Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
First £4.2m phase of Union Square M&S extension sealed as TK Maxx relocates
Building papers reveal that Marks and Spencer is poised to spend more than £4 million on the first stage of its Union Square expansion.
The high street giant is working on major plans to extend its premises at the mall as it closes the long-standing city centre flagship yards away at St Nicholas Square.
Now, Aberdeen City Council officials have endorsed the costly initial phase of the project.
A building warrant estimates the price of extending into the current TK Maxx shop at £4.2m.
Shire boutique owner says Aberdeen traffic changes drive business her way
A North-east boutique owner says she has seen an increase in trade since the introduction of controversial city centre bus gates in Aberdeen.
Inger Helen Vorley, owner of The Fountain in Port Elphinstone, near Inverurie, claims shoppers are “deliberately” avoiding the Granite City for fear of “being caught out” and fined.
The 60-year-old is celebrating 21 years in business and told The Press and Journal her womenswear store is “stronger than ever”.
She said a growing number of customers were making the journey to her store from Aberdeen.
Business confidence highest in nearly a decade
Business confidence has climbed to its highest point in nearly a decade, according to figures that are likely to be latched upon by the Conservatives as evidence that the economy is gathering momentum.
According to Lloyds Bank’s latest business barometer index, confidence climbed to its highest level since November 2015, up by 8 points to 50% in May.
The data indicated that companies were growing increasingly optimistic about their trading prospects and were keen to hire more workers after grappling with rising interest rates and elevated inflation for the past two years.
Some 62% of businesses surveyed by Lloyds said that they expected to raise output in May, up from 57% in the previous month. Only 8% predicted slower output.
Wordle in legal row with geography spinoff, Worldle
The owner of the hit online game Wordle is legally challenging a geography-based spinoff called Worldle.
In the filing, the New York Times, which purchased Wordle for a seven figure sum in 2022, accuses its near-namesake of "creating confusion" and attempting to capitalise on "the enormous goodwill” associated with its own brand.
But the creator of Worldle, software developer Kory McDonald, is vowing to fight back on the grounds that there are many other games with similar titles.
“There's a whole industry of [dot]LE games,” he told the BBC.