There are plenty of people, within and outwith the business world, who are happy to pan the Scottish Government at every opportunity.
Most of the time, unsurprisingly, this is politically motivated.
That is not to say that business should not lobby for the things it believes will help it, and we have seen plenty of this in the run-up to today’s Scottish Budget.
The Scottish Government should, of course, pay heed to sensible suggestions, and help where it can, while taking into account broader societal considerations. And businesses, for their own long-term benefit, should be cognisant of the societal context. They benefit from having access to a highly educated workforce and to customers who have enough money to spend on their goods and services.
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Sadly on an overall level, however, when it comes to business and the economy, what the seemingly constant whine of complaints from the Scottish Government’s detractors does is create the impression that Scotland has become a most unattractive place to invest. And such an impression is surely bad for everyone.
At the moment, in this vein, the build-to-rent lobby has been particularly noisy, as it pursues its own money-making agenda, as is perhaps only natural.
Amid all the whingeing and negativity, it was particularly encouraging, and not for the first time, to see yet more good news for Scotland on the foreign direct investment (FDI) front last week.
A key survey from law firms Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie (WJM) and Irwin Mitchell revealed Edinburgh has replaced Brighton as the highest-ranking city in the UK outside London for FDI attractiveness.
The study, which incorporates the latest analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, examines recent changes to FDI attractiveness of 50 locations based on 10 economic indicators. These indicators cover three “pillars”: growth potential, skills and infrastructure.
The Scottish capital moved up two places in the latest quarterly table, from sixth to fourth, behind only inner London, central London and outer London.
WJM and Irwin Mitchell said of the Scottish capital: “Edinburgh demonstrates robust performance in the infrastructure category, attributed to its extensive public transport usage and the interconnectivity of its transport network, along with advanced digital infrastructure.”
They added: “Regarding its growth potential, Edinburgh’s overall score has risen from July 2024, driven by relatively strong employment growth forecasts for 2025. Although the city’s score in the skills category fell slightly, it remains strong due to institutions like the University of Edinburgh.”
Fraser Gillies, managing partner of WJM, said: “Edinburgh’s strong performance in the previous report was already impressive, and it is particularly pleasing to see the city move even further up the league table.
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“This consistent improvement highlights Edinburgh’s robust local infrastructure and growth potential, making it an increasingly attractive destination for foreign investment.”
And there were some other big positives, from a Scottish perspective, in the WJM and Irwin Mitchell survey.
Glasgow was in 11th position in the latest survey, unchanged from the previous quarter. This is not a bad placing at all, given London occupies the top three slots. And it was heartening to see Glasgow consolidate its position in 11th, having climbed four places in the previous quarterly survey.
It is important, amid the understandable debate over the state of central Glasgow, that we do not lose sight of all that the city has to offer overseas investors, not least in terms of its skills base.
Aberdeen moved up 18 places in the league table over the latest quarter, from 39th to 21st place. This was attributed partly to “comparatively strong employment growth forecasts”.
Amid the energy transition and associated challenges for the oil and gas sector, Aberdeen does not have its troubles to seek, so its jump up the table in the latest quarter was most encouraging. Aberdeen had climbed three places in the previous quarterly survey, which was a positive but also highlights the extent of the improvement this time round.
It was interesting to see the EY ITEM Club think-tank, as it published its latest Scottish economic forecasts yesterday, highlight the important part which FDI plays in boosting labour productivity.
Separately, accountancy firm EY’s latest annual survey of Scotland’s attractiveness to overseas investors, published back in July, showed the nation won a record number of FDI projects in 2023, with renewable energy featuring prominently.
Scotland also retained its position in 2023 as second only to London among UK locations in attracting new inward investment projects, the survey showed.
Scotland won 142 FDI projects last year, a 12.7% rise from the previous record annual figure of 126 achieved in 2022. This was the fifth consecutive year of increase. EY noted Scotland was the only part of the UK to achieve this.
The survey also showed the increase in the number of inward investment projects won by Scotland in 2023 was more than twice as sharp as the 6% rise seen across the UK.
Scotland’s increased FDI flow saw its share of all such projects won by the UK come in at 14.4% in 2023, up from 13.6% in the previous year. EY observed the 14.4% share is the highest over the past decade.
There has been a lot of good news on the FDI front for Scotland for a long time now.
Many critics of the SNP point to how long it has been in power at Holyrood, as they often gleefully highlight negatives and generally seem at pains to present a dire picture of the state of Scotland.
However, the FDI figures suggest the SNP must have been getting quite a lot of things right during its period in power when it comes to Scotland’s attractiveness as a place in which to invest and do business, even if this is lost on many people amid the noise.
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