SCOTLAND won a record number of foreign direct investment projects last year, building even further on the surge achieved in 2015, amid signs it is increasingly attracting technology, software and life sciences players, a survey reveals.
Accountancy firm EY’s closely-watched annual survey, published today, shows Scotland secured 122 foreign direct investment projects in 2016, up by 2.5 per cent from 119 in 2015.
EY highlighted the fact that this built on a 51 per cent leap in the number of inward investment projects attracted in 2015. Mark Harvey, its senior partner for Scotland, described this further increase as “really positive for Scotland in terms of its ability to attract investment in”.
The accountancy firm highlighted the fact that Scotland had last year retained its position as the second-most attractive UK destination for foreign direct investment, with only London winning a greater number of projects. EY noted that “Scotland has secured the UK’s second-highest number of projects in every one of the past five years”.
EY’s survey puts Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen in the UK’s top 10 cities for attracting foreign direct investment.
It shows a drop in the number of new jobs associated with inward investment projects won by Scotland, from 5,385 in 2015 to 2,868 last year, or from a rounded 45 to 24 per project on average.
Mr Harvey said: “There is clearly a challenge around the number of jobs that are coming per project – that has declined year-on-year.”
However, citing the creation of jobs in the likes of research and development, and life sciences, he added: “Our view around that is, if you look at the sectors [in which] the jobs are being created, these are good-quality jobs coming to Scotland, so we should look at the quality as well as the quantity of jobs.”
He described Scotland’s success in attracting technology, life sciences and software projects from overseas last year as “quite a powerful message to get across from the data”.
Mr Harvey saw no effect in the survey from renewed debate over a second Scottish independence referendum in the wake of last June’s vote by the UK electorate to leave the European Union.
He said: “I think it is more Brexit that is relevant at this stage.
Mr Harvey highlighted the apparent impact of Brexit on overseas investors’ perceptions of the UK. About 31 per cent of these investors predict in the latest annual survey that the UK’s attractiveness will decline in the future.
He observed this was up from just eight per cent in the previous annual survey, and added: “We think that is more about Brexit.”
Mr Harvey noted overseas investors had highlighted concerns over issues such as the UK’s access to the European market and to global trade deals, as well as to skills.
Glasgow attracted 28 inward investment projects last year, up by 27 per cent on 2015, to hold fifth spot among UK cities, behind London, Manchester, Birmingham and Belfast. Edinburgh was in sixth position, down three places, with 27 projects last year, down from 41 in 2015. Aberdeen climbed from tenth to seventh position by attracting 18 foreign direct investment projects last year, double the number in 2015, with EY highlighting a view that this signalled a rebound in offshore activity.
The US remained the top source of inward investment projects for Scotland, followed by France and Germany.
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