Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
£1 deal at Aberdeen city centre car parks from 5pm amid claims bus gates are ‘killing business’
Council chiefs accused of damaging Aberdeen businesses with car bans are rolling out a £1 parking deal to bring more people into the city centre.
Off-street parking charges will be slashed in a bid to encourage footfall months after traders claimed new bus gates are putting people off venturing into town.
Currently, motorists have to pay £3 to stay at council car parks for up to two hours.
But from the end of May that fee will drop to just a quid after 5pm.
Read the full story in the P&J.
SNP tax burden risks brain drain, poll suggests
More than a third of Times readers would consider moving out of Scotland, with almost half citing tax reasons, a poll suggests.
The number of Scottish workers being dragged into paying higher rates has almost doubled under the SNP government, according to the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC).
About one in four workers, about 866,000, are also predicted to be in the higher, advanced or top bands within four years, Scotland’s economic forecaster said. That compares with 317,000 in 2017, when tax divergence from England began.
The Times’s media voice panel, a monthly survey of Scottish readers’ opinions, found that 35 per cent of readers would consider moving abroad or to elsewhere in the UK to live or work. Some 59 per cent said they would not move, while 6 per cent were unsure.
Shocked councillor learns day job is being axed during budget meeting
A popular Aberdeen councillor was only told his day job was at risk as colleagues met to vote on it during a public meeting.
Ross Grant has served Tillydrone, Old Aberdeen and Seaton for more than a decade.
The Labour councillor has proudly worked as part of the Aberdeen Inspired team for almost as long.
And the father of five was stunned when presented with the council budget for 2024-25 on Wednesday.
It made it clear the SNP and Liberal Democrats now running the council were axeing the £46,000-a-year funding for the business improvement district’s city centre manager post.
Frasers puts Matchesfashion into administration with hundreds of jobs to go
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is putting Matchesfashion into administration weeks after buying the luxury online retailer, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.
Staff at Matchesfashion will be told on Friday morning that the company is being placed into administration. Frasers swooped for the online store for £52m in late December.
The Telegraph understands that Teneo is being appointed to run the administration process. A notice of intention to appoint an administrator was filed on Thursday.
The shock move follows earlier optimism over the takeover. Michael Murray, Frasers’ chief executive, said in December that the acquisition would “strengthen Frasers’ luxury offering, further deepening our relationships and accelerating our mission to provide consumers with access to the world’s best brands”.