OctOber tO December 2012

tOmOrrOw tODayHOw eDinburgH is cOnnecting tO tHe future– Digital strategy

‘Best Large european City of the future’, ‘Best Large european City: foreign DireCt investment strategy’ FINANCIAL TIMES FDI MAGAZINE 2012/13

issue 42 » getting graDeD: capital’s cOmmercial prOperty market » enercOn arrives » 10 questiOns fOr skyscanner » statistics

in tHis issue

08

06

17

creating lOng term grOwtH tHrOugH partnersHips

tHe first wOrD

tOm bucHanan,convenor of the economic Development committee

03 snapsHOts making the grade, from property to premium beers

07 new arrivals enercon site their uk sales office in edinburgh

08 10 questiOns fOr… the sky’s no limit for gareth williams, ceO of skyscanner.

10 (cover story)

tOmOrrOw tODay investing in a world-leading digital infrastructure

14 insigHts ensuring the city offers the right ingredients for success

16 making it Happen businesses back the festivals for new opportunities

18 tHe statistics the latest key indicators for the edinburgh economy

i nvest in eDinburgHare yOu:• a retailer looking to expand into a dynamic new market?• a hotel developer or operator interested in opening a hotel

in a global tourism hotspot?• a business looking to establish an office or contact centre

in scotland?• a property developer interested in development opportunities?

if sO, tHe city Of eDinburgH cOuncil anD its partners can prOviDe yOu witH:• free, confidential, impartial advice on your commercial

property and land requirements;• introductions to key business and civic leaders;• assistance with recruiting and training staff with

the skills you need;• advice on accessing grants and other funding;• guidance on doing business in scotland;• High-quality market intelligence.

to find out more about how we can help you, please contact the investor support team at invest@edinburgh-inspiringcapital.com or on +44 (0)131 529 6600.

for a free quarterly subscription to Invest Edinburgh, or to obtain additional copies, please contact editor@investedinburgh.com

Invest Edinburgh 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 6qHt. +44(0)131 555 7585 w. resolve-creative.co.uk

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Whatever your preferred saying – ‘the early bird catches the worm’, ‘speculate to accumulate’ or ‘Carpe Diem’ (seize the day) – the nub is that timing is everything when you’re looking to maximise the return on any investment.

globally, the commercial property market has been stagnant for some years, but a recent report highlights that the time to act has arrived – at least in edinburgh. ‘the tipping point’, published in June by gva, looks at edinburgh’s city centre office market.

in the uk, excluding london, edinburgh is the only city to have any new grade a offices under speculative development and atria is the only development offering in excess of 18,500m2. atria One, located next to the edinburgh international conference centre, will open in q2 2013.

the development, by the city of edinburgh council, comprises nearly 18,580m2 of accommodation. with less than a year to go until completion, brewin Dolphin, one of the uk’s largest independent investment managers for private clients, has already confirmed that it will take accommodation over two levels

on a long term lease, totalling more than 25% of the building.

leader of the city of edinburgh council, andrew burns says: “when private sector delivery failed in 2007, the city of edinburgh council decided to directly procure the development through an innovative funding model and complete the masterplan for the exchange office district. Developments of this scale, size and calibre ensure edinburgh can attract new businesses while also retaining existing businesses. this development is a prime example of creating long term sustainable growth through public/ private partnerships.”

toby withall, Director of gva and one of the report’s authors, says: “excluding the pre let to brewin Dolphin, there has been a high level of current activity in the city, with recent grade a lettings in the last 12 months totalling 15,753m2.“

the evidence in the gva report suggests that many of edinburgh’s key occupiers are approaching significant lease events – such as lease ends and break clauses – which may stimulate the market in 2014/2015.

“the occupier profile in the city is favourable,” says toby. “Our report demonstrates that office market activity has remained relatively constant in edinburgh, enjoying a mix of strong public and private sector clients, including amazon and H&m, avaloq, fnZ and public sector organisations including nHs.”

cameron stott, Director at Jones lang lasalle adds: “edinburgh has existing grade a space available in five locations and provides accommodation at various levels and price points across the city centre and edinburgh park. a number of ongoing developments could offer new office accommodation by 2014. these include the Haymarket by tiger Developments, located beside the new Haymarket interchange, which links to the airport; Delancey’s Orchard brae redevelopment and artisan’s calton gate development, which is getting underway.”

