Scottish Enterprise announces quarterly RSA figures

Almost 2,000 new and planned jobs announced since July

Almost 2,000 jobs are to be created or safeguarded in Scotland thanks to £14.8 million of funding from Scottish Enterprise in Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) accepted over the last three months.

Scottish Enterprise’s report on RSA grants accepted between July and September 2010 which was published today, shows that funding was accepted by 32 businesses to create 1,447 jobs and safeguard a further 470.

The largest award of £7million was made to Erskine-based HP Enterprise Services UK Limited which will lead to the creation of 721 jobs. A further 368 jobs are planned by Vertex Data Science Limited in Glasgow thanks to an award of £1.7million.

A number of RSA awards were made to the Scottish manufacturing industry with 16 companies receiving a collective £2.5 million of funding to create or safeguard 368 jobs. Beneficiaries include Trak Mircrowave Limited (Dundee), BOC Limited (Lanarkshire) and O-I Manufacturing UK Limited (Forth Valley).

Commenting on the report, Lena Wilson chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, said:“These results show that despite the challenging economic conditions both indigenous and foreign companies continue to see Scotland as the right place in which to invest and grow their operations.

“Making RSA awards such as these is just one of the many ways in which we are encouraging companies to invest in Scotland, continuing our mission to create new jobs and build a stronger, more globally competitive economy.”

Enterprise Minister Jim Mather said: “These grants bring the total RSA awarded so far this calendar year to almost £38 million, which is helping to create and safeguard 4,500 Scottish jobs - and is just one example of the robust action the Scottish Government is taking to support businesses and attract new jobs and investment as we work to strengthen recovery.

"It is encouraging to see so many companies in Scotland - more than 80 this year - expanding and creating new jobs with invaluable RSA support despite the current challenging economic times.

"Our challenge now is to continue to work hard to support business and recovery, particularly in the face of challenging cuts in our budget from Westminster. We are achieving this through our economic recovery plan, which is directly supporting some 15,000 jobs, and as this report demonstrates, through Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise we continue to attract new jobs and investment promoting Scotland's strengths as a great place to live, work and invest.”

The full RSA Quarter 2 report can be accessed at: http://www.scottishbusinessgrants.gov.uk/rsa/178.html