THE INVESTMENT MAGAZINE FROM SCOTLAND'S CAPITAL
NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018
SUCCESS ACROSS THE BUSINESS SPECTRUM
EDINBURGH OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL
ALSO INSIDE ISSUE 61 » 10 QUESTIONS FOR HANS MÖLLER, DIRECTOR OF EDINBURGH BIOQUARTER » EDTECH ADDS UP FOR SUMDOG » CITY DEAL VISION » THE GROWTH OF BUSINESS TOURISM
<SNAPSHOTS
IN THIS ISSUE 04
18
06
03 CAPITAL FOCUS
Bayes Centre shapes data driven innovation agenda
W
N EW ARRIVALS 07
Indian digital giant Wipro opens software development pod in the city
10 QUESTIONS FOR... 08
Hans Möller, Director of Edinburgh BioQuarter
10 (cover story)
EDINBURGH’S GLOBAL APPEAL
Economic diversity extends across the business spectrum
14 ROUND TABLE
What makes Edinburgh such an attractive
destination for both incoming and incumbent high growth companies? M AKING IT HAPPEN 16
The vision behind the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal
18 SPECIAL FEATURE
Innovation and collaboration drives Business Tourism growth
SUBSCRIBE TO INVEST EDINBURGH For a free subscription to Invest Edinburgh, or to obtain additional copies, please contact editor@investedinburgh.com Follow Invest Edinburgh on Twitter. twitter.com/investedinburgh Follow Invest Edinburgh on Linkedin. invest-in-edinburgh
2 INVEST EDINBURGH | NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 |
elcome to the latest issue of Invest Edinburgh. It has been another award-winning year for Scotland’s capital. Voted the second best place in the world and the best in the UK in which to live in terms of quality of life, the city has also cemented its reputation as one of the world’s leading tech clusters, with a thriving entrepreneurial and creative ecosystem. The latest accolades are clearly reflected in Edinburgh’s outstanding FDI performance in the first half of the year. In the first six months of 2017 the city surpassed the number of overseas investments achieved in the whole of 2016. That success is testament to the strong and robust fundamentals that underpin our city region economy; a region which received further good news earlier this year with the announcement of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal. This vital funding will be used to help shape data driven innovation across the region, deliver investment in major infrastructure but most importantly, ensure economic growth is both sustainable and inclusive, helping to improve the education, careers and lives of all. You can read more about Edinburgh’s bold ambition in Making it Happen (p.16). Our latest cover feature showcases the depth and diversity of our city economy, with high growth start-ups, incoming investors and established global enterprises choosing Edinburgh as the ideal city to support their growth aspirations. In our regular Round Table discussion, we hear from a selection of businesses as to why Edinburgh continues to prove so attractive. We also welcome Hans Möller, the new director of Edinburgh BioQuarter. In 10 Questions, he explains his ambition to bring together the academic, public and, most importantly, private sectors to position the medical and life sciences quarter at the forefront of global research and clinical excellence. As we look forward to 2018 and beyond, it’s hard not to be excited by what we can achieve together. Enjoy! COUNCILLOR GAVIN BARRIE Convenor of the Economy and Housing Committee and COUNCILLOR LEZLEY MARION CAMERON Vice-Convenor of the Economy and Housing Committee
THIS MAGAZINE IS PRINTED ON ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE PAPER MANUFACTURED USING 100% RECYCLED WASTE.
Invest Edinburgh magazine is created in a partnership between Marketing Edinburgh Ltd and the City of Edinburgh Council. It is published by Resolve Creative, Suite 104, 47 Timber Bush, Edinburgh EH6 6QH t. +44(0)131 555 7585 w. resolve-creative.co.uk
DELIVERING A SHARED VISION FOR EDINBURGH
RE SO LVE
CREATIVE
To find out more about how we can help you, please contact the Investor Support Team at invest@edinburgh.gov.uk
<CAPITALFOCUS
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF DATA DRIVEN INNOVATION Set to open in early summer 2018, the University of Edinburgh’s Bayes Centre will deliver a melting pot of multi-disciplinary activity centred around data driven innovation, helping to cement the university’s reputation as a global leader in data science. The Bayes Centre represents the final phase of the University of Edinburgh’s extensive Potterrow development. The £40m development will deliver 102,000 sq ft (9,500m2) of space dedicated to research and enhanced industry collaboration. When it opens, the Institute will provide space for more than 600 students, researchers, industry partners and academic staff. “Data science is the cure for the ‘Big Data’ disease,” says Professor Jon Oberlander, Director of the Bayes Centre. “It’s about developing the algorithms, software and expertise that allow us to extract value from data. The Centre has data at its heart, to power better interactions between people and systems.” The Bayes Centre forms a key element in the University of Edinburgh’s data driven innovation agenda, significant funding for which is planned through the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal. Three new centres of excellence: The Bayes Centre, The Usher Institute at Edinburgh BioQuarter and the Edinburgh Futures Institute based at Quartermile, will, together, help to position Edinburgh at the forefront of data driven innovation around the world. As the first of the three
www.investinedinburgh.com
to be completed, The Bayes Centre will be instrumental in prototyping and refining mechanisms for the delivery of data intensive research, and the use of data analytics to forge new partnerships with the public sector as well as global industry. The ground floor will provide facilities for robotics and design informatics through a collaboration between the School of Informatics and the Edinburgh College of Art, as well as a café. “It’s fascinating to see how designers take the most abstract ideas, such as blockchain or smart contracts, and transform them into something consumers can interact with,” adds Professor Oberlander. The first floor will provide lab facilities for research into virtual reality, augmented reality and motion capture, as well as living labs for exploring the human/ machine interface. The Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre, which manages the UK’s supercomputing facilities, will be located on the second floor, providing much needed space for industry consultancy. The building’s third floor is given over to commercial R&D teams, offices and break out spaces. “We hope to have around 15
UK GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES IT HAS SELECTED EDINBURGH’S NEW WAVERLEY AS THE CENTREPIECE OF A NEW HMRC HQ FUNCTION, BRINGING 2,900 CIVIL SERVICE JOBS.
commercial R&D teams funded through the university’s partnerships with both industry and the public sector. For example, collaborations such as Edinburgh Living Labs will explore how citizens’ lives can be improved through data driven innovation.” The fourth floor is dedicated to knowledge exchange, providing a home for researchers from the Alan Turing Institute as well as the DataLab and Informatics Ventures. The fifth floor sees space given to researchers from the Maxwell Institute – a joint initiative between the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University – as well as the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences, which acts as a magnet for international mathematicians. Collectively, the Bayes Centre brings together data analytics, engineering, design, robotics and mathematics, all housed within a state-of-the-art space designed to encourage spontaneous interactions and invite informal networking through eddy spaces. “With a 50/50 split between research and education, on the one hand, and innovation and industry engagement on the other, the Centre gives us a great opportunity to engineer serendipity,” adds Professor Oberlander.