OppOrtunities atria one • 17,328m2 on seven floors • Large open plan floorplates

of 3,005m2

• Landscaped roof gardens• BREEAM Excellent rating • EPC - B rating

atria two• 1,228m2 on two levels• Levels 2 and 3 can be let individually

or as a whole – providing from 614m2 up to 1,228m2

fountain Quay• 11.5 acre canal-side development

site with existing ppp consent for a mixed-used scheme which includes offices, residential, retail and leisure.

• located just 500 metres from the edinburgh international conference centre and close to the new Haymarket transport interchange, which provides direct links to the national rail network and to edinburgh airport.

eDinburgH Has existing

graDe a space available

in five lOcatiOns.

atria two: due for completion q1 2013

e: hugh.rutherford@montagu-evans.come: ben.reed@eu.jll.com

welcome to Invest Edinburgh. september saw the launch of the council’s new economic strategy, developed with the active

support of the edinburgh business forum. it sets out our ‘whole council’ approach to supporting the economy (page 7), which is founded on the urgent need to support jobs and investment. the launch acted as a powerful call to action to support this effort.

the strong city partnership between public, private and third sectors, who are increasingly working collaboratively to support the city’s economy, is already a proven strength. a fantastic example is the edinburgh guarantee (page 17), which is helping young people get a great start in working life through relevant work experience.

as ever, our financial sector is well represented among the companies involved in taking on apprentices and the financial and business services sector remains a crucial part of the city’s business offering. in his recent visit, the lord mayor of the city of london met representatives to highlight how his work to promote the uk sector worldwide is progressing (page 6).

tomorrow’s economy in every sector will be driven by digital connections, and our main feature focuses on how edinburgh is to become a super-connected city.

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over the summer, edinburgh BioQuarter has seen two successful deals concluded.

in august, galecto biotech of sweden, a spin-out from the university of lund completed negotiations through edinburgh bioquarter for a collaboration with scientists working at the university of edinburgh’s college of medicine and veterinary medicine.

the new collaboration will develop a series of novel galectin-3 inhibitors as a treatment for fibrosis, a disease resulting from the inappropriate repair and scarring of connective tissue. it is a factor in a wide variety of illnesses, including cancer, inflammation, heart disease and stroke.

One month later, aquila biomedical launched at the bioquarter. aquila has an exclusive licence from the university of edinburgh to develop a unique platform of drug testing technologies for multiple sclerosis and autoimmune diseases based on the pioneering work of professor stephen anderton. aquila will offer clients access to academic models not readily available from contract research organisations or other industry partners.

genOmics researcHa memorandum of understanding has also been signed between the university of edinburgh and bgi, the world’s

largest genomics organisation. it aims to build on both institutions’ scientific understanding of the building blocks with which people and other living organisms are made.

the partnership will lead to an

expansion of genomics research in edinburgh, including analysing hereditary information encoded in our Dna, which could help assess risks for particular diseases.

> further information: www.bioquarter.com

cOllabOratiOn unlOcks researcH pOtentialwHy are tHey wOrtH watcHing?scottish exploration company adrok has developed a ‘virtual drilling’ technology which offers a cheaper, greener and faster alternative to traditional drilling methods.

the edinburgh-based company, which has clients in the uk and canada, is aiming to build on recent success in these regions as well as other key exploration areas including australia and the middle east.

wHat DO tHey DO?adrok’s atomic Dielectric resonance (aDr) scanner locates, identifies and maps subsurface natural resources to help clients – ranging from oil majors to civil engineering companies – decide where to drill for resource deposits.

aDr is set to transform industries looking for better ways to mine and explore for minerals and commodities.

wHere Have tHey cOme frOm?adrok was founded by Dr. colin stove, the inventor of aDr, and his son gordon, a graduate from the university of edinburgh and now adrok’s chief executive Officer, in

1997. since then, in addition to government funding, adrok has invested over £3 million to advance and commercialise the technology.

the company launched its first commercial service, called ‘predrilling virtual logging’, in the summer of 2007.

wHat DOes it mean fOr eDinburgH?the company currently employs 12 full-time staff and four part-time staff in edinburgh, but anticipates rapid growth. visiongain, in september 2010, predicted that the global advanced oil and gas exploration technologies market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.7%, to $12,785m in 2020. the potential for adrok’s services is enormous and the company received a huge boost last year, with a £3 million investment from teck resources, a responsible mining organisation in canada.

