2025 marks another year of Scotland winning the top location for UK foreign direct investment (FDI) outside of London. With 135 FDI projects in 2024 – down by just seven on its record high in 2023 – the country continues to be an attractive investment location despite global challenges.

The latest EY Scotland Attractiveness Survey has highlighted the country's robust performance for FDI in 2024, with Scotland's three major cities – Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen – all ranking in the UK top 10 cities. 

Ally Scott, Managing Partner at EY Scotland, highlighted Scotland's strengths in attracting FDI:
"Scotland continues to punch above its weight with inward investment. While project numbers slipped back slightly in 2024 from their record high the previous year, a much sharper fall in projects into the UK overall saw Scotland’s share increase for the sixth year running. In doing so, Scotland consolidated its decade-long position in second place for UK FDI."

Some of the successes Scotland has achieved over the last year include: 

• Scotland attracted 135 foreign direct investment projects in 2024, the second highest annual number of projects ever recorded.
• Despite a 4.9% decrease in project numbers, Scotland’s share of UK projects grew to 15.8%, up from 14.4% in 2023, with a decade average of 11.5%.
• 25% of global investors planning to establish operations in the UK next year expect to choose Scotland, second to London at 62%.
• The United States remained Scotland’s top inbound investor with 37 projects in 2024, accounting for 27.4% of Scotland's annual total – an increase on the 23.7% figure for the rest of the UK.
• Glasgow became Scotland’s leading city for FDI for the first time in five years – a position that Edinburgh held between 2020 and 2023 – and the second most popular UK city outside London, after Manchester.

Ally Scott, Managing Partner, EY Scotland:
"Scotland continues to punch above its weight with inward investment. While project numbers slipped back slightly in 2024 from their record high the previous year, a much sharper fall in projects into the UK overall saw Scotland’s share increase for the sixth year running. In doing so, Scotland consolidated its decade-long position in second place for UK FDI."

Scotland’s FDI success in numbers

• Scotland attracted 135 foreign direct investment projects in 2024, the second highest annual number of projects ever recorded.
• Despite a 4.9% decrease in project numbers, Scotland’s share of UK projects grew to 15.8%, up from 14.4% in 2023, with a decade average of 11.5%.
• 25% of global investors planning to establish operations the UK next year expect to choose Scotland, second to London at 62%.
• The United States remained Scotland’s top inbound investor with 37 projects in 2024, accounting for 27.4% of Scotland's annual total – an increase on the 23.7% figure for the rest of the UK.
• Glasgow became Scotland’s leading city for FDI for the first time in five years – a position that Edinburgh held between 2020 and 2023 – and the second most popular UK city outside London, after Manchester.

Diverse sectors attract global FDI projects

While Scotland may be best known for its strengths in food and drink and manufacturing, it boasts expertise, capabilities, and opportunities across a huge range of sectors from renewable energy to life sciences.

In 2024, the top three FDI sectors were machinery and equipment, software and IT, and agri-food and utility supply (both coming in third position). This reflects the diversity of Scotland's industries and demonstrates that projects from across the full breadth of industry are attracted to Scotland as an investment location.

The country was also the UK leader in oil and gas FDI projects, with Peter Arnold, EY UK Chief Economist, calling out Scotland's vast renewable energy opportunities as one way the UK could lead Europe in the coming years.

Scotland attracted 11 financial services FDI projects in 2024 – a decade high – and is the top location for these outside London, with Edinburgh sharing the top city title with Manchester. 

This further strengthens the country's reputation as a thriving financial services centre, which has already attracted fintech companies like ESG360° and HALO, from Australia and London respectively.

A quarter of investors are targeting Scotland

Nearly one in six inward investment projects in the UK in 2024 were secured in Scotland, but this figure could be set to increase.

EY’s survey of global investors found that 25% of those planning to invest in the UK have their eyes on Scotland.

They'll join the ranks of the projects secured in 2024, which include:

• ITZA, which will develop a digital learning, production and artificial intelligence (AI) analytics hub in Edinburgh
• Sumitomo Electric, whose subsea cable factory in the Highlands will support 330 jobs across the country over the next 10 years
• Launchpad Build Inc, a robotics company which will develop a new base in Edinburgh
• Smart Green Shipping, whose FastRig technology, used to help decarbonise commercial sailing vessels, will be manufactured from an expanded base in Dumfries.

Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister:
"Given the geopolitical uncertainties clearly affecting investor confidence across the world, this is an incredible endorsement of Scotland’s proposition as a destination for global investment. 

A huge amount of work, across both the private and public sectors, goes into securing these projects, which are vital for economic growth, job creation and bringing benefits across our towns and cities."

A promising future despite global challenges

EY also assessed the effect of US tariff announcements on the UK’s attractiveness as an investment location in two surveys. The first concluded in March 2025, before the announcement of the US tariffs, the second in May 2025, after the announcement.

In the second survey, more than half (52%) of investors said they planned to invest in the UK over the next year, with 30% of those respondents expecting to invest in Scotland.

For the UK, this was lower than the 62% response to the same question in the initial survey, but the response for Scotland increased from 25%.

KeyFacts Energy news: Aberdeen Focus