SHARES in AG Barr were up three per cent this week after the soft drinks giant signalled shoppers are willing to pay more for Irn-Bru.

Cumbernauld-based Barr reported a plunge in profits and turnover for the six months ended July 27 as it declared 2018 had been an “unprecedented year” for the soft drinks industry.

Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has approached Goals Soccer Centres over a potential takeover bid.

The high street retailer revealed that it tabled a proposal to the Goals board over a possible cash offer of 5p per share for the company. It would value the firm at nearly £4 million.

Legal Focus: Women have come a long way in the 100 years since University of Glasgow graduate Madge Easton Ellis became the first female admitted to practise as a professional lawyer in the UK.

Yet despite women now making up around 70 per cent of law school and law firm intakes, less than a third of advocates and just 23% of silks are women while across the board law firm partnerships are only 32% female. It is something that community safety and legal affairs minister Ash Denham wants to see change – and fast.

Thomas Cook collapse: 9,000 UK jobs at risk as biggest peacetime repatriation begins | Shares in rivals rise | Peter Fankhauser statement in full

A Mumbai-based entrepreneur who was disappointed with his stay in the Highlands in 2018 has opened the second of three properties in the area that he acquired as a result of his visit.

The 18-bedroom Cluanie Inn at Glenmoriston in Glen Shiel, which dates back to 1787, has opened its doors following an extensive refurbishment.

Herald Entrepreneur: Andrew Lafferty caught the entrepreneurial bug young.

While most of his fellow apprentices stayed on the companies they had trained with, the construction company owner took the plunge into self-employment on the day he qualified – and has never looked back.

Monday Interview: The acquisition of one of Scotland’s biggest independent insurance brokers Clark Thomson by Jelf, a subsidiary of global financial services giant Marsh, has brought a boost to revenues and a host of new jobs for senior figures within the organisation.

The Jelf merger, bringing together 14 offices with more than 200 staff across Scotland, as well as a flagship premises in the centre of Glasgow has signalled a new surge of growth for the company.