Scotland unveils investment opportunities

The Scottish government has published an updated prospectus of potential investment opportunities, including a number seeking joint venture partners.

Economy Secretary Derek Mackay has unveiled the refreshed Invest in Scotland portfolio, which covers nine projects that are worth over £2bn to the country’s economy.

Among the projects contained in the prospectus is the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District in Renfrewshire, which is contains a variety of “flexible investment opportunities”, including joint venture partnering and development finance. That project includes plans for a £65m National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland and contains £39m of City Deal funding to support enabling infrastructure.

Also looking for a joint venture partner is the Edinburgh BioQuarter initiative, which includes over £400m of planned development and is currently being developed through a partnership of Scottish Enterprise, University of Edinburgh, NHS Lothian and City of Edinburgh Council.

Meanwhile, the Perth West mixed-use development, which is expected to get underway in 2021, will require debt and/or equity investment and plans to create a joint venture partnership to deliver a £50m Scottish Eco Innovation Business Park.

“The Scottish government has developed a highly-competitive package to encourage and de-risk investment, including rental guarantees, business rate exemptions, funding schemes and planning reforms,” Mackay said as he launched the portfolio at the MIPIM UK property conference.