Scottish Business

An introduction to Scottish business

Enjoying a second industrial revolution

Following a heyday of coalmining, steel making, shipbuilding and heavy engineering, modern Scotland has undergone a second industrial revolution in which high technologies, such as electronics, biotechnology and advanced engineering have all come to the fore. Here they've been joined by some of the country's staple performers like financial services, oil-related industries and tourism.

To complement our own 'home-grown' endeavours, Scotland has managed to attract over 1000 inward investors with the pull of a highly skilled, productive and flexible workforce, established infrastructure and supply base and unrivalled quality of life. Among the internationally famous names who've made Scotland their home are Agilent, Alcatel, Bank of Bermuda, British Airways, Cadence, Emtelle, IBM, NV Organon, Siemens, Sulzer Vazcutech, Sun Microsystems, Thales Optronics and UPM Kymenne Group.

For general information on business in Scotland, try the following links:

Scotland's two economic development agencies:
Scottish Enterprise: www.scottish-enterprise.com
Highlands and Islands Enterprise: www.hie.co.uk

Scottish Development International, which helps inward investors to establish successful operations in Scotland: www.scottishdevelopmentinternational.com

Global Scot, the international business network for making Scottish connections globally: www.globalscot.com

The Small Business Gateway, which provides a one-stop-shop for small to medium sized businesses in Scotland: www.sbgateway.com

And to keep abreast of what's happening in the business world, try:

Electronic Herald: www.theherald.co.uk The Scotsman: www.thescotsman.co.uk