Here are the business stories making the headlines locally and across the country this morning.
Annie Mo’s boss: ‘I’m having nightmares about bus gates as I fight to keep family furniture shop alive’
“I’m having nightmares about the bus gates”, Emily McDonald admits.
Sitting on a plush sofa at her Aberdeen furniture shop Annie Mo’s, she tells me of the bad dreams that have been haunting her “for ages”.
“It’s the same dream over and over again, actually.
“I’m leaving the shop and I can’t even walk back home without getting a fine. That’s how much it’s affecting me. It’s haunting me even in my dreams.”
Read the full story in today's P&J.
Goodbye Marcliffe: Spence family hands over keys to luxury Aberdeen hotel
The Spence family had an emotional farewell as they handed over the keys to the Marcliffe Hotel and Spa Aberdeen.
Craig Spence, whose parents Stewart and Sheila owned and ran the five-star hotel for decades, said it was “one of the hardest ever days” for all of them.
Twin brother Ross, who has run the business his parents built for the past few years, said driving away from it following handover “broke me like I never thought it would”.
The hotel is now part of Balmoral Group – the Granite City-based engineering company Sir Jim Milne, 83, founded and continues to control.
Shell pauses building one of Europe’s largest biofuel projects
Shell has paused the construction of one of Europe’s largest biofuel plants in an effort to tackle technical problems and bring costs under control, as its boss attempts to boost returns.
The oil major said it would temporarily reduce on-site work at the facility being built at Shell’s energy and chemicals complex at Rotterdam in the Netherlands — which was set to process about 820,000 tonnes of sustainable jet fuel and renewable diesel from waste a year — to reduce costs and “optimise” the flow of work on the project.
It is the latest clean energy project to be scaled back under Wael Sawan, who took over as chief executive at the start of last year. Since then, Shell has exited investments in renewable power and battery storage.
Sawan, 49, has pledged to be “ruthless” in improving the company’s performance and focusing capital on the most profitable parts of the business, primarily in oil and gas.
Addison Lee owner puts London Uber rival up for sale
The owners of Addison Lee, the London-based minicab firm, have begun exploring a sale of the company they took control of four years ago.
Sky News has learnt that Jefferies, the investment bank, has been hired by Addison Lee's majority shareholder, Cheyne Capital, to canvass interest in a takeover.
The process is thought to be at a relatively early stage and might not lead to a transaction, according to one insider.
Addison Lee's potential valuation in any transaction is unclear.