> further information: www.adrokgroup.com

1 tO watcH aDrOk

over the last two decades both volume and value of tourism in the capital have grown dramatically. in 2011, edinburgh received over 1.3 million visitors from overseas and total visitor spending in the city exceeded an impressive £1 billion.

Development at edinburgh airport continues under its new owner, global infrastructure partners. the airport handled nearly 9.4 million passengers last year, with more than 40 airlines flying to over 100 destinations worldwide.

now, a new £15 million 125-bedroom hotel is being built at edinburgh airport by ingliston Hotels, a division of glasgow-headquartered, chardon management.

located near to its sister 95-bedroom quality Hotel edinburgh airport, just five minutes by airport shuttle bus from the terminal building, the hotel will be aimed at the luxury budget market and is expected to operate under franchise from a major international hotel brand.

> further information: www.edinburghairport.com

eDinburgH airpOrt spreaDs its HOspitality wings

tpp global Development and fios genomics have both signed tenancy agreements with scottish enterprise for space at nine, the bio-incubator at edinburgh BioQuarter.

tpp is focused on developing preclinical drug development programmes to a commercialisation point at which they can be licensed to large pharmaceutical/biotech companies, or spun out into separate standalone operating companies. fios genomics is a provider of an extensive range of data analysis services to pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations and academia for drug discovery and development and applied research across all species. they specialise in the analysis of multi-variant datasets, recognising patterns and trends associated with a trait, disease or drug response.

> further information: www.bioquarter.com

golfino, the leading european brand in golf sportswear, has opened its first store in scotland, in multrees walk in edinburgh. the edinburgh store joins a network of 39 stores in cosmopolitan locations, including paris, berlin, munich, Zurich and palma in majorca.

the heritage Lottery fund has announced its support to implement the next phase of the masterplan to transform the national museum of scotland. the award of £4.85 million, towards the £11.85 million project, will enable nms to create eight new galleries to showcase its internationally important science and technology and european art and Design collections.

edinburgh’s parks have scooped a record number of awards for the best green spaces in the country. in total, the capital received 24 green flag awards, more than half of all flags given out in scotland. the city retained 20 awards and four parks were recognised by the scheme for the first time.

edinburgh’s winter events programme is the focus of visitscotland’s latest marketing push in scotland’s biggest european markets. a total budget of £320,000 will promote short breaks on the strength of low cost air access from france and germany, with additional activity running in italy, spain, sweden, Belgium and the netherlands until the end of this year.

in september, edinburgh bioquarter hosted the regenerative medicine conference.

virgin atlantic has said it plans to launch two new domestic services between London and scottish airports. the airline’s Chief executive, steve ridgway, has said he wants to have the flights – from edinburgh and aberdeen to heathrow – up and running next summer.

representatives from british cycling, uk sport and eventscotland have visited amaury sports Organisation, the organiser of the tour de france, with a proposal to begin the 2017 tour in edinburgh.

on 31 July, fife-based Burntisland fabrications Ltd (Bifab) announced the signing of a £145 million contract with London-based energy company premier oil and Chrysaor Ltd, to manufacture topsides (the superstructure) and jacket structures for the solan oilfield Development project, west of the shetland islands.

it’s the latest piece of good news for the methil-based operation, reflecting the manufacturer’s growing reputation as a

leading fabricator of jackets and topsides for the oil, gas and renewables industries.

Described as a “great british business that is doing fantastic things,” by uk prime minister David cameron, the contract award creates 350 new skilled jobs, doubling the size of bifab’s current operation.

in 2010, scottish and southern energy (sse), the uk’s second largest electricity generator and a leading player in the renewables sector, invested £11 million in a 15% equity stake in bifab. sse is seeking

to become a market leader in offshore wind energy generation, with work nearing completion on its 500mw greater gabbard windfarm – the largest in the world.

in 2011, bifab also signed a memorandum of understanding with sse, siemens, subsea 7 and atkins, with the stated aim of delivering cost savings for future offshore wind farm projects.

