Scottish Government
Printable version

Scotland “punching above economic weight”

Record American investment in “high global profile” year

Scotland has recorded a third successive year as the UK’s most successful inward investment magnet outside London in terms of the number of investment projects secured, according to the latest annual EY attractiveness survey.

The 2014 figures show Scotland attracted 80 separate foreign investment projects, with the number of manufacturing projects more than doubling compared to last year. Almost half of all projects coming to Scotland in 2014 – 37 – came from the USA, representing a ten-year high in American investment.

Experts at EY have attributed the investment success in part to the high global profile enjoyed by Scotland in 2014, thanks to the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and referendum.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said:

“Scotland is punching above our economic weight, with the EY Attractiveness Survey showing we continue to be the most successful part of the UK outside London in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) projects.

“The number of manufacturing FDI projects coming to Scotland more than doubled, growing from 15 to 31. Combined with a rise in scientific research projects – reaching another ten-year high – and the largest number of financial FDI projects since 2006, this shows an encouraging trend towards high-value projects that recognise our highly-skilled workforce.

“In all, 80 separate inward investment projects came to Scotland last year and almost half of them were from the USA – a ten-year record.

“This is not just a positive year for Scotland but a continuation of a pattern of competitive excellence – over the last ten years Scotland has secured over 37,000 jobs from FDI, a narrow second only to London and well ahead of all other parts of the UK.

“Last year, thanks to the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and referendum, Scotland was on the world stage as never before and this has resulted in a tangible economic benefit from foreign investment.

“These figures show we are a national economy whose attractiveness as an FDI location is continuing to hold its own in an increasingly competitive global market.”

Lena Wilson, Chief Executive, Scottish Enterprise, said:

"Scotland has an outstanding international reputation as these results once again show.

“We will use this platform to further exploit Scotland to attract greater levels of investment from around the world and ensure more Scottish companies are realising the benefits of internationalisation."

Notes To Editors

To see the EY report, please visit www.ey.com/attractiveness.

 

Channel website: http://www.gov.scot/

Share this article

Latest News from
Scottish Government