Thousands of firms will have a rise in their business rates capped at 12.5% following protests to the Scottish Government, the finance secretary has announced.

Derek Mackay made the announcement at Holyrood following sustained pressure from business groups over proposed rate increases.

Three out of ten businesses in Scotland are facing a rise in their rates following the first revaluation since 2010.

A revaluation was due to take place in 2012 but it was postponed by the Scottish Government.

Some of the firms were facing increases of more than 100%.

Mackay said: "This is the first business rates revaluation since 2010 and takes account of the changes in property values during the economic recovery.

"It is conducted by independent assessors appointed by local government.

"Although councils retain all the revenue from business rates and have the power to offer rate reductions, it has become clear that there are some sectors and regions where the increase in rateable values is out of kilter with the wider picture of the revaluation."

He added; "I have listened and decided that we will act nationally to tackle the impact.

"Hospitality businesses, such as hotels and pubs, across Scotland will see rises capped at no more than 12.5%, recognising the concerns that have been raised with me over the scale of the increases and the valuation methodology which sets them apart from other sectors.

"In addition offices in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will see any rise capped at 12.5% in recognition of the effect of the drop in oil price on the local economy."

Mackay's changes were described as a mere "sticking plaster" for the business rate system by a business group.

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy at the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "Mr Mackay's announcement today is yet another sticking plaster on the suppurating wound of the unreformed business rates system.

"Today's measures will hopefully help some of the businesses affected by the revaluation, albeit only by adding even further complexity to an already fiendishly complicated system. However, it will do little to deal with the underlying problem caused by revaluations which take place too rarely to flex with the economic conditions.

"The rates system is no longer fit for purpose. It regularly fails to reflect economic or trading conditions, with rates bills way too high, especially for the 21,000 commercial premises in Scotland which continue to pay a higher tax rate than competitors or counterparts in England."

The Scottish Conservatives also criticised the cap's impact.

Murdo Fraser, the party's finance spokesman, said: "For weeks the SNP has been ignoring this issue, claiming it had no control over this process.

"In the typical style of this SNP government, it fell asleep at the wheel and only woke up when it crashed into the wall.

"We've heard on more than one occasion that this budget has been maxed out, yet once again Mr Mackay has been able to find a bit more money down the back of the couch.

"It's a desperate eleventh-hour move which will do very little to ease concerns within Scotland's business community, given that it is for one year only."

Independent assessors are tasked with calculating the rentable value of businesses across the country.

The rate companies pay is calculated by multiplying the rateable value by a "poundage rate" set by the Scottish Government.

The poundage rate is due to fall from 48.4p to 46.6p in the next financial year but the threshold for large businesses to pay an extra 2.6p supplement is set to rise from £35,000 to £51,000.