> further information: www.bifab.co.uk

traDe winDs blOw fOr bifab

twO intO nine DO gO

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newarrivaLs

wHO’s On tHe mOve?german wind turbine manufacturer enercon has established an office in edinburgh. the office, the first the business has established in scotland, will be a hub for uk sales, engineering and consultancy work.

wHy tHe mOve?founded in 1984, evercon has focused on the market for single turbines or small clusters. it is now the largest onshore wind turbine manufacturer in germany and has installed more than 19,000 turbines in 30 countries.

enercon’s turbines are present in a number of scottish sites including the lochelbank wind farm on the Ochil Hills

and the ben aketil wind farm on the isle of skye.

wHy is it impOrtant fOr eDinburgH?enercon’s arrival immediately created 13 skilled jobs in the capital, but the real significance is the fact they have chosen edinburgh to be their main sales office for the uk, highlighting the growing status of the city as a hub for renewables businesses.

Having supplied turbines to some of the most challenging sites in scotland – from tiree to Orkney – the company has gained the confidence of the financial community. most recently, finance was confirmed for the next 100%-owned community turbine to be installed in

scotland by enercon, and construction is imminent on the Orkney island of eday.

at a recent opening reception for enercon, fergus ewing, msp, the minister for energy, enterprise and tourism in the scottish government, said: “enercon’s decision to be based in scotland reflects the country’s reputation as a genuine world leader in green energy.”

enercon regional Desk manager northern europe, robin borgert added: “this new development means that we can build on the relationships we have already established here in scotland.”

> further information: www. enercon.de/en-en/

enerCon – Why they have Come to eDinBurgh

maDe in eDinBurgh

DemanD sOars fOr premium beer

the right honourable Lord mayor of the City of London, alderman David Wootton, visited edinburgh in august and took part in a roundtable discussion with the Council and invited guests from the financial community. topics covered included feedback from the Lord mayor’s annual programme of international visits, where he promotes the uK’s financial services sector.

the lord mayor has so far visited russia, kazakhstan, australia and new Zealand, with future visits to china, canada, vietnam and croatia planned.

edinburgh’s reputation as a major international financial sector remains strong and there are clear opportunities for edinburgh’s financial sector leaders and community to join the lord mayor’s visits to reach both existing and emerging international markets.

also discussed was the green investment bank and the importance of edinburgh (where the bank is headquartered) and london maintaining close links to embed the gib fully into the whole of the uk’s green and finance sectors. finally the group

discussed opportunities for edinburgh’s companies to be exposed to the wider venture capital sector around london and the south east of england – this will form part of the council’s london engagement plan over the coming year.

> further information: e: steve.vance@edinburgh.gov.uk

aDDing value tO city finance sectOr

the City of edinburgh Council’s new economic strategy is the first to focus on the part edinburgh plays in the wider regional and scottish economy. it was launched, with support from local businesses and major city employers, at an event in september, and follows the largest and most wide-ranging economic analysis ever undertaken in the city.

the economic strategy sets out a pioneering ‘whole council’ approach to economic growth, with three key targets for 2012-17: to support the creation and safeguarding of 20,000 jobs; to support

£1.3 billion of infrastructure investment in the city and to help 10,000 people into work or learning.

these objectives will be achieved through four programmes of activity with detailed action plans: investing in the city’s physical development; supporting inward investment; supporting businesses and helping unemployed people into work or learning.

key highlights include the creation of a dedicated new hub for business customers at the city of edinburgh council’s headquarters; and the creation of an ‘integrated employability service’ that will work with national agencies to

provide a ‘no wrong door’ approach for job seekers across edinburgh.

Hugh rutherford, chair of the edinburgh business forum welcomed the strategy at the launch event: “no one partner or organisation in the city has sufficient influence to drive development of the economy alone, so it is critically important that we pool our knowledge, expertise and resources to ensure edinburgh remains an attractive place to do business. we want businesses to engage with the economic strategy to ensure sustainable economic growth.”

> further information: e: economicstrategy@edinburgh.gov.uk

> economic strategy: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/economicstrategy

since 2008, essential edinburgh has been responsible for overseeing the delivery of the city centre Business improvement District (BiD) – a business driven initiative to promote edinburgh city centre as a desirable place to work, do business and shop.

biD status allows local businesses to invest collectively in projects and services. funds are raised through a small levy which can then unlock further external funding.

essential edinburgh’s five-year vision has contributed to infrastructure and environmental improvements in the area. consultations are now taking place on improving how the biD delivers on its goals of improving cleanliness and accessibility, increasing footfall and reducing crime in advance of a 2013 ballot to extend the city centre biD project.

in summer 2012, businesses in south queensferry voted overwhelmingly in favour of the queensferry ambition biD. three-quarters of respondents voted in favour of a £500,000 investment over five years.

the latest area to consider biD status is the grassmarket. votes close 1 november.

