Timberlake and Woods win on sports bar: 5 need-to-know business stories

Hello and welcome to our daily digest of business, financial and economic news from around Scotland.
1. The redevelopment of a historic Scottish cinema backed by Justin Timberlake and Tiger Woods has moved forward.
The New Picture House project in St Andrews has had its alcohol licence approved by Fife council.
There had been concern over the future of the listed 1930s building but planning permission to retain two cinema screens and add leisure and dining facilities was approved earlier this year.
The upmarket sports bar will feature darts, sports simulators and duckpin bowling — a variation on tenpin bowling — when it opens next year.
Christopher Anand, managing partner for the developer T-Squared Social, confirmed the venue would close next month as part of its overhaul and was expected to reopen before next summer.
2. A Scottish start-up developing a new prosthetic hand has received £800,000 in funding.
Metacarpal, founded in 2020 and based in Edinburgh, will use the money to further develop the prosthetic, which is controlled by body motion rather than electronics, as well as scale up manufacturing and create new jobs.
SIS Ventures, Scottish Enterprise, Worth Capital, Oxford Technology, the University of Strathclyde and the Gabriel Investment Syndicate were the backers.
Fergal Mackie, a product design engineering graduate from the University of Strathclyde, came up with the concept after breaking both wrists during his final year of studies.
3. Pathways Forward has added eight new partners as part of its efforts to improve female entrepreneurship numbers.
The organisation, led by Ana Stewart, is also hosting its first Female Founders Growth Summit next month.
The new partners are Converge, the Open University in Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, SIS Ventures, Social Investment Scotland, South of Scotland Enterprise, and the University of Strathclyde.
They have signed up to look at areas including providing programmes with integrated childcare; supplying evidence of increased female participation; and capturing more gender-related data.
Stewart said: “We have been overwhelmed by the level of support for Pathways from across the corporate, public, and not-for-profit sectors, and the Pledge partnership centres on firm commitments to effect change across each organisation.”
4. Burness Paull has added a new partner to its employment team.
Claire Scott returns to the law firm’s Aberdeen office after a spell at Pinsent Masons.
Lisa Byars is also moving back to Burness Paull from Pinsent Masons and will become a director in the employment team.
Mandy Laurie, head of employment at Burness Paull, said: “The increasing complexity of the employment law landscape means that we continue to see strong demand for specialist employment advice across all sectors.
“Our expectation is that demand will only grow further as our clients prepare for the UK government’s forthcoming reforms, which have been dubbed the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation.”
5. Nandi Proteins has received £500,000 of new loan funding.
Nesta and Scottish Enterprise have provided the backing for the Edinburgh firm, which is developing various products for the food industry.
It is hoping to raise a further £1 million later this year in a share offering.
The cash would be used to support further development of a vegetable protein-based product which can replace egg whites in baked goods and meat alternative items.
Kerry Sharp, director of entrepreneurship and investment at Scottish Enterprise, said: “As an existing investor we are pleased to support Nandi Proteins as it makes real progress towards commercialising its innovative protein technology.”