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The Courier
3 hours ago
- Business
- The Courier
21-year-old St Andrews Uni student charging firms thousands for her AI skills
A St Andrews University undergraduate has set up a successful AI consultancy business in her spare time. Ideja Bajra is currently studying for a degree in cell biology at the prestigious Fife university. However, fascinated by the world of artificial intelligence, she decided to teach herself the basics. Fast forward a few months and the 21-year-old is now an AI expert working with top firms including the Royal Bank of Scotland. London-born Ideja, who is due to graduate later this month, officially launched Edvance AI in April last year. In her first year of business, the undergraduate student worked with 10 different clients, providing one-off workshops and consulting retainers. She said: 'When I was introduced to AI, I became absolutely fixated on it. I took to YouTube to upskill myself. 'It took at least nine months of intensive scavenging the internet for everything I could find. 'I came from a non-technical background and didn't attend any courses. I just watched videos and read as much as I could. 'Then I decided to start a consulting firm that focuses on the application of AI in the workplace. 'I have worked with the Royal Bank of Scotland, PGIM Asset Management, and Alpha Real Capital. Some others I can't mention because they are under NDAs.' Now that Ideja's university exams are coming to an end, she plans to continue growing her business. She is currently finalising deals with five more companies. Ideja offers differing price models depending on the size and literacy level of the company. This includes assessments of AI literacy and implementation strategies to help organisations use the technology effectively. She continued: 'The workshops are tailored to the client's level of AI literacy. We upskill the team and help them understand the fundamentals. 'We also offer consulting, where we audit an entire company or a specific division and implement AI solutions, over a few months. 'Everything is tailored to the client, but our base price for consulting starts at £25,000 for a multi-month retainer and one-off workshops are £2,500.' When it comes to the future of AI, Ideja prefers to focus on the positive potential the controversial technology holds. She added: 'I like to see AI as a tool to automate day-to-day tasks that are mundane and boring. 'This way, it frees up time for us to be more creative and pursue what we're truly passionate about. 'At the moment, it's just me and seven freelancers who help on projects and get paid a percentage of the profit. 'In the future, I want Edvance AI to have a full-time team and support as many people as possible.'
Spectator
a day ago
- Business
- Spectator
In praise of Michael O'Leary
NatWest has returned to full private-sector ownership 17 years after the £46 billion bailout that took it into state hands – and five years after the name swap which reduced the once globally trumpeted Royal Bank of Scotland to a humble north-of-the-border branch network, while promoting its English subsidiary NatWest to become the parent brand. RBS shareholders who were almost wiped out but hung on to what are now NatWest certificates have seen their shares triple in value since 2023, finally surpassing the bailout price. HM Treasury took a £10.5 billion loss on the whole rescue exercise, which required a decade-long series of placements and buybacks to filter the taxpayers' 84 per cent holding back into the market as the bank's performance gradually recovered. But few would argue it was badly managed or wrong in the first place. Fred Goodwin's RBS, crippled by his hubristic bid for the Dutch group ABN Amro on top of a balance-sheet full of toxic debt, fully deserved to fail. But its customers did not deserve to lose their deposits and livelihoods, and when chancellor Alistair Darling received a call from Goodwin's chairman Sir Tom McKillop on 7 October 2008 telling him RBS would fail the next day, Darling had to set aside any consideration of moral hazard and step in: chaos would have ensued if he hadn't. The workaday NatWest – which never had a coherent strategy for the era of globalised banking that died with that phone call – has survived, despite a continuing tide of branch closures, as a relatively trusted high-street brand. I'm pleased to see chairman Rick Haythornthwaite talking about a 'simpler, safer' bank with a 'UK-focused business model'.