> further information: e: natalie.le.couteur@edinburgh.gov.uk

strategy fOr DevelOpment brings tOgetHer expertise

biDDing fOr success

averaging 49% year on year growth since start up in 2003, innis & gunn continue to redefine the speciality beer market.

what started out in 2002 as an experiment to develop a beer-finished blended whisky for distillers william grant & sons has led to a global business with an annual turnover of £5.25 million in 2010.

“when i first tasted the product in 2002 i knew we had something special,” says Dougal sharp, managing Director, who was so confident in the product’s potential he led a seven figure management buyout of the business in 2008.

the adoption of an innovative business model sees brewing outsourced under

strict recipe and quality guidelines. “that’s allowed us to focus on our brand and our relationships with distributors and their customers,” adds Dougal.

initial trials in 2004, in sweden, saw the product sell out before it hit the shelves. it was the same story in canada, where 600 cases sold out before reaching the shops.

“Our original beer was aged in oak casks for 77 days, but as sales grew it became impossible to keep up with demand. a two-year investment has seen us work with Heriot-watt university and our contract brewer to develop a technique known as the ‘oakcurator’, in which cured wood is placed in the beer to impart flavour. by blending cask matured and ‘oakcurator’ matured

beer, we bring scalability to the business without compromising on taste.”

Despite insatiable international thirst for innis & gunn “our scottish identity is fundamental to our brand Dna,” says Dougal, “and being a global business,

it’s important we’re based in scotland’s capital.”

the business is now scotland’s largest independent beer company, with 75% of sales overseas. it’s the third best selling speciality beer brand in the uk; the leading british bottled beer in canada and the number two and number three best selling import beers in sweden. in 2010 innis & gunn received the queen’s award for enterprise in international trade.

“in each international market, we tailor our approach,” explains Dougal. “in the uk we have close relations with our customers including major supermarkets. in sweden, we work with distributors while in canada we have staff embedded with our distributor, which gives us direct contact with their customers.

“we’ve recently established innis & gunn marketing inc. in the usa – a seven figure investment – which allows us to import the product ourselves and sell direct to us distributors. it’s an untapped market for us, with huge potential, as is the rest of europe where there’s huge demand for premium speciality beers.”

> further information: www.innisandgunn.com

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ie> the original idea was to create a single website that could collect, collate and compare prices for every commercial flight in the world. How close are you to realising that ambition?gw> we reflect virtually every scheduled flight in the world. in the last three years we’ve added every traditional carrier having previously added the budget airlines. if there’s one not already there, they’re in our pipeline. but it isn’t just about flights, it’s also about markets. we offer flight searches in 30 languages, with over three-quarters of our business outside the uk. traffic currently comes to the site from over 180 countries, 40 of which have 50,000 or more visits to the site per month. skyscanner is the no. 1 travel search site in europe and receives 30 million visits per month worldwide.

ie> your latest landmark deal takes you into china. that’s been described as a transformational step, and establishes you as a global brand. was that an immediate ambition at this stage in the company’s development? what’s next?gw> Our office in singapore focused on the asia pacific market and was always going to be a bridge into china. we’ve got a great general manager there who has developed that market. the success of our strategy comes down to our ability to localise website content, optimise search engine keywords, conduct online marketing campaigns and build relationships with china’s leading airlines and online travel agents.

baidu, our partner in china, is the number one search engine there and already partners with qunar, china’s number one travel search site. since september 2011,

growth rates in china have increased by 700 per cent and skyscanner now provides the best range of international flights for users in china. we opened our office in beijing this summer and we fully expect skyscanner in asia to grow to the size of our european business within a relatively short period.

ie> the company has also announced the relocation of your office in singapore, to accommodate a planned doubling of your headcount there over the next 12 months. How do you decide where to locate physically and where to target through remote services?gw> Our approach is to build regional hubs, with europe centred in edinburgh, asia in singapore and china a dedicated market. we’re considering other hubs actively. we plan for growth and, in time, i envisage we could add up to 100 more jobs here in edinburgh.

