(c) Scottish Construction Now
In Insider today:
‘Scottish SMEs in the construction sector enjoyed strong growth in the second quarter of 2018, despite significant adverse pressures, according to a survey from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Scotland. The latest FMB State of Trade Survey shows that the performance of SMEs rose strongly by 17 percentage points to +24 per cent in the survey’s main indicator which measures workloads, enquiries and expected workloads. The workloads for SME builders rose, with the proportion of firms that reported growing compared to Q1 2018 – up to 41% from 31%’.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/federation-master-builders-scotland-survey-12972971
Needless to say, this isn’t the only good business news recently featured here but not ‘there’. See:
Scottish small businesses still more confident than those in non-Scottish parts
Business activity soars to four-year high across manufacturing and service
Business confidence in Scotland soars by 24% while it sinks 29% in non-Scottish parts of UK
Scottish Government supports economy with new business rates unique in UK
Scottish business confidence higher than in any other region of UK
Douglas Fraser doesn’t seem to be saving these up for one big cheery special.
Talking-up Scotland 
you should be the new BBC, I come here to get all the positive Scotland stories. Lets rename it BBpR (British Broadcasting prof Robertson) 🙂
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Brilliant idea. The licence fee will go a long way with me as a one-man band.
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You should have a wee donate button for your time Prof, intelligent guys like who can hold these establishment institutions to book are invaluable. Especially someone who is meticulous and has good methodology in their research.
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Too kind. I’m retired so a happy unpaid volunteer for the cause.
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One Scotland based ‘business’ that seems to be doing very nicely, thank you, is the Scottish Unionist Association Trust. The Ferret have been beavering away (did you notice what I did there?) and have found still further info (see snippet below):
https://theferret.scot/tory-dark-money-trust-2-35m/
A trust funding the Scottish Conservatives with so-called “dark money” has revealed it has assets of £2.35 million, following an investigation by The Ferret.
In a statement given to the BBC, the Scottish Unionist Association Trust (SUAT) said that the trust’s net assets at the end of 2017 were worth £2.35m, and had been “predominantly invested in UK listed equity investments”.
The money had come from original assets worth £68,000 in 1968, which were now worth more than £1m, said Robert Miller-Bakewell, SUAT’s chairman.
This ‘Trust’ which we now know operates funds of £2.35M was apparently operating without a registered address or any recorded ‘Trustees’ until Iain Blackford’s questions to Theresa May forced this info to be published.
Amusingly (I’m easily amused) one of the newly identified Trustees is called ‘Frank Spencer-Nairn’ . He is a large landowner in Inverness-shire, is involved with a renewable energy company – hydro-power I believe – and is a former tory candidate for Moray at Westminster election. Noting the ‘Frank Spencer’ connection I can’t help but wonder if meetings of the Scottish Unionist Association Trust were peppered with comments along the lines “Ooh Betty – Ooh Betty – the cat’s just done a whoopsy in me beret’. I like to think this might be the case.
These shadowy figures are operating out of sight – out of mind – and are ‘buying’ chunks of the Scottish democratic process. Is this being widely reported by our ‘Notional Broadcaster’? – Is it heck.
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Nice link.
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Reblogged this on seachranaidhe1.
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