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Scotsman
a day ago
- Business
- Scotsman
Big picture take on future of Scotch and sustainability
To discuss The Future of Scotch Whisky in Changing Times, McLaren Packaging, in association with The Scotsman, recently hosted about 90 senior stakeholders from across the industry at a special one-day event at Barnbougle Castle on the Dalmeny Estate to the north of Edinburgh. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Expert panellists were assembled, and Rosemary Gallagher of The Scotsman chaired two panels – one on the big picture for the outlook for Scotch, the other examining sustainability in the industry in its widest sense. Scotch whisky– the big picture Sebastian Burnside, chief economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, discussed the big financial issues impacting Scotch and other sectors. 'In terms of tariffs, it's very encouraging to see the broad trajectory of negotiations happening. The UK-India trade deal is something which many parts of the economy have been looking for a long time,' Sebastian said. 'In the UK, we take for granted the deepness of our links with India, culturally, through people and through the potential markets. So it's really encouraging that the politics have aligned to be able to get a deal. And even more encouraging that clearly Scotch was a big part of the specifics. It will hopefully benefit from a good increase in demand and from those reductions in tariffs.' He added: 'Scotch, and Scotland in itself as a brand, deserves an enormous amount of credit for punching above its weight in terms of its prominence and significance in people's minds, hearts and perceptions across the world.' However, Sebastian said the drinks industry needs to be responsive to changing attitudes to alcohol, including lower consumption. He referred to a consumer phenomena he had recently heard of – 'zebra striping' –whereby people alternate between alcoholic and soft drinks on social occasions. Expanding on the analysis of the industry, Laurence Whyatt, director Barclays equity research team, which is focused on the global beverages market, said he had good and bad news. He explained the use of demographic changes to predict alcohol consumption. 'The amount of alcohol consumed is really dictated by the number of young people aged from about 25 to 45,' he said. 'There are some countries with a growing young population and that's good news. The US is one of them and one of the most important alcohol markets in the world.' Laurence observed that we don't see evidence for cannabis substitution or the use of weight-control drug Ozempic having a material negative impact on the demographic's alcohol consumption. He said the only truth in young people drinking less is a decline in underage consumption – but not age 21+ consumption – and a slight decline in heavy consumption of five or more drinks in a row. Laurence's outlook is less positive when it comes to markets with a shrinking younger population, with him saying: 'China has been an extremely important alcohol market, particularly for Cognac, Scotch and beer, and it is facing some of the worst demographic changes of any country. The Chinese birth rate in the 1960s and 1970s was about six babies per woman, by the early 1990s it had fallen to one and a half.' Also on the panel was writer and businessman Mark Stevenson, who describes himself as a 'reluctant futurist' and has advised many, from popstars to governments, on approaches to climate change. He was asked what impact things such as President Trump saying 'drill baby drill', and the pushback on sustainability in some parts of the world was having. He replied: 'One thing that is very clear is that the future is going to be very different than any of us can imagine. You might have heard this acronym, VUCA – volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity – and I think we can all feel it. With Covid, and now what's happening in the Ukraine and Middle East, all of us begin to realise these things are not disconnected.' Mark added: 'There is a lie that we are told that having a sustainable, equitable and just world is too expensive. The truth is, not having it is way more expensive.' As a luxury product, Mark believes that Scotch whisky, and related supply chain companies such as McLaren Packaging, are ideally positioned to be fully sustainable and able to regenerate the country's economy and ecosystem in the long term. He added: 'I'm a huge fan of Scotch whisky and I live by a mantra which is 'a life well lived, on the planet well loved.'' Turning to what producers are doing to futureproof the industry, Sarah Badesha, head of engineering at drinks giant Chivas Brothers, told the assembled: 'We have a big investment programme, particularly at our flagship Kilmalid bottling site in Dumbarton, where we're looking to invest over £60 million on modernising our facilities. We need to be competitive and at the forefront in terms of technology. 'Another reason we invest is that we have safety as a driver. The more we can automate and take risky activities outof the workplace, the safer our people.' For a storied company like Chivas Brothers, which has a huge range of well-loved, high quality brands, it is vital to balance modernisation with protecting history and heritage. Sarah explained: 'We have parts of our portfolio where we'll always hand fill bottles, hand polish and hand inspect, but we've augmented that with 360-degree cameras so that we know what goes to consumers is utterly perfect.' Focusing on consumer behaviour and attitudes to brands, Piers Lawson, client director at Leith-based agency Contagious Design, said: 'We're working a lot with clients to redefine codes of luxury within Scotch. Traditional markers like exclusivity, rarity, and craft still matter, but they now sit alongside a growing demand for transparency, responsibility, and cultural relevance.' He expanded: 'What we're seeing more with younger drinkers is that they're promiscuous with their palettes, but loyal to brands whose values they share. It's about tapping into emotional connections and storytelling with brands across all aspects, from packaging, to brand home experience, to digital media'Piers commented that consumers are more informed these days, including on the subject of sustainability. 