ie> edinburgh is about to benefit from a multi-million pound investment in its digital infrastructure. is it doing enough to keep competitive in the digital economy?gw> google are doing this in the us and it’s a crucial thing to keep us competitive. it’s about extending the skills base, giving people exposure to the leading edge technologies that they’ll then carry into their professional life. exposure to the technology at an early stage encourages more innovators and start ups.

ie> last year you acquired Zoombu. How do you see the brands evolving?gw> Our mission is to help people who want to travel a long distance and we aim to be the leading travel search engine in the world. Zoombu is a built-in technology for our road map. it helps visitors find the best way from their home to their destination, by searching across multiple modes of transport and potential routes.

ie> the ambition is to see skyscanner become scotland’s first $1 billion internet company. what’s the timeline?gw> there’s no timeline. i’m not driven by valuation – it’s a consequence and enabler of acquiring capital as we continue our journey. we’re still scratching the surface on a global scale. in the last 12 months, we handled flight ticket sales worth more than $3bn. executing better what we do right now can still get us to a $1bn valuation, but my aspiration is to continue doubling our size year-on-year. that’s not going to be easy but it’s possible.

ie> you’re quoted as saying that revenue could rise to more than £60 million within the next two years. for a business that has grown so rapidly, how has edinburgh provided a good base?gw> Our origin in edinburgh was due to circumstance, but early on we faced a decision on whether to stay here or relocate. we have always been an ambitious company and it was clear that edinburgh had advantages that outweighed everywhere else. Here we had the quality of the university of edinburgh’s computer science department on our doorstep – and that relationship has remained important. in edinburgh we can also recruit and retain the top talent for our type of business. it’s a city that has appeal and that ability to recruit is the prime factor.

amazon is a force for good, getting the city an international profile in the tech community, and there’s so much activity here now: from us, with 145 staff in edinburgh alone, to techcube – an incubator set up in a decommissioned

university tower, which offers working space for early stage tech companies. there’s a clear momentum across the city.

ie> so many internet companies start with a great concept but fail to commercialise their idea. what has been the secret behind skyscanner’s rapid commercial success?gw> there was no single factor. the first hurdle is to commit to doing it.

too often start ups don’t see that the idea is only 10%, the rest is persistence and hard work in execution.

we had three equal founding partners, and we’ve always looked at funding as an enabler and not an end in itself. for the first five years, with skyscanner entirely self-financed, we could follow our own agenda. that meant we could focus on building a viable quality of service.

another factor is traction, getting people to use the service, and in that respect i never accepted that a company outwith silicon valley couldn’t achieve success on a global scale.

ceO and co-founder of skyscanner, gareth williams, charts the

journey that has seen the edinburgh-born air travel website

grow from a self-funded start up into a global business with

annual revenues of £30 million, in less than a decade.

“baiDu, Our partner in

cHina, is tHe number One

searcH engine tHere anD

alreaDy partners witH

qunar, cHina’s number

One travel searcH engine.

since september 2011,

grOwtH rates in cHina Have

increaseD by 700 per cent.”

www.skyscanner.com

gareth Williams, Ceo. born in norwich gareth was a globetrotter from an early age spending his upbringing in sussex, canada and switzerland. gareth became obsessed with computers, going to manchester university to study mathematics and computing. On the first day he met ‘fellow geek’ bonamy grimes (now skyscanner’s chief strategy Officer).

going on to work as a programmer for hire, gareth became annoyed that it was so difficult to find cheap flights to visit his brother. combining this frustration with an appreciation of the nascent google he worked on the idea of an easy-to-use way of tracking down the best travel deals.

Historically online travel sites were designed around airline booking systems. gareth, bonamy and barry smith (skyscanner’s non-executive Director) wanted it to work in the way people think about travel.

while skyscanner can find the cheapest flights for someone who knows where they want to go and when they want to travel, it’ll also work with the scarcest of information, even just the departure country.

starting with an excel spreadsheet of destinations and prices, skyscanner grew by word of mouth. as hits to the site rose exponentially, the three realised they might have a winner and gave up their day jobs. putting their own money into the start up, they officially launched the site in 2003.

gareth williamsceO, skyscanner

ie> what skills do you need to access when recruiting and how easy is it to find them in edinburgh?

gw> basically we need technology skills, digital marketing skills and the insight into our target markets. we can access the right skills from the university, from the finance software sector in edinburgh, and we also recruit internationally. the cosmopolitan mix is a benefit as we operate in 30 languages.

ie> when you signed a lease to open your new global headquarters at quartermile, you were quoted as saying that the site was selected in order to take advantage of “scotland’s growing internet start-up community”. what do you see as the strengths of this community?gw> i think this generation of start-ups are more realistic in what needs to be achieved. they’re leveraging the lessons from the past. my career spans the previous dot-com crash and those lessons are freely available via the web. there’s a great entrepreneurial community now. people share lessons and recognise that there are few direct competitors if they’re being truly innovative. this generation are hyper-connected and it’s had a democratising influence.

