Some of the biggest names in Scottish business have backed a campaign to bring Great British Energy to Aberdeen.

Sir Ian Wood, Martin Gilbert and Douglas Craig are among 750 business leaders who have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling on his government to headquarter a new state-owned energy company in the North-east.

Over 200 companies – including FTSE-listed Wood Group and global energy financiers SCF Partners and Piper Sander – have also backed the campaign, which has been launched by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber Commerce (AGCC).

The breadth of signatures spans not just energy, but covers the entire economy of the North-east, including names from professional services (Gilson Gray, TMM Recruitment and Raeburn Christie Clark & Wallace), commercial property (CBRE, Ryden & Savills), housebuilding (Scotia Homes and Kirkwood Homes), transport (Firstbus Scotland) and hospitality (Malmaison Hotels and Aberdeen City & Shire Hotels Association).

The creation of Great British Energy is expected to be part of the Energy Independence Bill which will be announced in the King’s Speech on Wednesday as Labour sets out its legislative programme.

The state energy firm will be headquartered in Scotland, although ministers have been coy on its exact location to date, with Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh understood to be under consideration.

The Chamber argues that Aberdeen’s unique combination of industry expertise, strategic location, and public support makes it the ideal choice for the new state-backed energy company.

It emphasises that Great British Energy must be co-created with the energy sector to ensure its success.

“That industry is largely based here in the North-east of Scotland,” the letter states, adding: “we have the largest cluster of energy supply chain companies anywhere in the UK, harbouring one of the largest concentrations of subsea engineering capabilities anywhere in the world.”

AGCC Chief Executive, Russell Borthwick, said:
“On Tuesday morning, this letter will land on ministerial desks with a clear message from the North-east of Scotland; work with us to make the UK a clean energy superpower.

“Headquartering Great British Energy in Aberdeen will send a clear message that the city region will remain, for many years to come, a globally recognised energy hub and the engine room for a green transition.

“The business community of Aberdeen and Grampian is calling on Labour to recognise our strengths, to put their faith in us, and to locate Great British Energy in Aberdeen.”

Aberdeen City Council co-leaders Christian Allard and Ian Yuill have also written to the prime minister urging him to pick the Granite City.

They say backing the region will ensure that Aberdeen, rather than a city on mainland Europe, becomes Europe’s Net Zero energy capital.

KeyFacts Energy news: Aberdeen Focus