www.ed.ac.uk/bayes www.aftermoney.design
| NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 | INVEST EDINBURGH 3
STRONG, DIVERSE ECONOMY ATTRACTS INWARD INVESTMENT Edinburgh’s appeal to international investors has been underlined by strong foreign direct investment (FDI) figures for 2017. In the first eight months of the year, the city attracted more FDI than in the whole of 2016 (26 projects vs 24 projects). According to FDI Intelligence from The Financial Times, combined inward investment helped to create 2,105 jobs in the city, with an average of 80 new posts created per project. Taken together, the projects represent a total overseas investment of £1.07bn in Scotland’s capital. 65% of investment was new inward
investment, with a further 30% made up of expansions. Reflecting Edinburgh’s growing reputation as a global tech cluster, Software and IT services claimed the largest portion of investment activity, accounting for almost one-third of total activity. Five of the ten largest companies to invest were US-based, including State Street, Amazon. com and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The second half of the year already shows considerable promise with recent announcements including the creation of 300 jobs by Computershare, 60 new posts through Indian digital services firm Wipro; Ctrip, the Chinese owner of Skyscanner,
announcing 200 new jobs with its customer service call centre; the arrival of Dublin-based voice-recognition start-up Voysis, and Faraday Grid selecting Edinburgh as the home for its new headquarters. > Find out more: www.wipro.com www. english.ctrip.com www.voysis.com www.faradaygrid.com
1 TO WATCH WHO ARE THEY? Edinburgh-based start-up, Pixey helps to connect broadcasters, publishers and creative agencies with the global community of Instagram photographers, helping to contact copyright owners with image and video rights requests and then arranging licensing and payment. The stock photography market is estimated to be worth £2.3bn annually, but it is frequently dominated by USbased stock libraries and clichéd, overlyposed compositions. For brands and agencies increasingly focused on original material and authentic storytelling in their marketing content, the search for the right image can be a painstaking process. Every day, more than 70m original images are uploaded to Instagram. The Pixey search engine trawls Instagram for
4 INVEST EDINBURGH | NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 |
WHERE HAVE THEY COME FROM? Founder and CEO, Sarah Stenhouse, developed the idea in 2015, while trying to source an image in her former role at an advertising agency. “My vision is to provide a platform that makes it easy for businesses to make use of user-generated content from Instagram – but in a fair and legal way.”
in seed funding to help support business growth. Following steady growth since launching in 2016, the business is now looking forward to accelerating that journey with the recruitment of additional staff. Equity Gap, Gabriel and Scottish Investment Bank have invested a total of £213,000, while fellow Edinburgh entrepreneurs Robin Knox and Paul Walton from Intelligent Point of Sale have invested a further £30,000. The business will use the cash injection to add five new members of staff over the next six months, grow its international profile and fund the introduction of artificial intelligence technology.
WHY ARE THEY WORTH WATCHING? Pixey recently secured nearly £250,000
>F ind out more: www.pixey.io
suitable user-generated imagery and video content before creating a license for the use of relevant material, ensuring copyright is protected and contributors are suitably recompensed, while taking much of the pain out of the approval and licensing process.
NUCANA, THE EDINBURGH FIRM BEHIND PIONEERING CANCER TREATMENTS, HAS RAISED ALMOST £75M BY FLOATING ON THE NASDAQ STOCK MARKET IN NEW YORK. IT WILL USE THE WINDFALL TO FUND FURTHER CLINICAL TRIALS AND EXPAND IN THE CAPITAL.
<SNAPSHOTS
EDINBURGH FRINGE PIONEERS BROADCAST WIFI The Edinburgh Fringe Festival has always pushed both cultural and technological boundaries. In 1999, the Fringe pioneered the first ever commercial mobile phone app, which allowed visitors to access the complete Fringe guide. This year’s festival saw an equally pioneering technology unveiled thanks to a European Space Agency contract involving collaboration between Singapore-based satellite communications specialists Global Invacom Group, BBC Research and Development and the University of Hertfordshire. The 2017 Fringe Festival saw a successful test of Broadcast WiFi (Bx-WiFi), which permits live, high quality and large-scale event video streaming over a WiFi network.
Bx-WiFi enables simultaneous streaming of uninterrupted digital content from multiple sources – such as a satellite feed, ‘live’ video or digital radio – to thousands of mobile devices located in the same hotspot (for example at an event), without saturating the terrestrial broadband telecommunication network. During the trial participants could stream a comedy compilation video from a previous Edinburgh festival, as well as highlights of the Edinburgh Tattoo 2016, using Bx-WiFi. Both pieces of content were successfully streamed to a multitude of different devices simultaneously. > Find out more: www.globalinvacom.com
JUDGES SELECT WINNING ROSS BANDSTAND DESIGN
A design inspired by the work of JRR Tolkein has won the international competition to deliver a £25m improvement programme in Edinburgh’s city centre. The innovative design, which resembles a Hobbit’s house from Lord of the Rings, was submitted by American firm wHY, beating off stiff competition from 125 teams across 22 countries. As one of seven shortlisted concepts, the development includes the redevelopment of the Ross bandstand to create a new visitor centre with its own performance space at the heart of a natural amphitheatre. Extensive landscaping will be used to create an eye-catching public space in the heart of city that will serve and
www.investinedinburgh.com
support the arts and cultural events for years to come. Plans to upgrade and replace the Ross bandstand, which was gifted to the city by William Henry Ross, former chairman of the Distillers Company in 1877, have been mooted since 2004. The redevelopment is expected to be completed in December 2019 and is being overseen by the Ross Development Trust, in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council. Norman Springford, founder of Apex Hotels and competition Jury Chair, was delighted with the whole process. “As is always the case with initiatives of this size and stature, the jury had a hard job! We are confident however that we have a winning concept that embodies an imaginative ensemble landscape approach, creating a wonderful stage for our iconic Edinburgh Castle. In addition, the design concept offers a creative energy and a series of unique elements which will all combine to create a new and contemporary landscape.” The Trust aims to create a unique, internationally recognisable venue for all to enjoy, in an attractive and reanimated West Princes Street Gardens. > Find out more: www.rdtrust.org
A NEW £500 MILLION ‘URBAN QUARTER’ IS PLANNED FOR WEST EDINBURGH, WHICH WILL CREATE OFFICE SPACE FOR 8,000 JOBS AND 1,800 HOMES.
BAM Properties and Hermes Investment Management is to start building a 122,000 sq ft (11,300m2) speculative office development in Edinburgh's Exchange district in early November. Work on the eight-floor building is set to be completed and ready for occupancy in early 2020. Buccleuch Property has further strengthened its industrial portfolio with the purchase of the West Telferton estate in Edinburgh for £2.5m, from IPIF, representing an initial yield of 7.2 per cent. The estate includes 11 units totalling more than 29,000 sq ft (2,700m2) across six terraces and two stand-alone buildings. October saw the launch of Make it Edinburgh, a dedicated, cohesive creative and digital marketing campaign showcasing the city as the business tourism destination of choice for meeting and event planners. www.makeitedinburgh.com Edinburgh’s inaugural Start-up Summit, organised through We Are the Future, was held at The Assembly Rooms on 1 November. The one-day event attracted high profile speakers including Sir Tom Hunter, Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, and Marie Owen, founder of LS Productions. The opening of the newly built, 46 mile-long electrified railway between Edinburgh and Glasgow took a step forward in October with the successful testing of Class 385 electric trains between Scotland’s capital and Linlithgow in October. Hampton by Hilton opened its new 228-room hotel in Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge in October. The centrally located site creates 40 new jobs and adds a fifth hotel to the brand’s Scottish portfolio.
| NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 | INVEST EDINBURGH 5
ZERO EMISSION BUSES SPARK AN ALL-ELECTRIC SERVICE
An investment of more than £2.7m has introduced the first fleet of all-electric buses to Edinburgh. The six Wrightbus StreetAir single deck buses now operate through Edinburgh’s
central air quality management area. They were purchased by Lothian Buses with support from the Scottish Green Bus Fund – run through Transport Scotland, the national transport agency.
