Foreign investment reached record high

SCOTLAND won a record number of investments from overseas in 2016, although growth in the area was substantially lower than the previous year.

There were 122 foreign direct investment (FDI) deals done, up from 119 in 2015.

For the fifth year in a row, the EY Scotland Attractiveness Survey showed Scotland was the second most popular part of the UK to invest in behind London.

However, Scotland won a smaller share of overseas investment in 2016 than previously, with 10.7% of deals coming north of the border compared to 11.2% in 2015.

FDI in Scotland grew by 2.5% in 2016 — lower than the 7% increase recorded across the UK for that year and significantly down from 2015 when investment in Scotland grew by 51%.

Mark Harvey, EY’s senior partner in Scotland, said a “halo effect” from events such as the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup may have resulted in “abnormally high” levels of investment in 2015.

Scotland’s share of the jobs created from overseas investment last year was half what it was in 2015.