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tOmOrrOw tODayedinburgh will be a step ahead,

following a multi-million pound

investment now underway to

ensure the city is one of europe’s

top ‘super-connected cities’ offering

a prime opportunity for investors.

in its 2012 action plan, ‘scotland’s Digital future’, the scottish government emphasised its “commitment to a world-class, future proofed infrastructure that

will deliver digital connectivity across the whole of scotland by 2020.”

in august this year, the city of edinburgh council submitted its own plan for digital connectivity to the uk government – which had previously selected edinburgh as one of 10 cities to benefit from central funding to enhance its digital infrastructure*.

edinburgh’s ‘connected capital’ programme** will see 90% of edinburgh residents and businesses able to access high speed broadband by 2015. the city is to invest £1.9 million directly, in addition to £10.7 million from the Department for culture, media and sport, announced in september.

the plan includes two key infrastructure investments:

1) public wireless zones in key streets, squares and parks, initially focused in the city centre, with the potential to extend to key cultural and community locations across edinburgh.

2) accelerating improvements by connecting next generation broadband (>24 mbps) and ultra

fast broadband (80–100 mbps) in areas where commercial

roll-out was not planned in the next three years.

the plan’s target is to provide additional next generation broadband access to almost 20,000 residential premises and 1,500 registered business premises during 2014 and early 2015.

underpinning this £12+ million investment is the need to develop educational and social opportunities to ensure that edinburgh is a digitally inclusive city. ritchie somerville, connected capital programme strategy manager at the city of edinburgh council, explains: “at its heart, the plan seeks to increase digital participation among individuals and businesses. Developing people’s skills to help them access this technology will drive social and economic development for edinburgh.“ (see panel.)

“this funding will greatly enhance our offering as a digitally inclusive city,” adds councillor alasdair rankin, convener of the finance and resources committee, city of edinburgh council. “it will undoubtedly help the city to attract new jobs and investment.”

edinburgh already has a strong foundation on which to build, with bt,virgin media and other providers having invested significantly in the city over the past few years.

“people are going online more than ever and using smartphones, tablets and other connected gadgets to do so, often simultaneously, making superfast internet speeds increasingly important,” says Duncan watts, Head of network expansion at virgin media.

Over two thirds of homes in edinburgh can get speeds of 100 megabits per second (mbps) today through virgin media’s cable network. “we’ll soon be upping this to 120 mbps, making it amongst the fastest broadband in europe,” adds Duncan.

“Our infrastructure, the result of many billions of private investment, can also directly serve approximately nine out of every ten businesses across the city. virgin media is always looking at ways to expand in order to bring such market leading services to more people and our recent developments in metropolitan wireless represent an exciting opportunity for cities like edinburgh to be at the forefront of a new wave of next generation wireless services.”

more than 57,000 edinburgh homes and businesses currently have access to fibre broadband over the bt network. “a further 84,000 are currently scheduled for fibre upgrade this year and next,” explains brendan Dick, bt’s regional Director. (this upgrade sits outside the work planned under ‘connected cities’.)

wholesale download speeds of up to 80 mbps and upload speeds of up to 20 mbps are widely available and brendan adds: “even faster fibre-to-the-premises (fttp) will soon offer download speeds of up to 330 mbps. it is already being tested in edinburgh’s waverley exchange area and will be available in enabled areas, on demand, by spring 2013, putting ultra-fast services within reach of many edinburgh businesses.”

this all ensures that current fibre upload speeds in edinburgh are the fastest widely available to consumers in the uk, with large video and data files being sent in seconds. the average broadband synch speed in edinburgh is already 10.1 mbps, which compares with 8.9 mbps in birmingham and 8.8 mbps in london, and the average new york connection speed of 7.8 mbps.

the result is a significant benefit across the full spectrum of edinburgh’s economic sectors.