The buses deliver zero tailpipe emissions, and now operate services between Clermiston in the west of the city and Easter Road in Leith, improving air quality for everyone in the operating environment. An additional five vehicles will be added during 2018, enabling the service, used by around 1.8 milion customers annually, to become the first in the city to be entirely electric. Under an environmental strategy that includes further investments in both low and zero emission buses, Lothian Buses plans to reduce its emissions footprint by a further 42% by 2020. The UK-built Wrightbus StreetAir is fitted with WiFi, USB charging points and LED spotlights, and can carry up to 70 passengers. They have an all-electric heating and cooling system and use regenerative braking, which can extend the range of the on-board battery by recovering energy created when braking. >F ind out more: www.lothianbuses.co.uk
MADE in EDINBURGH
Following a £1.4m investment by Nesta and the Scottish Investment Bank in July 2017, Edinburgh-based Sumdog has its sights firmly set on being one of the world’s leading EdTech companies. Founded in 1994, the business established a track record for developing educational software designed to support science and technology in schools. “It became clear the technology wasn’t able to address the persistent attainment gap evident in some schools,” explains Andrew Hall, Chief Executive. “Maths builds on itself like no other subject. It’s a bit like building. You lay your foundations and call in a building inspector, who scores the work at 90%. On the next level, you overlook a few more details and the building inspector awards a mark of 75%. And so and so on until eventually the whole building collapses – a student’s confidence and ability to plug the gaps is destroyed.”
6 INVEST EDINBURGH | NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 |
That’s where adaptive learning helps. It allows gaps to be addressed through ‘mastery learning’, a concept widely used across the Far East. “Sumdog engages students by giving them control over the games they play, enabling them to build confidence throughout their learning journey,” adds Andrew. “Without basic numeracy, it becomes impossible to study science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) subjects. When we pivoted the business in 2010, we did so with the aim of helping
to close the attainment gap, enabling all children to fulfil their full potential.” Sumdog is now used in more than 88 countries, but with a specific focus on the UK and US markets. More than 50% of Scottish schools, 25% of UK schools and 22% of US schools use Sumdog to some degree. “More than half our revenue comes from the US,” says Andrew, who has overseen the expansion of the business from a headcount of 30 to just under 50 in the past few months. As the business faces the future with confidence, the next 12 months are all about demonstrating to Sumdog’s investors that it can cement its position as one of the world’s leading EdTech companies. With real time analytics data on more than 50% of Scottish schools, there is also huge potential to harness Sumdog at governmental level, helping to refine education policy and influence how future public funds are invested. >F ind out more: www.sumdog.com
THE WELL-KNOWN FORMER BANK OF SCOTLAND BUILDING IN ST. ANDREW SQUARE, IS TO BECOME THE EDINBURGH FACE OF THE LUXURY GLENEAGLES HOTEL BRAND.
<SNAPSHOTS
NEW ARRIVALS WHAT DO THEY DO? Indian digital firm Wipro recently announced the creation of 60 new software development jobs in Edinburgh. By harnessing the power of cognitive computing, hyperautomation, robotics, cloud, analytics and emerging technologies the company supports its business customers in adapting to the digital world. Wipro is a truly global business, with a dedicated workforce of more than 160,000 employees, serving clients in more than 175 cities across six continents. It already employs nearly 4,500 people across the UK, with bases in Aberdeen and East Kilbride.
WIPRO
WHY THE MOVE? The new Edinburgh ‘Pod’, which opened in early September, has been purpose-built to support Wipro’s digital strategy, design and engineering teams, providing a collaborative and adaptive workspace where teams can work closely with their clients. The business already has 15 other digital and design pods across the globe including London, New York, Scandinavia, Madrid, Munich, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Bangalore and Tokyo. Rajan Kohli, Senior Vice President and Digital Lead at Wipro, said: “The Edinburgh Pod is a significant milestone in our growth journey, bringing us closer to our clients in Scotland and further building upon our footprint to
serve clients in the United Kingdom and Europe. “The facility allows us to incubate and co-create innovative and disruptive ideas alongside our clients, and work with them to develop high speed digital engineering." WHAT IT MEANS FOR EDINBURGH? In addition to creating 60 newly highly skilled jobs in the city, Wipro has taken the top two floors of No 2 Castle Terrace, comprising around 5,000 sq ft (460m2). The new office will provide a range of digital transformation services to clients across Scotland and into Europe. >F ind out more: www.wipro.com
QUEENSFERRY CROSSING UNLOCKS CITY REGION POTENTIAL Exactly 53 years since Her Majesty opened the Forth Road Bridge, The Queen officially cut the ribbon to open the £1.35bn Queensferry Crossing on Monday 4 September. The new iconic 1.7 mile-long (2.7km) structure provides a major economic boost to the Edinburgh City Region. Not only will it secure long-term transport links to the rest of Scotland, it is expected to stimulate fresh investment across the wider region. The bridge is the eye-catching keystone of a major infrastructure investment programme that has also delivered 13.7 miles (22km) of motorway upgrades to the north and south of the new crossing. The construction project has already been a catalyst for employment and business opportunities
www.investinedinburgh.com
since work began in 2011. More than 15,000 people have been inducted to work on the site, clocking up more than 18 million hours of work in the process. Built with a projected lifespan of more than 120 years, the new bridge is expected to handle approximately 24 million vehicles each year and makes use of 1,500 in-built sensors to provide real-time monitoring of the condition of the bridge. The use of wind shielding virtually eliminates the need to close the crossing to high-sided traffic during periods of high winds. Principal contractor, Forth Crossing
SYSTEMS DESIGN COMPANY, FARADAY GRID LTD, HAS ESTABLISHED ITS GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS IN EDINBURGH.
Bridge Constructors (FCBC) – comprising Hochtief (Germany), American Bridge (US), Dragados (Spain) and Morrison (Scotland) – and its sub-contractors, have helped to deliver the project approximately £250m under budget. >F ind out more: www.theforthbridges.org/ queensferry-crossing
| NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 | INVEST EDINBURGH 7
companies and retains close working relationships with the University of Edinburgh, so it all fits together. I enjoyed my time as Director of Ideon, so the opportunity to shape a similar vision here in Edinburgh was too tempting to resist.
