Biffa buys food waste specialist: 5 need-to-know business stories

Hello and welcome to our daily digest of business, financial and economic news from around Scotland.

1. Biffa has completed what is believed to be a multimillion-pound deal to buy a Scottish food waste specialist.

Keenan Recycling, founded in 2003 and based in Aberdeen, picks up about 56,000 tonnes of waste each year across Scotland, England and Wales.

It has a fleet of 80 vehicles, depots across the UK and a composting and biofuel facility in Aberdeen.

Grant Keenan, the managing director, said the company had been supported by the Business Growth Fund, which helped it to grow into one of the largest UK food waste operators.

No financial details of the deal were disclosed but all 140 staff are expected to transfer to Biffa.

The investment company BGF said it had invested £3.5 million in Keenan in 2015 and its exit had delivered a 2.4 times return.

2. Scottish retail footfall increased by 0.8 per cent during October, industry data has shown.

That was better than the 1.1 per cent decline reported for the UK as a whole.

Scotland was in fourth place in the list of 13 UK nations and regions monitored, behind only the northwest of England, Northern Ireland and the West Midlands.

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said it was a third consecutive month of footfall growth in Scotland with the industry hoping that will continue into the key festive trading period.

3. Sprits group Bacardi has moved forward with expansion work and environmental projects across its Scotch whisky estate.

It includes three new warehouses at its blending and maturation centre in Glasgow.

The Aultmore distillery in Speyside has been upgraded to reduce water consumption and improve energy efficiency using thermal vapour recompression technology. A new boiler there will also have the capacity to switch to hydrogen fuel.

The Macduff distillery is also undergoing an overhaul to get energy and water savings.

Bacardi’s whisky portfolio includes the Dewars and William Lawson’s blends as well as Aultmore, Aberfeldy, Royal Brackla, Deveron and Craigellachie single malts.

4. Wood Group is to help a state-owned refinery in Vietnam trim emissions and increase fuel production.

The Scottish engineering group has been hired to work at the Dung Quat oil refinery in Quang Ngai Province.

The expansion of the site and upgrades to its environmental standards are due to be completed by 2028.

Wood Group staff in Thailand and Singapore will be working on the contract.

5. The passenger body Transport Focus has said it will seek “further reassurances” on service levels after ScotRail confirmed plans to reduce opening hours across many ticket offices.

There will be 54 sites where hours will be cut while 12 will have longer opening periods.

Robert Samson, senior engagement manager at Transport Focus, said the organisation’s research showed “people value a visible staff presence at stations”.

He added: “Passengers must be confident they can get help when needed and buy the right ticket in time for the right train.

“We will also be examining further the implication for passengers who require assistance at a station to travel and support available when buying a ticket and the ease of requesting assistance.”

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