Scotland on ‘cusp of revolution’ and ‘superbly positioned’ in climate tech
SCOTLAND is playing a leading role in developing new technology that can “help meet the challenge of global climate change” and finds itself “superbly well positioned” on the cusp of a “revolution” in this arena, a new analysis concludes.
The report, which is hailed as the nation’s “first analysis” of the “climate tech” sector, was commissioned by taxpayer-backed economic development agency Scottish Enterprise.
It examines Scotland’s positioning in terms of sectors including energy, transport, the built environment, and land use, highlighting a raft of projects in these areas by companies including Scottishpower and Wood. The report was carried out by Scotlandis, the “membership and cluster management” organisation for the digital technologies industry in Scotland.
Looking ahead to the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which is being staged in Glasgow in November, the report states: “To conclude, Scotland is on the cusp of a climate tech revolution and, in the lead up to COP26, it is vital that we highlight Scotland’s climate tech capability to the global audience.”
Unveiling the report, Scotlandis says: “The research demonstrates that Scotland has both strength and depth in emerging climate technology and highlights an exciting array of initiatives by Scottish organisations in the climate tech space.
“The report highlights the global opportunities for Scotland’s tech community to capitalise on climate technology needs across a range of sectors, including energy, the built environment, land use and transport.”
Karen Meechan, interim chief executive of Scotlandis, said: “The race to net zero and addressing climate change are global priorities. Although a sector in its infancy, climate tech is already making a big impact. Scotland is superbly well positioned to become a climate tech centre of global excellence, building on the nation’s expertise in renewable energy, low-carbon transport and cutting emissions in both the rural and urban environment.
“Our climate tech report is the first document in Scotland setting out the size, scale and nature of the climate tech sector. The UK and Scotland are both well placed to support the digital community create a flourishing climate tech ecosystem.”
Scottish Enterprise interim chief executive Linda Hanna said: “Innovative technology and digital solutions have a core role to help get us to net zero. Climate tech is a rapidly emerging industry with enormous potential across a range of sectors such as energy, sustainable transport, the built environment, agriculture and land use.
“This report captures the growth and investment potential of climate tech, highlighting some of the Scottish companies already successfully working in this space.”
AUTOREK, the Glasgow-based fintech company, has signalled plans to expand internationally and step up its product development plans after securing a “significant equity growth investment”.
Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) has made the undisclosed investment amid growing demand for Autorek’s cloud-based financial reporting, data management and reconciliation software. Autorek’s clients include major financial institutions such as Bank of England, Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide.
While the specifics of the SEP investment were not disclosed, a spokeswoman said it had been made under the private equity firm’s £260 million SEP5 fund.
Autorek, which was established in 1994 as a Microsoft consultancy business, employs 85 staff across its offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, having placed “huge focus” on expanding its headcount in the last five years. And it expects staff numbers to “accelerate” further to the SEP investment.
Co-founder and chief executive Gordon Mcharg said: “We are delighted to have SEP on board as an investment partner to continue the successful evolution of the Autorek business.
“SEP has extensive experience in the software sector and we are looking forward to working with them to build on our recent growth and to capitalise on the substantial opportunity within the global financial services market.”
The deal was led by SEP partner Andrew Davison and director Angus Conroy, who have both now joined the Autorek board.
Mr Conroy said: “Autorek is a fast growing and capital efficient Saas (software as a service) company, delivering business critical functionality to financial institutions across the asset management, banking and insurance sectors.
“The company has an excellent reputation in the financial and regulatory data management market and a strong focus on product innovation. We are pleased to be working with the management team to help them achieve their growth ambitions.”
In an interview with The Herald last summer, Mr Mcharg explained that one of the biggest drivers of growth for Autorek had been its decision to move from selling to leasing its software around five years ago. He said: “When you have clients like Lloyds Banking Group, Fidelity, Bank of England, Nationwide, signing up on a rental basis, then you have a much stronger and continuous revenue income.”