Wbg

We'll be at NIFHA - Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations' Housing Finance Conference next week. 🏘️ Our internal audit team is a keen supporter of the sector, including in Northern Ireland. ✅ Graham Gillespie and Scott McCready look forward to meeting everyone. 🤝

Rising costs are placing unprecedented pressure on Scottish SMEs, with disparities in support compared to counterparts in England. 📊 💬 Neil Fraser, Associate Partner, comments: "With 40% business rates relief for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors being extended in England, the Scottish Government should consider passing on some form of comparable relief to businesses in Scotland. Rates relief for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors has not been available to SMEs in Scotland since mid-2022." 🔗 Read more: https://lnkd.in/eDyY9p6n

If you're a small business, have you started planning for your future? Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce's free Succession Planning for Small Businesses session will help you get started! We're pleased to support this event alongside our legal counterpart, Anderson Strathern. 🤝 Gavin Brown will be taking care of the financial side of succession planning. Book your space today: https://lnkd.in/eiWipmRZ

The recent Budget announcements could bring significant changes to Scotland’s rural businesses. 🌾 The Budget changes include: • a cut to Agricultural Property Relief • the ‘Barnetisation’ of the Agriculture Budget • an increase in pick-up vehicle taxes 💬 Mark Mulholland, Partner in business advisory, advises: “The proposed changes to inheritance tax do not come into effect until April 2026. My advice would be for farmers to make themselves aware of the proposed changes and take the time to start planning ahead for those changes around spring/summer 2025, a year ahead of their implementation.” Mark also shared that the majority of farmers he’s spoken to acknowledge that there could be a problem with the proposals in the budget, but that the ‘devil’s in the detail’ and legislation has yet to be passed. 🔗 See more: https://lnkd.in/eVxrsa-c

From House of Fraser to our Loch Lomond Suite, we had a Charlotte Tilbury Beauty masterclass and pop-up shop for our people this afternoon. 😍💄 The masterclass was flawless! 💅 It was an informative session with lots of laughter. From skincare to makeup, the team shared "how to", ingredient benefits, samples and achieving the look you want. Thanks to Morvyn Savage for being our glamouress model. 🙌 The pop-up shop was the perfect opportunity to restock essential supplies and secure those all-important Christmas gifts. 😉 A massive thank you to the Charlotte Tilbury team from Glasgow's House of Fraser, Lauren, Maya and Emma Scott, you were incredible! 👏 📸 Follow them on Instagram: https://bit.ly/4fAGvbY

We're pleased to launch our employee financial wellbeing support, designed to help businesses support their people facing money worries. 🤝 Financial wellbeing is as important as physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing, and it can significantly affect lives. 💬 Paul McDougall, Insolvency Practitioner and consumer debt specialist, says: “Debt stress can cause sleep deprivation, affect concentration and decision-making; and is associated with higher rates of absenteeism. We can help employers empower employees with better financial wellbeing support to achieve greater financial stability for them; and enhanced job satisfaction, productivity, and retention for their organisation.” Support is available Monday-Sunday, 8am-8pm, whether you're an employer or an employee. 📞 0141 566 7038 📱 07792593754 📧 pmd@wbg.co.uk 🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eXHcY4mJ

Our graduate insight event yesterday was a huge success! 🤩 We had the pleasure of welcoming final-year students to our Glasgow office as part of our ongoing commitment to investing in the next generation. 🙌 The event gave students a deep dive into who we are, what we do and the exciting career opportunities we offer. 🌟 It also presented the unique opportunity to network with our team at all levels. Our line-up included: 🙏 Victoria Kirkhope opened with insights about us, and our commitment to our people and our culture. 🚀 Siobhan Archibald shared her journey from graduate trainee to manager with us. 💼 Claire Dalrymple and Mark Mulholland both offered the unique perspective of a partner and their career reflections. 🎯 Joanna Best and Rosie Quigley shared the reality of starting a graduate role, studying towards a professional qualification and how to juggle working with studying. 📝 Niamh Smart provided valuable insight into our trainee recruitment process. We had a lively Q&A with some great discussion with topics ranging from the use of AI in the profession, pies and pilates to post-it-note wish lists and appearances on Come Dine With Me. 🤓 A big thank you to the students who joined us. We hope this experience helps set you on the path to a successful career. 🤝 We'd also like to extend our gratitude to our university partners for promoting the event: University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, University of Stirling, The University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, University of the West of Scotland and ICAS - The Professional Body of CAs. Finally, a huge thanks to our HR team for pulling this fantastic event together, Victoria Kirkhope, Elaine Neilan and Niamh Smart, and to our wider team for their invaluable contributions, Siobhan Archibald, Claire Dalrymple, Mark Mulholland, Joanna Best, Rosie Quigley and Kyle McGuiness. 👏

The recent Budget updates may place additional strain on charities. 📉 SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) estimates this change could cost Scottish charities an additional £75 million, forcing many to make difficult decisions about staffing, services, or pay awards. 💬 Rory McCall, our charities specialist, comments: “These new rules are likely to be particularly burdensome to charities, many of whom have been facing significant real terms funding cuts in recent years and are already struggling to generate sufficient income from fundraising to avoid recurring deficits. Financial planning, budgeting and forecasting remain a critical tool for ensuring financial stability, and these should be revisited to ensure all potential cost increases are factored in and are carefully considered by management and trustees on a regular, ongoing basis.” 🔗 See more: https://lnkd.in/e3ggCSBw

We’re exhibiting at the Scottish Care Conference today! 👋 Matthew McDermott and Paul McDougall look forward to connecting and sharing how we support the care industry with business support and our Employee Financial Wellbeing programme. 🤝

We’re thrilled to attend the Scotland Dealmakers Awards tonight and sponsor the "Deal of the Year (£10m-£50m)" category! 🏆 It's a night to celebrate the achievements of those who work hard to drive Scottish business forward, one deal at a time. 👏 Our very own Melanie Clark will be presenting the award. 🙌 Being the highlight of every dealmaker's year, Tom Faichnie and Robyn Purcell will also be there! Thanks to Insider Media, in partnership with The Scotsman, for hosting this pinnacle event. 🤝 Best of luck to all the nominees!