Opinion

Fergus Spowart, solicitor, and Sinéad Pow, trainee solicitor, from Shakespeare Martineau’s Scotland office, discuss why the construction industry needs a more strategic approach to debt recovery, what steps businesses can take and how these measures can protect cash flow while maintaini

Greig Meikle, regional director at OOBE, explores why landscaping will be essential to the ongoing regeneration of Glasgow. Glasgow feels different at the moment.

Scottish Construction Summit programme co-ordinator Paul McDevitt looks ahead to the event's return to Glasgow on 22 October 2026, building on the outstanding success of its inaugural event in 2025. Hosted at the SEC and free to attend, this year’s summit offers an unmissable opportunity for i

Construction is at a crossroads and faces a significant workforce challenge, but also an opportunity to consciously widen the talent pool, argues Marion Forbes, director of performance and organisational change at AC Whyte and Female Leaders in Construction (FLIC) advisory board member. Constru

Andrew Morrison, Aspire Bidding co-founder and APMP global thought leader, describes the steps you can take during periods of global instability to mitigate the commercial risks in your contract. Recent events in the Middle East are sending shock waves around the world. One of the reverberations is

Solicitor Ahsan Mustafa reports a case of alleged non-payment of debt by a construction firm. A motion for summary decree came before the sheriff in a commercial action for payment. The pursuer was a long-established supplier of building materials trading on a credit basis. The defender was a limite

As Scotland continues to grapple with housing supply challenges, much of the conversation has rightly focused on increasing the number of homes being delivered. While that is clearly essential, it is only part of the solution, writes Lynsey Jackson. With sustained pressure on housing supply, there i

Small and medium-sized enterprises are often described as the backbone of Scotland’s economy and in housebuilding, that statement rings true, writes Paul Kelly. SMEs like ours build homes but we also sustain local supply chains, create skilled jobs, and invest directly into the communities in

Scotland's housing crisis is being worsened by systemic barriers, including planning costs, land shortages, and slow decision-making, that are preventing the industry from building the homes the country urgently needs, writes Andrew Duncan. Scotland has no shortage of ambition when it comes to housi

Following recent Competition and Markets Authority enforcement action against companies involved in bid‑rigging and other anti‑competitive practices, Colin Miller, a legal director in the corporate team at BTO, issues a timely reminder that construction remains a priority sector for regulatory s

If it works, East Kilbride’s masterplan for a new way of town centre living could prove to be a blueprint for declining towns across Scotland, argues Stuart Harrow, director of transportation at Dougall Baillie Associates. Just as East Kilbride transformed Scotland’s civic landscape in 1

Cedric Cools, partner and head of ESG at Rider Levett Bucknall, explores how the Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2025 will reshape decision-making across the built environment. Regulatory reform is par for the course in the built environment, but the introduction of the E

Alan Stewart examines the UK government's push for greater domestic steel use, arguing that while well-intentioned, the policy risks raising costs and constraining investment in steel-dependent sectors – particularly in Scotland. The UK government’s ambition to increase domestic steel us

Minister for public finance Ivan McKee and chief planner Dr Fiona Simpson highlight the progress made by the National Planning Hub in its first year of operation.

Barry McKeown, a real estate partner and head of Shoosmiths’ Glasgow office, reflects on the key issues from a Scotland perspective that arose from last week’s MIPIM 2026 conference. Last week, I and several colleagues joined more than 20,000 delegates from across the global property, in