Here are the business stories making the headlines across Scotland and the UK this morning.
Aberdeen’s OEG seeking up to £100m in acquisitions a year
Aberdeen’s OEG Energy Group has bought up 14 businesses in the last four years and boss John Heiton aims to maintain the pace.
His oil and gas to renewables services firm’s firepower is backed by Oaktree Capital Management. The US private equity group acquired OEG last year through its $5 billion (£3.95bn) power opportunities fund, which targets investments across the energy supply chain, increasingly in the electricity transmission sector.
The Los Angeles-based fund manager was keen for Heiton’s team to continue with its strategy when it came on board.
Read the full story here.
Three rail firms to be renationalised next year
Three rail operators will be renationalised by Labour next year after it passed a law allowing it to do so.
South Western Railways will be renationalised in May 2025, C2C in July 2025, and Greater Anglia in autumn 2025, the transport department has confirmed.
The move is part of Labour's wider plans to renationalise rail services as operators' contracts either end or reach a break.
Lockdown broke will to work, says former Waitrose boss
Britain’s attitude to work has permanently changed since lockdown amid a rising sick-note culture that is damaging the economy, the former boss of Waitrose has said.
Many workers are now more worried about sick pay than other in-work benefits, Lord Price said, as he highlighted research from his think tank WorkL showing that almost a fifth of people who said health was a major issue in their workplace were most concerned about sick pay.
Lord Price, who also served as trade minister, said lockdowns during the pandemic had “undoubtedly played a part” in the rise in economic inactivity since 2020, with close to 2.8m people now neither in work nor looking for a job due to long-term illness.
Charities facing tax hike have 'nowhere to cut'
Charities are calling for urgent support from both the UK and Scottish governments to prevent services from collapsing.
Hospices, homelessness organisations, social care providers and animal shelters have told BBC Scotland News that their operations are being jeopardised by UK government plans to increase employers' National Insurance.
They say they have "nowhere left to cut" and warn they could be forced to cut jobs or take measures like turning sick patients away from hospices.