West Edinburgh - Aerial View
West Edinburgh is a vibrant commercial centre, home to flagship offices for leading international companies and a hub for national and international transport links. Scotland’s capital offers an unrivalled quality of life and is the perfect place to live, invest and do business. With the highest Foreign Direct Investment of any key UK city, Edinburgh is Scotland’s fastest growing city, awarded Best Large City by FDI magazine in their European Cities and Regions of the Future for 2012/2013. With a competitive cost structure, four worldclass universities and excellent infrastructure, find out why your business should be in West Edinburgh.
Introduction The performance of Edinburgh’s economy has been relatively strong through the economic downturn. The Centre for Cities, identified Edinburgh as well positioned to support natural growth due to its diverse employment base, high skill levels and low reliance on welfare. The city has one of the strongest economies in the UK outside London. Edinburgh has had the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of all the key major UK cities. Some 45.3% of the working population hold degree or degree equivalent qualifications (highest in the UK after Cambridge and Oxford). A major attraction for inward investing companies is the quality of life and significantly lower labour costs and labour churn relative to London and south-east England. Edinburgh has been described as the only large UK city in the top 10 for “economic potential”. It is heartening to note that the city has been described as having the best FDI strategy of any large European city. We look forward through this initiative to assisting property owners, occupiers, investors and developers to maximise the potential of West Edinburgh and, in the process, increase the level of inward locations and further strengthen and diversify the city’s economy. Councillor Frank Ross Convenor of the Economy Committee
Interior, 1 Lochside View - (External view on cover)
4-5 Lochside View
Opportunities From British Telecom, Aegon, Heineken and HSBC to Tesco Bank and JP Morgan - businesses located in West Edinburgh are in the best of company. With four universities in the city, leading businesses are attracted to Edinburgh’s highly-skilled labour pool. Exceptional connections across the central belt place Scotland’s first class workforce within easy reach. Excellent local shopping and leisure opportunities make West Edinburgh a satisfying location for employees with easy transport links into the city centre. Only minutes away, Edinburgh Airport is Scotland’s international hub, serving over 9 million passengers annually. Our website at www.westedinburgh.com provides information on prime office space available with over 450,000 square feet in move-in condition.
Edinburgh Park Railway Station
Connectivity Seamlessly connected by road, rail and air, the area enjoys the best transport connections in the city and benefits from a sustained programme of improvements to local and national rail services. At an intersection of arterial roads, West Edinburgh is also served by frequent, award winning bus services from Lothian Buses and other providers. Frequent rail services connect to the city centre and beyond, while light rail services will operate in 2014 placing Edinburgh Airport less than 10 minutes away by tram. Infrastructure in the city is first rate, with superfast fibre broadband available to over 80% of properties and due to reach over 90% by 2015* (*source: OFCOM, maps.ofcom.org.uk/broadband)
Support At the heart of the Scottish economy, Edinburgh is well supported by initiatives from local and national government to assist inwardlocating businesses and help them to thrive. City of Edinburgh Council www.edinburgh.gov.uk •P roviding support for businesses locating in Edinburgh, including advice on labour, property & planning •W orking closely with developers to utilise existing office space and vacant sites, we can offer advice on where you would be best to locate Scottish Development International www.sdi.co.uk •H elping companies benefit from Scotland’s business and research opportunities, SDI can help identify and access funding & grants and provides a comprehensive investor support programme. •T heir comprehensive investor support programme includes:
•M arketing and market research assistance
•B usiness development support
•P R services
• I nvestment advice
•S pecialised training
4-5 Lochside View
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce www.edinburghchamber.co.uk • Strengthening the position of its members to ensure that the interests of local businesses are heard; the Chamber can help any size of company at any stage of development to grow and prosper. Invest Edinburgh www.edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com • Provides valuable economic data for Edinburgh • Highlights the advantages of investing in Scotland’s capital city • Provides latest news for investors in the city. Business Gateway www.bgateway.com • Offers a range of professional resources, support and tools to help businesses learn new skills, create new opportunities and develop strategy.
Why your business should be in West Edinburgh West Edinburgh is the fourth largest office location in Scotland after Edinburgh as a whole, Glasgow and Aberdeen. With an estimated total stock of 4,500,000 sqft (418,060 sqm) and with some 450,000 sqft (41,806 sqm) of available space, it offers inward locating businesses the opportunity to benefit from significantly reduced total occupation costs whilst benefiting from a highly-skilled and diverse labour pool along with the other benefits of Edinburgh. The West Edinburgh marketing initiative has been set up under the auspices of the Council and the property industry with assistance from Scottish Enterprise, the Edinburgh Business Forum and a number of Edinburgh’s partners. A significant amount of the available space provides “plug and play” opportunities for occupiers enabling an immediate “soft landing” when arriving in the city, reducing initial start up costs and timing. The quality and diversity of the accommodation situated over ten business parks within West Edinburgh ensures a range of styles and quality of office accommodation to meet with the needs of differing occupiers. Launches of Connect at West Edinburgh will take place in Edinburgh, London and at MIPIM during 2013.
View from Gyle Shopping Centre
The new website provides a “one-stop shop� for organisations searching for floor space, blending the attractions and benefits of Edinburgh with the practical essentials of finding suitable accommodation and linking new companies to the city and to the various partners working with the city, Scottish Enterprise and SDI. The Edinburgh Business Forum thoroughly endorses this initiative and intends to support the various partners in delivering further economic growth and prosperity for Scotland’s capital. Hugh Rutherford Chair of the Edinburgh Business Forum
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Railway Line Tram stop (line opening 2014)