Scotland is favoured location in UK for foreign investors

FOREIGN companies are more likely to choose Scotland than other parts of the UK to invest in, according to an annual survey.

The survey, by Ernst & Young, also discovered that the debate over independence was having “little or not effect” on the decisions taken by overseas firms to invest north of the Border.

It concluded that a total of 5,926 jobs were created through overseas investment last year, up by 50 per cent on 2010, putting Scotland at the top of the jobs table for the second year running.

However, the increase was tempered by a drop in the number of projects, down from 69 to 51, which is a faster decline than the rest of the UK, the annual “UK attractiveness” survey found.

The survey is a boon both for the Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies which, the report concluded “have ensured that Scotland remains an attractive proposition among international investors”.

On the constitutional issue, the survey declared: “Perhaps most surprisingly, respondents attracted by the UK’s corporate taxation regime and/or by its relatively stable political climate were more likely to favour Scotland as an investment location over the rest of the UK. This further indicates that, as of the 2011 data, concerns over the prospect of independence and its impact on taxation levels are having little or no effect on foreign direct investment decisions.”

Senior partner Jim Bishop said: “overseas companies looking to invest in jobs in the UK are more likely to choose Scotland than any other part of the country.”