So why was video game giant that made £4.5bn handed YOUR cash?
High-tech company was given £3.3million in grants
ONE of the world’s most successful video games companies received a seven-figure grant from the Scottish taxpayer – while paying out tens of millions of pounds in dividends to shareholders.
Edinburgh-based Rockstar North is regularly hailed as a national success story.
Its latest hit, the Wild West-inspired Red Dead Redemption 2, generated worldwide sales of about £560 million on its first weekend last year.
It was Rockstar North’s first completely new release since Grand Theft Auto V, in 2013, which has made £4.5 billion and sold 185 million copies.
But despite the vast sums the games rake in, Rockstar North received £3.3 million in grants from Scottish Enterprise in the past six years, none of which will have to be repaid.
In the same period, it paid out about £30 million in dividends.
In the past two years alone, it received more than £2 million in public cash, while paying dividends of £12.5 million in 2017, and £15 million last year.
Rockstar North recorded a pretax profit of £8.3 million last year.
Ferraris are often seen entering the underground car park at its base, The Scotsman newspaper’s old premises by Holyrood Park. Last night, critics warned there was ‘no good argument’ for such use of public cash, and an MSP demanded better value for taxpayer investment.
Rockstar North’s parent company is the US-based Rockstar Games, and Scottish Enterprise argued the grant secured jobs and investment, which could have gone abroad.
But one Nationalist MSP said Rockstar Games was playing Scotland off against other countries.
Alex Neil, who scrutinises public spending as a member of the parliament’s Audit Committee, said: ‘If we want these jobs to come to Scotland, we have to provide the incentives. However, there’s a debate to be had about maximising the return for the taxpayer.
‘Through the OECD and UN, we need more multinational agreements to ensure that these companies can’t play one country off against another.
‘We are very quick to give these grants, but there are other ways to offer support, like loans or – if the company is paying out large dividends – put it in as equity to get a better return for the taxpayer.’
Meanwhile, John O’Connell, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers in Scotland will be disappointed to see their hard-earned money given away like this. This company is profitable and in no need of subsidy, but even if it was, there’s no good argument for a government picking and choosing which businesses succeed and fail.
‘If politicians in Scotland want to help businesses thrive then they should consider taking less money away from them by cutting taxes.’
Rockstar North and Rockstar Games were contacted online and in person, but did not respond. Scottish Enterprise defended the issuing of the grants.
A spokeswoman said: ‘Our grant support helped bring more than 60 new high-value jobs to Scotland and leveraged private investment of more than £17 million towards research and development for the company, which would otherwise have been delivered in one of Rockstar Games’s other international locations.
‘We recognise the contribution that successful companies such as Rockstar North make to the economy and our investment helps to anchor and secure investment and jobs here in Scotland.’
‘It is profitable and in no need of a subsidy’ ‘Put money in as equity to get taxpayers a return’