Hans Möller
Director of Edinburgh BioQuarter IE> With four key stakeholders and responsibility for delivering the next chapter in Edinburgh BioQuarter’s evolution, what will your new role involve? The most important role we play at Edinburgh BioQuarter is to act as a catalyst for development: creating new ideas, concepts and opportunities in partnership with our stakeholders to deliver a unique health and science campus. For me, that means building a robust triple helix model, where you combine the academic sector, through the universities, the public sector with the involvement of the City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Enterprise and NHS Lothian – at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and, from next year, the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, which is moving to the campus – alongside the private sector. It’s also vital we nurture a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem – both from the university and elsewhere. You need
innovators, thinkers and support people: business coaches, investment capital, strategy development, intellectual property. IE> You join Edinburgh BioQuarter from your previous role as Innovation Director at North East Local Enterprise Partnership, in Newcastle. What attracted you to the new post? In the North East of England Local Enterprise Partnership, my role was to support innovation activities across universities, research institutes and businesses. Prior to that I was head of Ideon, the largest science park in Scandinavia in Lund, Sweden and before that I spent almost 20 years in the IT industry, including as an entrepreneur myself, founding several companies – some of which were successful. I’m also chair of The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, so retain my close involvement with life sciences. It has 90-100 drug development
IE> Looking back at your previous roles, what investments have you been involved in? Over the past two years, I’ve been involved in delivering investment in the North East Technology Park (NetPark) in Durham. It’s a national centre run by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI). We also made an investment in healthcare photonics at the NetPark. Those investments came through a combination of local growth funding and the European Regional Development Fund. A third investment involved the creation of a lab incubator in Newcastle, Science Central. All three are under construction now. We also established a super network – a network of networks if you like – designed to propagate cross-sector ideas. If you think of game changing disruptive innovation, the greatest enabler is often mixing people from completely different backgrounds, so the network was designed to harness that and act as a catalyst for new types of collaboration. I also ran VentureFest in Newcastle, an innovation event attracting more than 800 people, which included a range of matchmaking events and an open innovation challenge programme. IE> What trends are we seeing across global life sciences and how well placed is Edinburgh BioQuarter to capitalise on those trends? One trend is the evolution of large pharmaceuticals. 10-15 years ago, they would try to do everything in-house, from drug discovery to basic research and commercial marketing. They now realise that approach is unsustainable. Research is increasingly delivered by small spin out companies as pharmas concentrate on delivering specific drugs to market. Drug discovery is capital intensive – often requiring 10-15 years and hundreds of millions of pounds. As a young company, you need strong partners to help you get to market. In that respect, Edinburgh BioQuarter is ideally positioned. We have fantastic research on site and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, which will soon be followed by the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, with all of its clinical trial opportunities. We just need to create the mechanisms for that to happen.
A £12M DEDICATED CYCLING NETWORK IS SET TO TRANSFORM ACTIVE TRAVEL IN CENTRAL EDINBURGH. 8 INVEST EDINBURGH | NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 |
<10QUESTIONS the Farr Institute. The new dedicated Usher Institute building forms part of the Edinburgh and South-east Scotland City Deal. It must now go through the process of developing the full business case and detailed design. That process clearly takes some time. When the full Usher Institute is up and running, it will be a fantastic asset for Edinburgh BioQuarter.
Additional commercial space is required to capitalise on the success of NINE.
IE> What will be your key priorities for your first 100 days in post? The first couple of weeks will be about wrapping my head around what’s going on; a bit about why we’re here; what’s going on now and what will the future look like? I’m meeting 30-35 stakeholders around Edinburgh BioQuarter over the next two to three weeks. So, that’s my priority. By relating back to my background in Scandinavia and Newcastle, there are already some ideas forming, similarities and what will be needed to get the vision off the ground. We now need to refine that vision into a clear business and operational plan. IE> Where do you see the key opportunities for future commercialisation? We need to focus on nurturing an innovation ecosystem, including business support functions and the investment community, and that means establishing such things as a programme of events and breakfast clubs that help to bring people together and promote the cross-fertilisation of ideas and advice across the campus. That’s one of the roles we will play. We will be the face of the Edinburgh BioQuarter giving people a focal point for first contact. When you look at the Masterplan and the assets we have on site already, this is an extremely interesting place, but you need to be able to monetise that value. The University of Edinburgh is one of the top universities in the world, with worldclass capabilities in data science and health informatics, while Edinburgh has a growing reputation as a global tech cluster. Data is ubiquitous, especially in life science research. Couple that with the new and existing hospital, all of those additional patients and healthcare staff makes it really attractive. IE> The University of Edinburgh has recently announced the start of work on the Centre for Tissue Repair. What will this bring when it opens in 2019?
www.investinedinburgh.com
“IT’S AN HISTORIC CITY, BUT IT IS ALSO A FORWARDLOOKING CITY WITH A STRONG KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY.” It will attract more researchers. Combined, the Centre for Tissue Repair and the Centre for Regenerative Medicine will create one of the largest concentrations of stem cell researchers in the world, certainly it is already the biggest in Europe. If that is not attractive to businesses and investors, then I don’t know what is. As we all know, we are getting older; to be able to fund healthcare in the future we need new ways of innovating. This new institute will be key to finding solutions to this growing societal challenge. IE> How important is the next phase of multi-occupancy development to complement NINE’s existing lab and research space? It is extremely important. At Ideon, the private sector delivered all the investment. Those decisions were based on a high degree of confidence in the science park and its ability to attract future tenants. They could take an investment decision based on having 30-40% pre-let. Outside the science park you would normally require 80%. That underlines the power and energy that you can find in a campus such as Edinburgh BioQuarter when you get it right and achieve critical mass. It’s a completely different model. We need to find the right private investors who can adapt to that model. IE> With the rise of digital healthcare and use of data science in preventative medicine, how much of a differentiator is the Usher Institute for Population Health Sciences? We already have the Usher Institute up and running within NINE, working alongside
CYBER SECURITY CONSULTANCY, CONTEXT INFORMATION SECURITY, HAS OPENED A NEW OFFICE IN EDINBURGH.
IE> As a newcomer to Edinburgh what are your first impressions? To be honest, I’ve not even had the chance to be a tourist yet, but it is a fabulous city. Since I took the decision to take up this post, everyone I’ve spoken to says Edinburgh is a fantastic city. The perception of Edinburgh is amazingly positive, and that’s coming from people in Sweden and Newcastle. It’s an historic city, but it is also a forwardlooking city with a strong knowledgebased economy. It’s not only about building research facilities and new institutes, it’s about attracting the right people and in that respect, Edinburgh can attract the smartest people in the world.
www.edinburghbioquarter.com See back page for Hotel Development Opportunity at Edinburgh BioQuarter.
Prior to joining Edinburgh BioQuarter Hans was Innovation Director with the North East LEP based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Prior to that he worked for 12 years as the CEO of the leading Science Park in Sweden, Ideon Science Park in Lund. Hans is Chair of Karolinska Institutet Science Park in Stockholm and he was also Chair of SiSP, the Swedish Incubators and Science Park organisation between 2006 and 2012. In 1997 Hans founded Primant, a successful IT consulting business and he has been Chair and a NonExecutive Director of several start-ups. Altogether, Hans has more than 30 years of managerial experience including all areas of innovation promotion, sales and marketing.
| NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 | INVEST EDINBURGH 9
EDINBURGH: ABUZZ
WITH SUCCESS ACROSS THE BUSINESS SPECTRUM
10 INVEST EDINBURGH | NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 |
<FEATURE
Economic diversity is both a function and driver of increased productivity and growth. Nowhere is this more evident than in Edinburgh. Scotland’s capital is evolving: it’s growing and innovating, generating momentum across the city region economy.