'Consumers are really interested in what decisions are being made by brands to help the environment,' he added. 'Sustainability should be treated as a non-negotiable hygiene factor for all brands.' On competition from other whiskies, Piers said: 'Scotch has always had a powerful edge in its heritage, craft, and global reputation – but heritage alone isn't enough anymore. What's changing is the pace of innovation and storytelling from newer whisky-producing regions.' For Scotch to stay ahead, it needs to move from being the category benchmark –think craft, heritage, global reputation – to being the category leader in reinvention. In terms of the consumer, the new wave of whisky-producing regions can be mutually beneficial. A larger category will offer greater choice for consumers, allowing them to start their whisky journey from other geographies and move up the funnel to the Rolls-Royce of whisky – Scotch!' Barnbougle Castle | Supplied Scotch whisky and sustainability Discussion during the second panel session covered a wide range of sustainability related topics, from the challenges and opportunities of net-zero to the efforts to encourage a more diverse workforce. Professor Tim George, director of the International Barley Hub, explained that one of its priorities is to reduce 'scope-three emissions', or the greenhouse gas associated with barley production, saying: 'We're also interested in how we can improve the resilience of barley to the stresses associated with climate change. 'There's also a lot of interest in understanding the impact of the production systems on soil, water, and air, and reducing the detrimental environmental impacts. We're looking at how regenerative agriculture can improve the environmental credentials of production.' Tim gave the example of research funded by Diageo looking at the effects on soil health by making agriculture more regenerative. Kristin Hughes, head of global sustainability grain to glass at Diageo, said: 'We're taking a very direct approach and have already invested quite a bit of CapEx to drive decarbonisation in our own operations. At Cameronbridge, for example, we've invested to allow us to use the spent grains from distilling to heat the boilers. We're therefore taking a circular approach. At Leven, we've invested in around 7,800 solar panels to provide a lot of the energy we need.' While Diageo is the world's biggest producer of Scotch, also on the panel was Jessica Stewart, sustainability manager at InchDairnie Whisky, a relatively new distiller founded by industry stalwart Ian Palmer. Jessica said: 'When InchDairnie was built in 2015, the founder wanted to design a distillery that could overcome a lot of the challenges faced by the industry over the decades. 'We have a distillery with a huge amount of innovation – energy and water efficiency, alongside flavour, are at the core of the business.' She added that InchDairnie is aiming to become BCorp certified, something only a handful of whisky producers have achieved, saying: 'It shows you are accountable and willing to measure, report and improve on sustainability.' On the supply chain, Donald McLaren, managing director of McLaren Packaging, reported that its customers are wrestling with key challenges around sustainability – costs, varying attitudes and legislation in different countries, as well as the huge amount of information to digest, including misinformation. He explained: 'We're helping our customers with these things and it's our job to steer our business in the right direction. We focus on being local here in Scotland and being open and collaborative. 'Being an independent company means we can choose to partner with those that have invested in low-carbon, low-impact ways of doing things.' Donald added: 'We created our own sustainability strategy six years ago, and we've voluntarily committed to report carbon emissions in our financial results.' Diversity and inclusion was discussed by panellists. SallyAnn Kelly, chief executive officer of Aberlour children's charity, explained: 'We currently support about 1,000 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who have made their way to Britain through problematic and difficult routes. They are hugely motivated young people, but hold with them huge amounts of trauma because many of them have come from conflict zones. It's really important to us to hold onto inclusive values.' According to Kristin, developing a diverse workforce can also help reach a wider base of customers. And Tim added: 'In science, diversity is absolutely key. We need to attract talented people to the International Barley Hub.' Corporate social responsibility is also core to sustainability and Donald explained that McLaren Packaging takes this very seriously within Inverclyde, the community where the company was founded in 1979 and where the firm is headquartered. He said: 'Inverclyde sadly has some of the highest levels of harm through poverty in the UK and across Europe. As a business we commit to providing 3 per cent of our operating profit – or £200,000 minimum – a year to the Newark Trust, a local grant giving charity focused in Inverclyde.'
