An award-winning Scottish hotel and resort is offering customers £1,000 in vouchers if they help it find staff.

Auchrannie Resort on the Isle on Arran has emailed customers detailing the offer, which has various conditions, and features unique referral codes.

The employee-owned hotel back in 2019, ahead of the coronavirus pandemic, highlighted the challenges it had faced in recruiting staff as a result of Brexit.

University signs seven-figure licensing deal for breakthrough cancer research

The Herald:

The University of Edinburgh has signed a multi-million pound licensing deal with a US drug firm to advance research into new medicines for hard-to-treat cancers.

Nuvectis Pharma of New Jersey has paid an upfront fee of $3.5 million (£2.5m) for the exclusive worldwide rights to a novel small molecule developed at the university’s Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre within the Institute of Genetics and Cancer. Known as NXP900, the compound inhibits the activity of SRC/YES1, a protein family associated with cancer growth.

Nuvectis is expected to begin studies later this year that will lead to an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the US Food and Drug Administration.

Tennent's brewer returns to profit as new chairman revealed

The Herald:

The owner of Tennent’s Lager unveiled the appointment of Scottish brewing and pubs veteran Ralph Findlay as its new chairman yesterday after reporting its return to profitability following the upheaval brought by the pandemic.

Dublin-based C&C Group has appointed Mr Findlay, the chief executive of Marston’s, as director and chairman designate. The Scot will join the board as a non-executive chairman on March 1, before succeeding Stewart Gilliland as chairman following the company’s annual meeting in July.

The appointment was announced shortly after C&C said it had made a “strong return to trading” in the six months ended August 31, boosted by the easing of on-trade restrictions, good summer weather, Euro 2020, and staycations.

ScotWind bidders aim to create floating windfarm jobs

The Herald:

European renewable energy heavyweights have said they will create thousands of jobs in Scotland if they are successful with their application in the landmark ScotWind licensing round.

The Floating Energy Allyance partnership said its proposals for a floating offshore wind farm could create 3,900 jobs in Scotland at the peak of manufacturing and construction.

The bulk of the jobs would be related to the manufacture of the project’s floating concrete foundations. The partnership has committed to manufacturing the foundations in Scotland and has already identified a preferred port location on the east coast, without giving further details.

Springfield Properties hails market resilience as sales top £200m for first time

The Herald:

Springfield Properties has shrugged of the fall-out from the pandemic, including pressure from supply chain disruption, to report a big leap in profits in its latest financial year.

The Elgin-based housebuilder hiked turnover to above £200 million for the first time as it flagged the benefit of completing homes originally scheduled to have been finished the previous year, as well as higher demand for larger houses with greenspace as people continue to work from home. Profits surged by 81.4 per cent to £18.5 million as revenue increased by 51% to £216.7m in the year ended May 31.

The results were driven by an increase in home completions to 973 from 727. 

 

Insight, Analysis, Opinion

Scott Wright: What do major office deals tell us about the future of Scotland's towns and cities?

Ian McConnell: Two takes on furlough...sadly Rishi Sunak’s one will mean misery

Mark Williamson: SNP Government risking North Sea investment

Ian McConnell: Is Boris Johnson’s national insurance hike a #BrexitTax?

Kristy Dorsey: New travel rules are late, but better than never

 

Features

Employment Focus: Covid flips rising employment of older workers into reverse

Monday Interview: Former Michelin Dundee chief backs Scottish manufacturing to rise again

SME Focus: Former Goldman Sachs executive launches Edinburgh butter firm

From the Briefing: Scottish investment veteran Alan Steel passes away

 

If you have been forwarded this article and would like to sign up, or view our new range of newsletters, click below:​

The Herald: