Mackay in bid to woo big investors
FINANCE Secretary Derek Mackay will be in London today in a bid to attract investment to boost Scotland’s economic growth.
He will unveil three investment propositions – a £137million opportunity in Glasgow’s Bothwell Street, the £150million Queen’s Square development in Aberdeen and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland in Renfrewshire, which is seeking £250million in funding.
Mackay will present the opportunities to a targeted audience of senior investors, fund managers and leading decision makers at Scotland House.
He said: “Attracting inward investment is a key priority for the Scottish Government and is one of the aims of our trade and investment strategy.” RYANAIR are closing their base at Glasgow Airport, putting about 300 jobs at risk.
The Irish carrier announced yesterday that they will slash the number of routes they operate out of Glasgow from 23 to three.
Bosses blamed the decision on the Scottish Government’s failure to abolish air passenger duty (APD) and the “lunacy” of Brexit.
Unveiling their winter 2018 schedule, they confirmed that only flights to Dublin, Wroclaw and Krakow would continue from Glasgow.
But Ryanair will add 11 routes to the 34 they already operate from Edinburgh, including five that will transfer from Glasgow.
New routes include Hamburg, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Seville and Tallinn.
Ryanair’s chief commercial officer David O’Brien said 300 indirect jobs could be lost at Glasgow due to a potential drop in passengers numbers of about 500,000 a year.
He said: “Sadly, the weaker Scottish market is even weaker still in Glasgow, which simply can’t bear the burden of APD at £13.
“This should not come as a surprise to the Government. We did say that our growth in Glasgow was based on their promise to abolish APD, which morphed into a promise to halve APD, which suddenly has disappeared into the ether.
“Quite frankly, we don’t have any more patience. There are other markets in the UK and Europe which offer a more compelling proposition.”
O’Brien added the “flipside” of the changes could see “around 700 jobs being introduced to Edinburgh”.
He said the capital was also hit by APD but was “a more fertile market” for the airline, adding: “The sense would be that there is more disposable income in the Edinburgh area than there is in the Glasgow area.”
O’Brien said the “great unknown” of Brexit was another threat to Scottish tourism.
Glasgow Airport said they were “bitterly disappointed” by Ryanair’s decision.
A spokesman added: “This is a result of the