Business News Round Up (26/02/2026)
Scotland outpaces UK with 1.4% annual growth despite trade headwinds
Scotland’s onshore GDP grew by 0.1% in the final quarter of 2025 (the three months to December), according to statistics announced by the Chief Statistician. This steady performance followed a 0.3% expansion in the previous quarter, culminating in an annual growth rate of 1.4% for 2025. In the month to December 2025 Scotland’s GDP grew by 0.1%. This follows a contraction of 0.2% in November 2025 (revised up from -0.4%) and contraction of 0.2% in October 2025. In December the two sectors with the largest contribution to three-month GDP were manufacturing and professional, scientific and technical services which contributed around 0.1 percentage points of growth respectively towards the overall three-month growth of 0.1%.
SNIB announces £10m investment, taking them past £1bn milestone
The Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) has surpassed a key milestone with its £10m investment in Aurora Energy Services, taking the total amount of capital the Bank has committed in Scottish businesses and projects to over £1bn. The Bank, which marked its fifth anniversary in November of last year, was established to invest in businesses and projects that support the development of a fairer, more sustainable Scottish economy. The Scottish Government committed to capitalising the Bank with £2bn over a ten-year period. To date, more than £1.7bn has been invested alongside the Bank’s capital from private and public investors. The Bank initially provided debt facilities to Aurora in 2023, but the latest £10m is an equity investment that will see it become a shareholder in the business. The funding will support the company’s growth strategy.
https://www.digit.fyi/snib-announces-10m-investment-taking-them-past-1bn-milestone
ICAS: Scottish Budget passes, but fails to tackle Scotland’s underlying economic challenges
Following the stage three vote in Holyrood to pass the Scottish Budget Bill for 2026/27, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) has warned that the budget fails to deliver meaningful change or tackle Scotland’s underlying economic challenges. Chris Barber CA, CFO at ICAS, said: “The Scottish Budget passed at Holyrood today falls short of delivering the meaningful, long-term changes that Scotland’s households and businesses need. While raising the starting point for the basic and intermediate income tax thresholds by 7.4% may sound like good news, in practice it gives low earners just £11 of additional income a year. With no reform of the rest of the system, fiscal drag will continue to pull more people into higher tax bands over time, quietly increasing the burden on households without growing the overall tax base.
Confidence amongst wealthy individuals in UK economy drops
After showing signs of recovery in the second half of last year, confidence among UK high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in the UK economy and their own wealth has weakened over the past six months, according to the latest Saltus Index Report. The biannual Saltus Wealth Index Report –supported by Dr Michael Peacey of the University of Bristol – is the benchmark measure of HNWI sentiment in the UK, tracking the views of 2,000 individuals with investable assets of £250,000 ($338,000) or more. It was carried out online in January 2026. The latest Index stands at 61.3, down from 64.7 six months ago, confirming that the rebound in confidence seen in September has not been sustained. While the index is still above the record low of 58.2 recorded in February 2025, it is well below the peak of 67.9 seen in February 2022, highlighting the fragile nature of the recovery.