A ACTIVPAYROLL PROVIDES PAYROLL, EXPATRIATE TAX AND HR SERVICES TO CLIENTS ACROSS
146 COUNTRIES
www.investinedinburgh.com
s the latest FDI Intelligence to emerge from The Financial Times reveals, Edinburgh continues to develop its alluring offer to overseas investors seeking to move into Europe and the UK. Strong FDI performance in the first half of the year reflects the city’s global reputation as a centre of excellence in data science, financial services and technology. However, equally important to the city’s reputation as an attractive investment destination, is Edinburgh’s ability to nurture entrepreneurial activity and innovation, as well as support incumbent businesses seeking to grow. Computershare’s recent announcement that it is creating 300 jobs with its Edinburgh Global Technology Centre significantly expands the company’s presence in the city, where it has been involved in software development since 1998. Recruitment is already underway as the business completes the refurbishment of Edinburgh House on North St. Andrew Street, where all operations will be consolidated next year. Similar expansions are planned by EY, activpayroll
and ZoneFox, to name but a few. Hotel groups Principal Hotels and Leonardo Hotels have recently reinvested in the city, while manufacturing also received a boost with news that Coco Chocolatier has taken larger business premises to keep up with demand for its ethically-traded, organic chocolate. With its world-class university offering, Edinburgh has always been a knowledgedriven economy, but recent growth in its telecoms, media and technology (TMT) sector reflects the city’s emerging reputation as a tech cluster of global repute. Combined with the city’s traditional sector strengths in financial services, life sciences, creative industries, tourism and the arts, it creates a powerful blend of skills and innovation that refracts across the full spectrum of economic activity. THE EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL SERVICES Over the past 300 years, Edinburgh has established itself as one of Europe’s leading financial services hubs. As the UK’s largest financial centre after London, and a major European centre for asset management and asset servicing, Edinburgh is home to global
| NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 | INVEST EDINBURGH 11
IN 2016,
part of our global transformation programme – EY@Work – which will change how we work.” Sue continues: “We’re committed to making sure people enjoy their working environment and the work they do. The new office delivers just that, providing zoned areas for informal break outs or more formal client meetings. That flexibility is empowered by technology and mobile working, creating a truly collaborative workspace. By removing physical barriers and encouraging a more flexible way of working it enables to us to work more collaboratively therefore enhancing the service we offer to our clients.” As EY seeks to grow its workforce, Sue explains that much of that growth will be influenced by new technologies requiring different skillsets. “The skillsets we need will be completely different in just five years’ time. Our clients’ businesses are evolving because of technical change, so we must adapt too. We need to be able to respond by working closely with local universities to understand those trends and, in turn, advise them on what we, as a business, will increasingly need going forward.” Scotland’s only global payroll company, activpayroll, is also looking to grow its business after opening new offices in August and announcing plans to treble its workforce in Edinburgh. “The expansion, due to growth, meant a new office was essential,” explain Alison Sellar, Chief Executive, who founded the company in 2001. “Our Edinburgh operation started with just two people, but we now have 28 and have capacity to expand the team further. In fact, we’re currently recruiting for four additional posts.” As a firm believer in developing its own talent, activpayroll has a proud track record of providing career progression as the business grows, with 40% of the workforce having been promoted in the past 12 months. “Edinburgh has several functions for us: it is head of all our European implementations – so for a customer operating across 30 countries, for whom we’re delivering payroll services, any countries falling within Europe will be managed through our Edinburgh office,” explains Alison. “We also have a global mobility team, business analysts and IT support all based in the city. All our customers like to come to visit us! “As a global business, having access to a deep talent pool, as well as excellent connections to our global tech, banking
47%
OF DELEGATES AT DELOITTE’S EUROPEAN HOTEL INVESTMENT CONFERENCE NAMED EDINBURGH THE MOST ATTRACTIVE HOTEL INVESTMENT DESTINATION IN THE UK OUTSIDE LONDON.
banking headquarters and Standard Life Aberdeen, the second largest asset manager in Europe. The opening earlier this year of a new FinTech incubator at Royal Bank of Scotland’s Edinburgh headquarters reflects how technology and the financial services sector have coalesced around a shared vision, reinforced through the recent launch of FinTech Scotland. It’s a vote of faith in Edinburgh’s established financial service strengths and its potential to capitalise on the new opportunities being generated through technology. That same potential is part of the reason why professional services giant EY recently chose Atria One as its new home, providing significant room for expansion for its Edinburgh team across all services and sectors. “Fintech Scotland is an exciting development in that it demonstrates how the financial services sector can come together across the country to get behind a shared vision,” explains Sue Dawe, EY’s Head of Financial Services in Scotland. “We have a huge amount of confidence in what’s happening in Scotland, and in Edinburgh, which is why we’re growing.” The business recently announced a 15year lease to take 32,000 sq ft (3,000m2) in Atria One, right in the heart of Edinburgh’s financial services district. “Atria One is central to our growth ambition,” adds Sue. “It gives us room to grow from our current headcount of 450 spread over three floors at our current home, to 620 people brought together on one floor in a state-of-the-art office development. “There’s a fantastic future to be had in Scotland and with EY. Atria represents a vital
12 INVEST EDINBURGH | NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 |
and pharma clients, which we get via Edinburgh Airport, is vital. As we look to the future, we expect to grow our team further, through careful growth management.” COMMERCIAL PROPERTY APPEAL With such vibrant activity across financial services and IT/technology companies, demand for high grade city centre office space remains high, generating considerable interest from overseas investors in prime office locations. With vacancy levels for Grade A office accommodation remaining low throughout 2017, investors such as UBS Asset Management have returned to the city following its investment in One Lochrin Square last year. Earlier this year, the Swissbased investment manager increased its holdings in Edinburgh with the acquisition of Quartermile 2 for £28.5m. UBS acquired the 58,840 sq ft (5,500m2) Grade A property from Swiss fund, AFIAA, through its Real Estate & Private Markets business. Another overseas investor, Triuva Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, has also demonstrated considerable confidence in Edinburgh, having returned to the capital for several key deals in the past few. The German-based business recently acquired Quartermile 4 for £68m, having earlier acquired Waverley Gate, another central Grade A office location in September 2016, for £63m. The acquisitions expand Triuva’s presence in Edinburgh city centre, which also includes 63-65 George Street (acquired for £12m) and 40 Torphichen Street. ENDURING VISITOR APPEAL Sustained hotel sector growth in terms of occupancy, revPar and Average Room Rates has also continued to attract investment in the form of new openings, refurbishments and acquisition activity in the hotel sector. One such investor is Principal Hotels. The group has recently invested heavily in two high profile city centre hotels. In October, The Principal Edinburgh Charlotte Square, formerly The Roxburghe Hotel, re-opened its doors following a £24m top-to-toe refurbishment that has seen the hotel named Scottish Hotel of the Year at the 2017 Scottish Hotel Awards. One of
“IN TODAY’S GLOBAL MARKETPLACE, WE NEED TO HAVE AN ATTRACTIVE EMPLOYEE OFFER CAPABLE OF ATTRACTING PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.”
<FEATURE THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH HAS COMMITTED TO TRAINING
www.ey.com/uk www.triuva.com/en www.activpayroll.com www.phcompany.com www.leonardo-hotels.com www.zonefox.com
100,000 DATA SCIENTISTS OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS
CYBER SECURITY OVERWATCH WITH ZONEFOX Edinburgh’s oldest and most iconic hotels, originally opened in 1881, the relaunched hotel now offers 199 newly refurbished bedrooms featuring 18 suites. The investment follows an earlier £20m refurbishment of the Principal Edinburgh George Hotel. The acquisition and refurbishment of the Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh last year, saw the arrival of Leonardo Hotels in Scotland’s capital. The group subsequently acquired Portland Hotels in August 2017, in a move that added two hotels to its Edinburgh operations, taking its total to 445 bedrooms in the city and reflecting the strong confidence investors retain in the city’s year-round tourism offer.
