FDI employment up 9% as Scotland continues to shine

The announcement was made as Mr Ivan McKee, minister for trade, investment and innovation, met with a number of inward investors from Scotland’s flourishing life sciences sector, during a visit to Biocity in Lanarkshire.

This strong year on year increase in FDI jobs backs up the recent EY Scotland Attractiveness survey by illustrating Scotland’s ongoing attractiveness to foreign investors, during what has continued to be a challenging climate for inward investment.

Key points from the inward investment results include:

• 8516 jobs created and safeguarded by inward investment, of which 3362 are high value jobs, with salaries around 20% higher than the Scottish average
• 40 new investors chose to locate in Scotland
• Europe, Middle East and Africa was the biggest region for both FDI projects and jobs;
• Technology and advanced engineering (TAE), tourism and life sciences were the biggest contributors for projects by sector
• TAE, financial & business services and food & drink were the biggest contributors for jobs by sector.

Notable FDI successes during the last year include:

• The financial and business services sector made a significant contribution to both total and HVA jobs. Key highlights include the attraction of SThree’s new Centre of Excellence to Glasgow, creating 314 jobs, and Australian Fintech company Computershare’s Technology Centre to Edinburgh with the creation of 300 roles.
• In high value manufacturing and health, Bioclavis, a new spin-out from Californian molecular profiling company Biospyder, is setting up in Glasgow, creating 43 new HVA jobs. The move is part of a £10m investment supported by SE with a £3.4m Seek & Solve research and development grant. The new business will work in close collaboration with the NHS and university researchers.
• In tourism, there has been a focus on hotel investment opportunities, working these through from initial contacts at Hotel Investment Conferences and other events, to building relationships with top prospects and following through on specific projects, working with partners such as Virgin Hotels
• Within the technology and advanced engineering sector, Spiritus Developments Ltd, a US Data-Blockchain company, contributed 20+ new HVA jobs, strengthening Scotland’s position as a world-leading location for data-related developments.

Neil Francis, operations director of SDI, said: “Just recently, the EY Attractiveness survey highlighted a record year for Scotland in attracting inward investment during 2017, and now our own results back this up, showing a 9% increase in new jobs from inward investors over the 2017/18 financial year.

“Clearly, this is great news for the Scottish economy; not only do investors bring jobs and new business opportunities but they help to develop our supply chains and drive Scotland’s position in the global business arena by reinforcing our reputation as a fantastic place to invest and do international business.

“And the full impact of inward investment extends beyond this; increasingly we are seeing foreign investors making a real difference not just to our economy, but to people and places across Scotland, by investing in and creating opportunities for our young people and by putting in place more inclusive working practices to generate wider benefits.

“These results recognise the collective effort of partners across Scotland and internationally who work so hard to ensure the people of Scotland share the benefits of foreign investment in Scotland. We will continue to target our resources on the sectors, companies and areas of opportunity where we see most likelihood of success, and where we expect to see real economic and social impact for Scotland.”

Minister for trade, investment and innovation, Mr Ivan McKee added: “For yet another year Scotland is proving to be a highly attractive place for foreign investors.

“Investors are attracted to Scotland for many reasons. Access to a skilled and educated workforce, a supportive business environment and competitive tax rates and property and salary costs all play a crucial role - as does the bespoke support provided through our public sector bodies. It adds up to an attractive package that not only secures new investment in Scotland, but helps to retain and grow our existing investors.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITOR

• WATCH: an employee of Computershare, an Australian investor which last year committed to creating 200 jobs in Edinburgh, talk about how the company’s inclusive working practices are benefiting its employees. 
• Scotland was the top UK location outside London for the attraction of FDI projects in 2017 (EY Attractiveness Survey Scotland 2018)
• NB the SDI inward investment results consider projects and planned jobs announced during the financial year 2017/18, whereas the EY survey relates to projects and jobs announced during the 2017 calendar year.
• The 2017/18 results mean that SDI has achieved its measures relating to planned jobs, both for the 2017/18 financial year and over the three-year period from 2015. In fact, during 2017/18, the number of HVA jobs exceeded targets, illustrating Scotland’s ability to win higher value jobs and projects.
• Findings from a recent evaluation of international trade and investment activity delivered by SDI indicated that for every £1 spent on attracting inward investment to Scotland, £9 is generated for the Scottish economy. Inward investors reported that the key outcomes of support are the creation and sustaining of jobs by enabling new investment (buildings, machinery etc), increased training of the workforce and attracting new innovations and increased R&D to Scotland.
• SDI counts planned and safeguarded jobs confirmed by inward investors through SDI/SE/HIE and DIT inward investment interventions. This evidence is then validated and is subject to audit procedures.