Welcome to the Scottish Cities Alliance Investment Prospectus, which showcases a range of robust, investor-ready propositions and pipeline projects spanning a range of sectors.

Scotland’s cities and the Scottish Government form the Alliance, a one-stop shop to offer investors a joined-up approach to create projects of scale across the broad business spectrum of high value propositions. 

There are many reasons to invest in Scotland’s sustainable and smart cities, from their excellent connectivity, to their attractively low tax rates, a high quality of life, a highly skilled workforce and last, but certainly not least, a proud history of innovation with Scots inventing everything from television to Skyscanner. It’s on this culture of innovation that Scottish cities are building their aspiration for inclusive economic growth. Scotland is the most attractive region for investing in the UK after London according to E&Y’s Attractiveness Survey, and with ongoing interest from a wide range of international investors in the development opportunities offered by Scotland’s cities, it will remain a desirable destination for investment.

With more than £5 billion committed so far to supporting economic development in Scotland through City Region and Growth Deals, our eight cities are modern thriving destinations each with their own distinct personality and sectoral strengths – Aberdeen, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth, Stirling and my own city, Dundee, which is undergoing a £1billion transformation on its Waterfront, with the stunning V&A Museum of Design at its heart, highlights the diverse range of sectoral strengths and scales for investment.

With more than £5 billion committed so far to supporting economic development in Scotland through City Region and Growth Deals, our seven cities are modern thriving destinations each with their own distinct personality and sectoral strengths.

Scotland has more than 5,100 international companies with giants in tech such as Skyscanner, FanDuel, Amazon, SKY as well as start-ups such as Nucleus Financial, FreeAgent and Money Dashboard already taking advantage of the many benefits of locating in this data-driven economy. 

Smart City technology is transforming Scotland’s cities, enabling them to become more internationally competitive and boost economic growth. To seize the opportunities offered by new technologies, Scotland’s cities have worked collaboratively to create the ground-breaking Smart Cities Scotland programme which is helping services across the cities become more efficient and greener, which provides a strong foundation to attract and grow new hi-tech businesses that will drive future sustainable economic success. 

We also recognise the role that hydrogen can play in placing Scotland at the forefront internationally within the renewables sector. Building on the many achievements to-date, including the deployment of refuelling infrastructure, hydrogen fuel cell electric buses and vehicles, working collaboratively, the Alliance will ramp up these opportunities across our cities and regions focussing on heavy fleet vehicles such as ferries, trucks and trains, energy storage and the decarbonising of heat and the eradication of fuel poverty.

The “Smart” ambitions of Scotland’s cities will ensure that they become some of the most sustainable and desirable places to live, work and invest in the world. 

Scotland’s eight thriving cities offer world-class investor-ready opportunities. We invite you to join us on this exciting journey