Professor John Robertson OBA
From EY UK yesterday, the above graph, and:
Scotland secures decade stretch as top UK FDI location outside London
- Despite 4.9% decrease in project numbers, Scotland’s share of UK projects grew to 15.8%, up from 14.4% in 2023, with a decade average of 11.5%
- Scotland is ranked sixth among the top ten FDI locations in Europe
- 25% of global investors planning to establish operations the UK next year expect to choose Scotland, second to London at 62%
- US remains Scotland’s top inbound with 37 projects in 2024, and 356 over the last decade
Scotland secured 135 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2024 and has cemented its reputation as the top UK FDI location outside London after marking a decade in the position. Despite a drop of seven projects (-4.9%) on the year before, this is still the second highest annual number of projects recorded, according to the latest EY Scotland Attractiveness Survey.
Against a UK and Europe backdrop of a marked decline in project numbers, Scotland’s share of projects has increased year-on-year and now sits at 15.8%, up from 14.4% in 2023, and with a ten-year average of 11.5%.
https://www.ey.com/en_uk/newsroom/2025/06/scotland-secures-decade-stretch-as-top-uk-fdi-location
This good news is getting little MSM coverage.
The Herald has this grudging headline – Glasgow and Edinburgh swap places as Scottish FDI strong
BBC Scotland Business finds no space for this story, under pressure to report Flamingo Land and abattoir job losses.
Earlier 8% reports here:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
With reference to the graph in the header, what happened to Scotland’s FDI performance pre-2015, in the years of uncertainty over what Scotland’s people would opt for in a late 2014 referendum. Would they choose that most awful of outcomes, independence? Surely that would have given foreign investors cause to pause – no longer in a UK, out of the EU – fears a plenty?
So what happened? From Business Insider (May 27, 2015): ‘Survey: Slight fall in inward investment to Scotland in 2014 – Latest attractiveness survey from accountants EY suggests Scotland attracted 80 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects last year, down from 82 in 2013 and was second only to London in attracting inward investment.’
Source: https://www.insider.co.uk/news/survey-slight-fall-inward-investment-9892649
The article reports: ‘Inward investment to Scotland dipped slightly last year against the 16-year high recorded in 2013, new figures from accountants EY suggest.’
You will note that the last bit about 2013 being a 16-year high is missing from the headline. It had to be to max out on the negative framing presumably!
From the same article: ‘Commenting on the latest attractiveness survey, EY partner Mark Harvey said: “In an uncertain world, Scotland is punching above its weight in securing global FDI but challenges remain”. And for context: “The world economy continues to struggle for growth and FDI values globally fell in 2014.”
So in a struggling, uncertain world economy, Scotland was punching above its weight amidst its own constitutional uncertainty, with one possible outcome being portrayed by the UK government and mainstream media as bringing economic disaster to Scotland and one opposed (apparently) by several influential leaders internationally? Go figure!
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