-chain-survives-weather-impact.17666123HOUSE of Fraser, the department store chain with Glasgow roots, has defied cut-throat competition on the high street and a wet spring to post a 2.6% rise in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to April 28.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/renfrewshire-dock-undergoes-13m-overhaul.17666125http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/renfrewshire-dock-undergoes-13m-overhaul.17666125A DOCK is undergoing a £1.3 million overhaul to help make it a hub for renewable energy equipment manufacturing.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/scottish-micro-businesses-prosper.17666159http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/scottish-micro-businesses-prosper.17666159SCOTLAND's micro businesses are outperforming their rivals south of the Border, research shows.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/herald-view.17682805http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/herald-view.17682805TIM O'Toole's first full year in charge of Aberdeen rail and bus giant FirstGroup has been somewhat of a bumpy ride.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/m-s-scales-back-new-store-opening-plans.17665968http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/m-s-scales-back-new-store-opening-plans.17665968MARC Bolland, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, slashed sales targets and scaled back the retailer's store opening plans after it suffered its first fall in pre-tax profit for three years in the face of a weak economy and low consumer confidence.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/removal-of-tax-loophole-hits-sales-at-flying-brands.17665942http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/removal-of-tax-loophole-hits-sales-at-flying-brands.17665942SALES at Flying Brands plummeted 35% in the first three months of the year as it was hit by the removal of a tax loophole.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/oil-and-gas-enthusiasm.17665976http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/oil-and-gas-enthusiasm.17665976OIL and gas companies have underlined their enthusiasm for the North Sea by submitting a record number of bids for exploration licences.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/scotgold-granted-licence-for-cononish.17665986http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/scotgold-granted-licence-for-cononish.17665986SCOTGOLD Resources' mining lease for Cononish mine, near Tyndrum in Argyll, has been granted unconditionally by the Crown Estate and it remains on track to produce gold by late 2013, the company said.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/management-team-buys-roofing-unit-from-ubc.17667465http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/management-team-buys-roofing-unit-from-ubc.17667465THE management team from Wyvis Roofing have saved 30 jobs from the collapsed UBC construction group of companies.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/lees-foods-directors-buy-out-bid-approved.17665899http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/lees-foods-directors-buy-out-bid-approved.17665899THE directors of Lees Foods have won shareholder approval for their controversial buy-out bid for the company, although a sizeable minority of shareholders opposed their attempt to take the confectionery maker off the stock market.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/atos-wins-historic-it-deal.17665950http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/atos-wins-historic-it-deal.17665950ATOS has won a contract to provide IT services to Historic Scotland in a deal which industry sources suggested would be worth around seven figures.http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/irn-bru-sales-increase-as-rivals-sales-go-flat.17657575http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/irn-bru-sales-increase-as-rivals-sales-go-flat.17657575THE chief executive of AG Barr is hoping for a warm summer even though the company is managing to outperform the soft drinks market.nonadult