Trade trip strengthens bond between businesses in Scotland and Ireland
● Enterprise Ireland trade mission looks to build on multi-billion flow of business
Three companies backed by Enterprise Ireland have sealed major new contract wins with Scottish partners and embarked on expansion within the UK market thanks to a trade mission this week.
The two-day trade mission to Scotland, which concluded yesterday, was organised by Enterprise Ireland – the Irish government’s trade agency and the third largest seed investor in Europe.
The move aims to deepen existing relations and grow market opportunities between the two countries, particularly within construction, agri-tech, financial services and offshore wind.
Enterprise Ireland brought 56 Irish firms to participate in trade discussions – highlighting strong business prospects, as well as confirming the scope and scale of the oppor- tunities in the country. As a result of the trade mission, Central Solutions has signed a two-year partnership agreement with ABP Food Group, traffic data collection specialist IDASO has opened its first UK office, in Edinburgh, and data and analytics technology company Over-c, alongside O2, has struck a five-year technology partnership with Scotrail.
Irish minister for business, enterprise and innovation, Heather Humphreys, said: “As Brexit negotiations progress, uncertainties remain for both Scottish and Irish companies and it has reinforced the need for us to strengthen our dialogue and interaction at company and government level.
“Throughout the mission, we have been engaging with senior officials and decision makers to further strengthen ties between Ireland and Scotland.”
For Scotland and Ireland, exports in each direction have increasedbymorethan100per cent since 2012 and last year Irish-scottish trade exceeded £1.8 billion. Ireland is also the fourth largest foreign direct investor in Scotland.
Over the last year alone, the fintech exports of Enterprise Ireland clients to Scotland grew by 12 per cent.
Deirdre Mcpartlin, Enterprise Ireland UK manager, said: “Scotland and Ireland have always had strong trade ties and we welcome the new business and expansion progress.
“Aligned with our market diversification strategy, Enterprise Ireland is supporting Irish companies to extend their customer range and geographic footprint in the UK.
“Our trade mission to Scotland this week, reflects the strong appetite from Irish companies to continue to grow their customer base and diversify across the UK.”