40.1%
The ability to attract, recruit and retain the best talent is a key consideration for any business, from start-ups to large established businesses seeking to expand. Last year’s Tech Nation 2016 report highlighted that a significant proportion of tech and digital businesses reported a limited talent supply when it came to new technologies. For high growth companies such as Edinburgh-based cyber security start-up, ZoneFox, access to talent has been central to the business’ success. The business has emerged as one of the world’s leading lights in the growing field of digital forensics, helping companies document “complete, accurate, and authentic” evidence of how data is used within an organisation. “It made sense to be based in Edinburgh where we have access to lots of talent, and several large technology companies,” says Dr Jamie Graves, who founded the company based on his Phd research at Edinburgh Napier University in 2010. In 2013, the business relocated into CodeBase, the UK’s largest technology incubator, and secured its first funding
round with support from Archangels, the Scottish Investment Bank and Tricap. That investor support has remained constant as the business has grown. With turnover exceeding £1m in 2016, Jamie realised ZoneFox needed “to go big”, securing £3.6m in Series A funding earlier this year. That money has allowed the business to establish its own headquarters in central Edinburgh and expand its headcount from 10 people at the start of the year, to 28 now. With the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation coming into force next May, replacing the current Data Protection Act, businesses involved in the collection or storage of consumer information must have new protections in place to prevent, identify and correct data breaches. “ZoneFox demonstrates that your business has robust data protection policies and processes in place. In the event of a data breach, businesses have 72 hours to inform those affected, understand the cause and inform the regulator of what has happened – while identifying a plan to stop it from happening again. ZoneFox provides fast insights into those areas, helping businesses achieve compliance with GDPR regulations.”
OF JOBS IN EDINBURGH ARE HIGHLY SKILLED – THE HIGHEST PROPORTION IN THE UK
EDINBURGH TOPPED THE GLOBAL CHART WHEN IT CAME TO INVESTMENT INTENSITY IN THE HOTELS SECTOR Edinburgh remains one of the fastest growing and most productive cities in the UK. World-class academic strengths, especially in increasingly all-pervasive areas such as data science, combine with one of the UK’s most highly qualified workforces, an unrivalled cultural offer and an unmatched quality of life for residents. The result is a vivid kaleidoscope of economic success that simultaneously reflects and shapes the future city region economy.
www.investinedinburgh.com
| NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 | INVEST EDINBURGH 13
ROUND TABLE: Sue Dawe, Head of Financial Services, EY Scotland “When you look at what’s happening in terms of technological change, which is impacting upon every sector, and you look at the existing skill sets we have – Edinburgh’s growing reputation as a recognised global fintech centre; the value added by the presence of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics – its clear we have all the elements we need to shape an exciting future.
“THE CHALLENGE NOW IS TO LOOK AHEAD FIVE TO TEN YEARS TO SEE WHAT WILL BE REQUIRED IN THE FUTURE. WE NEED TO ENSURE WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THE RIGHT MIX OF SKILLS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ATTRACT THE RIGHT SORTS OF PEOPLE INTO THE CITY.” "Edinburgh has a fantastic, collaborative business ecosystem, as does Scotland, which is really coming together to make it an attractive destination. That’s especially true for financial services. Edinburgh already has an established global reputation in the sector, further supported by the proximity of Glasgow, which means we currently attract talent from all over the world. The people we have, the skills they bring to the workforce, coupled with the city’s strong academic pedigree all combine to create a really strong offer. "The challenge now is to look ahead five to ten years to see what will be required in the future. We need to ensure we continue to develop the right mix of skills and opportunities to attract the right people into the city.”
Alison Sellar, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, activpayroll “One of the main things that attracts investors to Edinburgh is the fact that the city is thriving with skilled workers, thanks to the four universities located in and around the city. With students from countries such as China, the US and France choosing to study and live in Edinburgh, this enables us to attract and hire an array of new talent. “With so many global businesses with offices in Scotland’s capital, it is a great location to connect with potential customers and be closer to existing ones, something we’ve benefited from since setting up in Edinburgh. The city’s energy and global culture make it a fantastic city for current and new companies to invest in. “If you spend a lot of time travelling for business, being in the central belt of Scotland is a massive advantage. Not only does Edinburgh provide excellent rail links across the UK, but Edinburgh airport is the busiest in Scotland, offering direct flights to international destinations, such as the US and UAE, extremely handy for us as we have offices in both these locations. “Although we have offices around the globe, we take great pride in the fact that we started activpayroll in Scotland. Edinburgh is a fantastic place for overseas customers and tourists to soak up the rich history and beauty of Scotland. The list of things to do in Edinburgh is endless, encompassing everything from ancient buildings and landmarks to shops and restaurants.”
“THE LIST OF THINGS TO DO IN EDINBURGH IS ENDLESS, ENCOMPASSING EVERYTHING FROM ANCIENT BUILDINGS AND LANDMARKS TO SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS.”
Dr. Jamie Graves, Founder and Chief Executive, ZoneFox “Clearly the city’s access to talent; not only here in Edinburgh, but we are but a stone’s throw from places like Aberdeen, which produces fantastic graduates, and Glasgow is only 45 minutes away. “There is also a can-do attitude here in Edinburgh. The city is full of bright people keen to do something interesting and that’s been fostered by the universities doing really cool stuff around start-ups and the sharing of ideas through informal meets. If you look at places like Silicon Valley the thing that makes them such a hotspot is that you can trade ideas quickly around the tech cluster. It also enables individuals to move between roles, meaning as an employee you’re not stuck in the same job. For an employer, that’s both a blessing and a burden but it does encourage the cross-propagation of ideas and innovation between companies. There is a tangible ‘pass it forward’ culture in Edinburgh. “I don’t know if it’s a historical thing. Edinburgh was the home of the Enlightenment and a leading light in terms of bold thinking. I think that legacy continues today. That spirit of innovation that gave us so many scientific discoveries is now being felt across the technology sector. “Edinburgh is also a green city. I would choose to work here over London any day of the week. But we do face challenges. Political uncertainty threatens to stem the flow of bright people into the UK and Scotland. As a university city, Edinburgh feeds off the energy generated by its melting pot of ideas, cultures and people – that must continue.”
UNITED AIRLINES HAS ANNOUNCED A NEW SUMMER SERVICE DIRECT TO WASHINGTON DC, STARTING ON 23 MAY 2018. 14 INVEST EDINBURGH | NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 |
<INSIGHTS
“What is it about Edinburgh that makes it such an attractive destination for both incoming and incumbent high growth companies?”
Liz McAreavey, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce “Edinburgh’s attraction for business is multilayered. The excellence of our universities and the world-leading innovation in data, fintech, artificial intelligence and robotics and the commercial opportunities that spin out from this work attracts significant interest and investment. “We have a hugely successful airport, growing at a staggering pace, bringing massive economic advantage through increased direct flights and international access. We have a highly educated workforce and a rich and diverse cultural offer through our arts, festivals and vibrant night life. Significant brands in both retail and hospitality are flocking to Edinburgh and major developments, including Edinburgh St. James, show Edinburgh is attracting serious investment in a very competitive global landscape. “There is an abundance of creative spaces and incubators encouraging collaboration and creativity, ensuring entrepreneurship is alive and well, particularly in the digital, tech and creative industries. Edinburgh has the capability to become the innovation capital of the world if we seize the opportunities. “Edinburgh is also extremely good at creating partnerships that work together for the benefit of the city, as we have recently seen with two major projects – the City Region Deal and the City Vision. Edinburgh has become known as a city that works together to make things happen. “In summary, Edinburgh is an innovative, can-do and international city; stunning, great to live in, a global cultural capital with a smart workforce. The one thing to be aware of – complacency. We need to continue to invest in the infrastructure and skill base and set high ambitions through the City Vison to ensure the city keeps moving forward.”
www.investinedinburgh.com
Stewart Irving, Global CEO, Computershare “As a truly international capital city Edinburgh is a natural home for a global company. Computershare is growing and we need the skills and hard work we see on offer here. Edinburgh excels in both the financial services sector and in the use of new technology. It has four excellent universities, and the quality of IT education is particularly impressive. On top of this, it’s one of the top five cities in the world to live in according to the Quality of Life Index. For all these reasons, we’re confident that the Scottish capital is the right location for us to invest and create a substantial team.