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
Heartbroken grandad loses £250k in RBS scam as fraudsters pose as staff
A Scots grandfather was left in tears after cruel scammers posing as Royal Bank of Scotland staff stole £250k he'd saved for his family— now he's fighting to get it back. A grandad has told how ruthless scammers posing as Royal Bank of Scotland staff stole £250k put aside for his family's inheritance. Raymond Lumsden, 71, was devastated after falling victim to a sophisticated online scam. While he described the 'horrible' fraudsters as the principal villains, he has also hit out at RBS staff for failing to spot red flags before approving the transfer of money to the criminals' account. The retired businessman from Edinburgh hoped to grow his savings for to leave to his loved ones, but instead says the fraud has left him traumatised and thousands of pounds out of pocket. Raymond's nightmare began in January when he responded to a Facebook advert claiming to offer high returns on savings through Royal Bank of Scotland International (RBSI). After filling in his details, he was contacted by someone claiming to be a bank employee and shown professional-looking documents, email addresses and even LinkedIn profiles that matched the names and photos of legitimate staff. Raymond's nightmare began in January when he responded to a Facebook advert claiming to offer high returns on international bond investments through Royal Bank of Scotland International (RBSI). He told the Record: 'I thought the offer looked brilliant. I definitely didn't think it was a scam. There was never a doubt in my mind I was dealing with a legitimate Royal Bank employee.' Raymond then visited his local RBS branch in Corstorphine, Edinburgh, where staff approved his investment transaction with no questions asked - despite Raymond presenting emails that said he needed to send the money to a compliance solicitor's account at RBSI - rather than directly to the bank itself. The fraudsters even gave Raymond access to a fake RBSI online portal where he believed he could track his investment. But weeks later, his world came crashing down when RBS's fraud team phoned him to say they suspected he had been scammed. He continued: 'I didn't believe them at first You could have knocked me over with a feather.' The pensioner is now angry that his bank failed to spot the warning signs, especially when he later discovered that his money had been transferred to a Halifax account - not an RBS one as he had believed. He added: 'No one in the branch questioned if it might be a scam. They didn't do a single check." RBS, which is owned by NatWest Group, has now refunded Raymond £207,000 - but refused to reimburse the remaining £43,000. Raymond has since enlisted the help of National Fraud Helpline solicitors to recover the outstanding cash, who have launched a case with the Financial Ombudsman. Lawyer Fiona Bresnen said: 'Raymond had checked with staff if this was the correct procedure and was reassured that it was fine. He even showed bank staff the email exchanges which mentioned the compliance solicitor but was told that it was okay to transfer the money. This should have raised immediate red flags." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Raymond believes that if even the most basic checks had been carried out, he would not have lost any cash at all. He added: 'I've been with RBS for over 40 years. I trusted them." Now he just wants to recover what's left of the money he had hoped would go to his grandchildren. He said: "They've taken the kids' money and it would mean the world to get the rest of it back." A Royal Bank of Scotland spokesperson said: 'While we can't comment on a case that is at the Ombudsman, if a customer is dissatisfied with their bank's decision, we would always advise them to speak to the Ombudsman themselves who will support with the claim including providing specialised knowledge for free." Impersonation scams take place scammers pretend to be a person whose organisation you trust, in order to trick you in to giving them money or sensitive information. Scammers can use artificial intelligence (AI) to make their scams more realistic. They can make fake videos of celebrities, phone calls from people you know or websites and emails that look official. Be extra cautions of any unexpected contact.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Natwest returns to private ownership
