Reality
Boost in FDI employment
Scotland’s impressive 2015 record attracting inward investment was also reflected by a considerable increase (52%) in the number of jobs FDI created: 5,385 were secured in 2015, the second highest figure for the decade behind 2011’s 5,926.
In 2015 Scotland had a 12.7% market share of overall UK FDI employment, slightly below the ten year average of 14.3%.
Software sector surges
The stand-out performance by sector came from software, which was responsible for the greatest number of FDI projects (19) – a 170% increase on the previous year.
This growth was only bettered by two sectors: business services saw a six-fold increase to 12, and utility supply achieved 10 projects – a five-fold increase.
Strong performances in increasing inward investment for sectors led to a jobs boost, with business services responsible for the largest growth in employment, followed by software, food, and scientific research.
Scottish cities hold their own against UK counterparts
Scotland’s three most successful cities for inward investment appear in the UK top ten, with two inside the top five. Edinburgh landed the third spot behind London in first and Manchester in second, while Glasgow reached fifth, and Aberdeen was in joint tenth position with Bristol and Cambridge.
In 2015, Edinburgh saw almost a three-fold increase in FDI projects (41) while Glasgow’s figure more than doubled in comparison to 2014 to 22, and Aberdeen saw nine, down from 12 the previous year.
Change to the make-up of Scotland’s top investors
The US continues to be Scotland’s primary investor, but China and India are not in the top five, while Norway and Canada are. In fact, neither China nor India are even in the top ten, despite being the third and fifth biggest sources of investment respectively for the UK as a whole.
The UK picture
The UK saw a 20% growth in projects, with 1,065 attracted last year, the largest number since the survey began in 2006. The UK took a 20.9% share of the 5,083 projects locating in Europe.
Over 90% of the UK’s total growth came from the regions outside London and the South East. The North West led the way out of 12 UK regions, with a 118% increase in projects contributing to a 127% growth in FDI across the Northern Powerhouse since the term was coined two years ago.
Only three regions saw a decline in projects during the year – the South East (22% fall), Northern Ireland (62% fall) and Wales (2% fall).
