Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
M&S reveals closing date for St Nicholas food hall AND opening of revamped Union Square replacement
Marks and Spencer shoppers have only weeks left to pick up their groceries from the food department at Aberdeen’s flagship St Nicholas store – with the closure date announced.
This section of the store will close next month as bosses press on with the £15million expansion of their Union Square venue.
The retail giant last year announced plans to close their long-standing branch in St Nicholas Square and extend its premises at the shopping mall.
Read the exclusive in the P&J.
Zero hour contract ban to include agency workers
Agency workers will be included in a ban on "exploitative" zero hour contracts as part of ammendments to the government's employment reform bill, the BBC understands.
The new rules will mean that agency workers will have to be offered a contract guaranteeing a minimum number of hours each week.
It is one of a number of additions to the Employment Rights Bill which will be outlined on Tuesday.
Pleas for council to break stalemate with Dons and spend millions on beach stadium study
Renewed cries for Aberdeen City Council to plough millions into a new Aberdeen beach football stadium have been issued as the local authority finalises its spending plan for the year ahead.
Tory group leader Richard Brooks has called on local authority chiefs to get back around the table and cough up the cash to get the ball rolling on a new Dons ground at the beach.
The stadium saga has been at a stalemate for years – with neither the council nor Aberdeen Football Club willing to pay the estimated £4million for a study into a new home for the Reds.
Click here to read more.
Defence stocks surge on promise of military aid boost for Ukraine
Billions of pounds were added to the value of British and European defence stocks as Europe prepares to boost military spending to counter the Russian threat in Ukraine and elsewhere.
When stock markets opened on Monday investors rushed to buy shares in defence companies after weekend meetings between European leaders and President Zelensky resulted in pledges of significantly increased military aid for Ukraine. By the close of trading in London shares in both BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce were at record highs.
BAE Systems, which provides missiles and munitions and builds warships, submarines and fighter jets, closed up 205p, or 14.6%, at £16.12, valuing the company at £48billion.
Prada in talks to buy Versace in deal that could reach almost €1.5bn
Prada is in talks to buy the Versace fashion brand from the US investor Capri Holdings for a price that could reportedly reach nearly €1.5billion (£1.2billion).
Milan-based Prada and the New York-listed Capri could reach a deal for Versace this month, Bloomberg reported, although the talks could still fall apart.
A deal would bring the Versace brand back under Italian ownership, and would make Prada larger as it tries to compete with France’s LVMH, the owner of luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon and Hennessy.
Further delays for Turkish-built CalMac ferries
A ferry being built in Turkey for the Scottish fleet now looks likely to miss the bulk of the summer season after a fresh delay was announced.
A shortage of specialist engineers is being blamed on the latest hold-up, while cold weather has also caused problems around inspecting parts of the vessel.
MV Isle of Islay, the first ship from the Cemre Marin Endustri shipyard in Yalova in northwestern Turkey, was originally due to be finished in October last year and enter service towards the end of 2024.
Read more.