Natwest has finally re-entered private ownership ending one of British banking's longest-running sagas. The government sold off its remaining 0.26 per cent stake in the group on Friday marking a full exit from the lender. The Treasury's share of the FTSE 100 lender dates back to the 2008 financial crisis. Natwest, then under the Royal Bank of Scotland moniker, received a £46bn bailout from taxpayer funds as it fought for survival. The government acquired an 80 per cent stake in Natwest as part of its rescue plan. The firm was not the only lender bailed out by the government. Lloyds received a £20bn injection for a 43 per cent stake. The Treasury pocketed around £4.9bn in dividend payments during its ownership with fees and other payments topping £5.6bn. However, today the government confirmed a £10.5bn loss to taxpayers since the bank was rescued during the 2008 financial crisis. Natwest follows Lloyds Banking Group, which departed from its status as a partially state-owned enterprise in 2017. Natwest CEO Paul Thwaite said: 'This is a significant moment for Natwest Group, for all those who work here and for the UK more widely. As we turn the page on the financial crisis, we can look to the future with confidence, without forgetting the lessons of the past. 'I am proud to have been part of the team that has helped build a simpler, safer, more customer-focussed bank. It is thanks to the incredible loyalty of our customers and colleagues, along with the support of our shareholders – including the UK taxpayer – that this change has been possible. 'Today we have a strategy that is working, positive momentum in our business and a clear ambition to succeed with our customers. 'This is a sector that matters; strong economies need strong banks, and vice versa. At a time when there is a clear intent to deliver growth, Natwest is ready to step up to the challenge, shaping our future as a vital and trusted partner to our customers and to the UK itself.' Up until 2022, the taxpayer was still the majority shareholder in the company. The government sold a chunk of its shares in March 2022, taking its stake to 48.1 per cent. But in the last year it has accelerated its sell-off to push Natwest back into private ownership. On January 14 2025, the government reduced its stake to 8.9 per cent, following a sale of 86.4m shares. And in early May, Natwest announced the government's holding had fallen below one per cent, averaging a two per cent reduction per month. Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, told : 'We don't know if it has been hands-on or stayed at arms' length, but it's fair to suggest that Natwest has followed the same path as other UK banks since the global financial crisis.' During the bank's annual general meeting, chairman Rick Haythornthwaite said the government had been 'positive and patient through the investing years'. Natwest stock notched a decade high of 478.80p in April, but the figure remains drastically dwarfed by pre-financial crisis highs of 5,236.28p. The lender pocketed £4bn in income for the first-quarter of 2025 after a rush to beat stamp duty deadlines boosted takings. The firm booked £1.8bn in pre-tax profit, surpassing the £1.6bn pencilled in by analysts. As Brits flocked to beat the Chancellor's March 31 deadline, net lending increased by £3.4bn to £371.9bn. Analysts hailed the lender's strategic positioning as operating expenses fell 8.5 per cent to £2bn. John Moore, senior investment manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: 'With some of its peers potentially retreating from the UK, that may open up opportunities for acquisition or other forms of expansion, which would provide further scale while sticking to the three pillars of the bank's strategy.' Natwest lodged an £11bn bid for Santander UK's retail arm earlier this year, according to reports from the Financial Times. Talks between the two lenders are no longer active, but should the takeover have gone ahead it would have birthed the biggest banking deal since the financial crisis. Whilst unsuccessful, the proposal could offer insight into Natwest's future post-privatisiation. The bank kicked off its shopping spree last year after snapping up the majority of Sainsbury's banking assets and purchasing Metro Bank's £2.5bn residential mortgages portfolio. Natwest is set to deliver its half-year results on July 25 – and for the first time in 15 years – in private ownership. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