“AS A TRULY INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL CITY EDINBURGH IS A NATURAL HOME FOR A GLOBAL COMPANY. EDINBURGH EXCELS IN BOTH THE FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR AND IN THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY." “We’re set to move into fabulous new offices right in the centre of Edinburgh next year. While these offices are being fitted out, initial recruits will be based in our existing offices at the Gyle. Once fully operational the centre will employ more than 300 people, and its staff will interact with colleagues around the world, playing a vital role in Computershare’s provision of a diverse range of financial services to over 16,000 clients. As the Centre grows, there’ll be an everdiversifying range of roles in Edinburgh and the nature of work undertaken there will evolve as we take advantage of the best new technology.”
DUBLIN-BASED VOICE TECHNOLOGY START-UP, VOYSIS, HAS CHOSEN EDINBURGH FOR ITS FIRST UK OFFICE, CREATING 10 NEW JOBS.
Daniel Roger, Managing Director, Leonardo Hotels Europe “When we entered the UK market two years ago, we made it our goal to further expand our portfolio and strengthen the Leonardo Hotels brand. “Throughout Europe, our hotels provide accommodation in economically strong and attractive destinations. But in Edinburgh, we especially recognised the merits of choosing the city as the location for our first investment in Scotland – and the creation of our flagship Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh. “Being the iconic capital city is the obvious one, but we were aware of the city’s ever-growing status as a world-leading, year-round tourist and commercial centre – and the corresponding buoyant occupancy levels that Edinburgh enjoys as a result of this. “We have been quick to develop our brand further with the purchase of Portland Hotels, which includes two hotels in Edinburgh – the Edinburgh City and Edinburgh Capital. The acquisition underscores our focus on continued investment in Scotland’s capital and our drive to expand our presence in Scotland and the UK. “Portland Hotels will add 536 additional bedrooms across Scotland and will take Leonardo’s presence in Edinburgh to 445 bedrooms. And in the Leonardo Royal Hotel Edinburgh itself our first ‘Royal’ brand in the UK – we have brought to the city a new style of hotel; a hotel that reflects the local character of its location and offers ‘women-friendly’ rooms, which are orientated specifically to meet the needs of the ever-growing number of female corporate guests. “I am convinced that our guests will love and appreciate this expansion of our offerings in key destinations across Scotland.”
| NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 | INVEST EDINBURGH 15
<MAKINGITHAPPEN
CITY DEAL SHAPES A SHARED VISION FOR EDINBURGH CITY REGION Underpinning the £1.1bn Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal is a shared vision to deliver inclusive, sustainable growth for the region. According to Councillor Gavin Barrie, Convenor of the Economy and Housing Committee, City of Edinburgh Council, the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal is unlike any other. Additional resources for investment in infrastructure, housing and skills provide a welcome new mechanism for shaping the South East of Scotland’s future. However, in Scotland’s capital, the challenge is to make sure that growth is inclusive and sustainable. This desire is shared across all six partner local authorities, the university sector, as well as the Scottish and UK Governments. Key to delivery is the relationship between the labour and housing markets. “Fundamentally, to attract people to the region to work, they need to be able to live well; not just exist, but thrive in great places,” says Councillor Barrie. “If we can’t provide our residents with good quality, affordable housing then the labour market tightens.
16 INVEST EDINBURGH | NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 |
“To meet demand, we have large-scale housing developments underway across the city region. The tenures within those sites will be mixed, because that’s the right approach to take. But they must also be well connected communities that enable people to move around the city region and capitalise on the regional labour market.” Inclusive growth is also about skills – both to access and make progress in the labour market. With no large-scale postindustrial legacy to shrug off, Edinburgh’s labour market has performed consistently, meaning the city is not far from achieving functional full employment.
That’s a key part of the work being delivered under the City Deal partnership. East Lothian Council, is leading this work, looking at the role of schools, early years, the vocational sector, higher education and the role of employers to really build this essential skills escalator. The city region partners have a shared, bold ambition to position South East Scotland at the heart of a globallyrecognised digital economy. The ability to store, analyse and deploy data is fundamental to the digital economy and that’s why Edinburgh has set its sights firmly on becoming the data capital of Europe. “The City Deal will enable the regional partners to fulfil their bold vision and leave a legacy across the region, not only through improved physical infrastructure, housing, transport and skills but also by acting as a catalyst to accelerate new ways of working between regional partners,” adds Councillor Lezley Cameron, Vice Convenor of the Economy and Housing Committee. “We already have several mechanisms for regional working, such as transport and planning, but increasing levels of collaboration between local authorities on issues such as housing and transport will be vital to give all partners a strategic context to the regional vision.”
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM DELOITTE HAS BOLSTERED ITS DIGITAL OFFERING IN SCOTLAND WITH THE PURCHASE OF EDINBURGH-BASED DESIGN CONSULTANCY MARKET GRAVITY.
<ADDEDEXTRAS
EGG MAKES A CRACKING GOOD STORY In the past 12 months, the growth of Edinburgh Gossip Girls, an online community of likeminded women, has been extraordinary. It has nothing to do with gossip but everything to do with Edinburgh and empowering women, as Kylie Reid, EGG founder, explains. With nearly 10,000 members and a growing waiting list, the EGG community provides its female members with an invaluable resource of trusted advice on day-to-day issues, lifestyle choices, health tips and peer to peer support. What started out as a Facebook group, has now turned into a fully-fledged business. Having studied Food Science at Queen Margaret University, the prospect of travel tempted Kylie away from Scotland to begin working life as cabin crew with British Midland. Spells in London and Melbourne, Australia followed as a career in sales took shape, however, Kylie always felt drawn back to Edinburgh. “I always felt my heart was here,” she says. “I found myself back in Edinburgh as a new mother and wanted to know where locals were going out. Within a few months of launching EGG, we had a few thousand members, all posting good, honest reviews. “Those reviews are often transformational for local businesses. The beauty about the group is we are a certain demographic. When someone posts a review, it carries an intrinsic level of trust that’s difficult to find elsewhere.” Kylie continues: “We hit 5,000 members within a short space of time, but I still had my sales job as a key account manager, so took the decision to close off membership. That had the effect that suddenly membership became exclusive; everyone wanted in!” Kylie says it was the death of her father earlier in 2017 that finally inspired her to take the plunge and commit to EGG as a full-time business. With an extensive waiting list, Kylie took the decision to launch an EGG website in 2017, acting as a platform to engage with
www.investinedinburgh.com
and provide added value to members. “I wanted to create something for those who want to get out of the house; meet other people; connect with their city; find out about new places in Edinburgh. “Our events are often ‘plus none’ – you come by yourself. That can be nerve wracking for some, but it’s been incredibly rewarding hearing about the friendships and new business relationships created as a result,” says Kylie. “Health and wellbeing is another big focus – 80% of members are busy mums, many of whom work from home or have recently returned to work. Balancing family commitments with a career often means women must sacrifice the time to look after themselves. We’re trying to address that through fitness classes, and events to inspire and encourage women to get and stay active.” On 26 April 2017, Kylie launched an exclusive offer membership card, initially limited to just 500 spaces. “The 500 memberships were sold within two hours, so we had to provide another 250 before taking stock and refining the offer.”
The business is now approaching 3,000 subscribers, all accessing a range of retail offers around the city as well as enjoying an ever-expanding programme of free members’ events designed to fit in with a hectic work-life balance. “Through our networking events and working lunches, we provide inspirational speakers; stories from other women who have gone on to achieve remarkable things,” adds Kylie. The ‘gossip’ in Edinburgh Gossip Girls is a misnomer. The yolk in this particular EGG is a network capable of improving and changing lives; and it seems to be doing just that as its appeal and momentum grow by the day.
Image courtesy of TSPL.
www.edinburghgossipgirls.com
| NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 | INVEST EDINBURGH 17
INNOVATION DRIVES
A JOINED-UP APPROACH TO BUSINESS TOURISM
Edinburgh’s renowned culture of innovation, combined with a wide choice of venues and extensive business support are proving an irresistible combination for Meetings, Incentive, Conference and Events (MICE) organisers. Edinburgh recently leapt up in the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) global rankings to 18th place among European conference destinations.
E
dinburgh is the number one ICCA conference destination in the UK outside of London. The city attracted 76 major conferences and meetings in 2016 alone, generating an estimated £35m in economic benefit for the city. In fact, in 2016, Convention Edinburgh confirmed 134 future major events, some booked as far ahead as 2025, which will bring close to 48,000 delegates to the city.
18 INVEST EDINBURGH | NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 |
That trend is reflected in a strong 2017 performance to date. In the first few months of the year, Edinburgh secured five major event bid wins, equating to an additional 3,400 delegates coming to Scotland’s capital. In addition to offering conference organisers that elusive ‘wow’ factor when choosing a venue, Edinburgh also delivers unique opportunities to co-create a legacy through its active Ambassador network,
organised through Convention Edinburgh. As Edinburgh’s largest conference venue, the EICC is building on its most prolific year, having hosted a record number of events and delegates in 2016. Growth in international associations has resulted in the recent expansion of the EICC’s business development team. It’s one of the reasons why the biennial Pangborn Sensory Symposium, recently selected the EICC for its next event in July
<FEATURE
The EICC.
National Museum of Scotland.
Iconic meeting venues include the Royal Yacht Britannia.
2019. The conference, which will explore the effects food and drink have on the senses, is likely to bring more than £2.4m into the city and attract more than 1,000 sensory scientists. The collective appeal of the EICC, working in partnership with Convention Edinburgh, the organisation tasked with promoting Edinburgh as a conference destination, beat off stiff competition from across the globe to secure the high-profile symposium.
www.investinedinburgh.com
The recent launch of Make it Edinburgh, a cohesive marketing strategy celebrating Edinburgh's global profile as the business tourism destination of choice, aims to capitalise on the increasingly joined-up approach to promoting Scotland's capital. According to Convention Edinburgh, the desire among event organisers to secure greater value for delegates and a legacy, is also seen as a key differentiator in a city’s ability to attract large scale ICCA meetings. That value add message has been further reinforced this year with Convention Edinburgh’s latest improvements to its Edinburgh Rewards scheme. Designed to give conference delegates a choice of more than 100 exclusive offers across a diverse range of high-quality restaurants, bars, retailers and attractions in the city, the scheme has been enhanced further with the addition of a mobile website highlighting nearby offers. Through a dedicated Rewards Passport, conference guests access a wide range of discounts, while businesses not necessarily associated with business tourism can access this influential market and attract a new customer base. Among the first beneficiaries of the enhanced Edinburgh Rewards package and versatile geolocation services were the 3,000 delegates attending the 2017 World Veterinary Poultry Association Congress and 1,500 delegates from the European Society for Immunodeficiencies. INNOVATING FOR THE FUTURE The launch of the UK’s first MSc in Business Events Management, the result of a collaboration between Edinburgh Napier University and the EICC, is a signal of Edinburgh’s intent. It’s a partnership that makes perfect sense. Since opening in 1995, EICC has welcomed 1.3 million delegates from more than 120 countries. An £85m expansion in 2013 greatly expanded the Centre’s capacity and improved flexibility through its 1,600m2 innovative moving floor system. On an annual basis, the EICC now caters for more than 200,000 conference delegates
Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh.
making it the ideal training ground and research laboratory for those studying event management. Students studying the new one-year MSc programme through Edinburgh Napier’s Business School are now able to combine classroom-based subjects, with the opportunity to develop skills through professional practice at the EICC. The programme, which aims to provide the meetings, conference, convention and exhibition industry with appropriately knowledgeable and qualified managers, is part of a wider long-term strategy to support future growth in business tourism. It’s typical of Edinburgh’s approach to technology and the visitor economy. The potential impact of innovation on the wider tourism market lay at the heart of a hackathon-style event at CodeBase in early October. The Edinburgh Tourism Innovation Challenge saw entrepreneurially-minded data scientists and analysts, designers and software engineers come together over three days and nights analysing a range of tourism-related data to develop new products, services and tools for visitors to the city. It’s all part of an increasingly holistic outlook towards business tourism, which as it grows is helping to fuel development demand across Edinburgh’s thriving hotel sector. Edinburgh is well placed to grow its business tourism offer further, with key investments in Edinburgh’s infrastructure continuing to improve transport links, including new capital funding announced as part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal.
www.eicc.co.uk www.conventionedinburgh.com www.iccaworld.org www.edinburghrewards.com www.makeitedinburgh.com
| NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY 2018 | INVEST EDINBURGH 19
HOTEL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
EDINBURGH BIOQUARTER, LITTLE FRANCE ROAD, EDINBURGH EH16 4UX
Savills is pleased to promote a first-rate hotel development opportunity at Edinburgh BioQuarter, a leading health and science campus in Scotland’s capital city. www.edinburghbioquarter.com
Complementing this scheme is the requirement for an internationally-branded hotel of circa 120 bedrooms, to occupy the prominent southern corner plot adjacent to the A7. Essential to meet the strong level of existing demand for hotel accommodation and other facilities from the increasing number of on-site users. Requirement for a ‘mid-scale’ bedroom product with select service, and ancillary facilities including a restaurant, large meeting room for 100 people and three boardrooms for 20 people each. Seeking expressions of interest to acquire and develop the hotel on a freehold or long leasehold basis.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THIS PUBLICATION MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION OF THE CITY OF EDINBURGH COUNCIL (OR OTHER COPYRIGHT OWNERS). WHILST EVERY EFFORT IS MADE TO ENSURE THAT THE INFORMATION GIVEN HEREIN IS ACCURATE, NO LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY IS ACCEPTED FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS OR MISLEADING STATEMENTS.
Hotel development
The Usher Institute
Proposed multi-storey carpark
Centre for Tissue Repair
Royal Hospital for Children and Young People
New commercial facility
A7
Nine
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
Centre for Regenerative Medicine
Edinburgh’s BioQuarter brings together thousands of inspiring people, pioneering organisations and research institutes. Home to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, University of Edinburgh teaching facilities and global life science companies, the next phase of development will deliver a new children’s hospital, the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Tissue Repair and multi-occupancy accommodation. Once complete, Edinburgh BioQuarter will offer more than 3m sq ft (279,000m2) of academic, healthcare and commercial activity. FIND OUT MORE: Steven Fyfe Hotels, Savills +44 (0) 141 222 4159 steven.fyfe@savills.com