* the european commission’s Digital agenda for europe set a range of targets for broadband, including 100% access across europe at 30 mbps by 2020, with at least half of all european citizens subscribed to a service offering >=100 mbps.

it is this later target that is reflected in the uk government’s aspiration for ten cities to become ‘super-connected’, with ultrafast connectivity and widespread wireless provision, by 2015.

the westminster government’s shortlist for their £100m of urban broadband funding was announced in march.www.culture.gov.uk/news/news_stories/8931.aspx

** www.edinburgh.gov.uk/connectedcapital

“mOre tHan 57,000 eDinburgH

HOmes anD businesses

currently Have access

tO fibre brOaDbanD Over

tHe bt netwOrk”

skills DevelOpment anD Digital participatiOnfor businesses, Connected Capital will support small, medium and micro-enterprises to develop skills and demand for high speed services.

as part of the plan, suppliers appointed to deliver broadband and wireless services will carry out marketing campaigns to raise awareness of the services available. “a business facility with ultrafast connectivity will showcase the benefits and applications of high speed internet services,” explains Jim galloway, Head of enterprise and innovation at the city of edinburgh council. “workshops and training will be delivered by the business gateway to raise awareness of the benefits of internet to businesses and partnership working will be established with organisations in the city that provide support and membership facilities to businesses.”

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<feature

for connected cities contact: ritchie.somerville@edinburgh.gov.uk hilary.coyne@edinburgh.gov.uk www.edinburgh.gov.uk/connectedcapital

recent graDe a cOmmercial prOperty activity

CLient spaCe LoCation

brewin Dolphin, fund manager 4,459 m2 atria

nHs education for scotland 3,463 m2 westport 102

bowleven, oil and gas company 1,183 m2 the cube

investec, fund manager 929 m2 quartermile

from the vibrant tourist sector, which alone delivered in excess of £1 billion of revenue in 2011 through life sciences – where companies such as fiOsgenomics at edinburgh bioquarter handle terabytes of information – to technology, where indigo vision manufactures video surveillance systems for cities from chihuahua to chomutov, creation of a super fast digital infrastructure in edinburgh will help them all.

“fiOsgenomics’ large and complex data analysis allows clients to get the most out of high volume, high dimensional datasets to support research in bioinformatics,” explains Dr mike capaldi, Director of commercialisation at the bioquarter.

“the bioquarter brings together the best enabling technologies, like fiOsgenomics, with commercial pharma companies and academic research, to solve commercial problems. we aim to get to a stage where the large pharmas run sufficient trials or research collaborations in scotland that enable them to recognise a need to open a dedicated office here. that will happen.“

“the digital healthcare agenda is one area where scotland is leading the world,” adds Dr claudia pagliari, convener, eHealth interdisciplinary research network and senior lecturer in primary care at the university of edinburgh. “as scotland’s health data is uniquely interlinked, it presents a rich resource to harvest new knowledge. the big Data agenda is a key opportunity and scotland’s Health informatics programme brings together all the constituent bodies to help exploit this resource. we need to work across boundaries to reach innovators, funders, and to understand how to make best use of these resources.”

fibre speeds also boost flexible and remote working, reducing office overheads and improving employees’ work-life balance. the creative sector is vibrant in edinburgh, and leith is a hub for emerging and established businesses in many creative disciplines. 60% of newly registered businesses in the uk begin life in the home and the extension of superfast broadband speeds will help nurture a new wave of start ups.

as well as being economically important in their own right, the creative industries have “spillover” effects acting as catalysts for growth in other areas. they are recognised as helping drive technological innovation and new thinking. “a strong cultural and creative sector can also help to make regions more attractive places to live for highly skilled workers in other sectors of the economy,” adds ritchie somerville.

a report by regeneris in 2011 – Superfast Broadband: Boosting Business and the UK economy – highlights that superfast broadband could create the equivalent of an extra 0.5% of uk gva through “business creation and improved business performance.” (large graphic and video files can be sent immediately and high quality

voice and video calls mean businesses can keep in touch with customers while they cut down on travel.)

the internationally-renowned edinburgh school of informatics, part of the university of edinburgh, is another focal point for edinburgh’s burgeoning technology start ups. professor stuart anderson, the school’s Director of teaching, believes the infrastructure creates a self-actualising cycle of innovation and business growth. “companies such as skyscanner and amazon’s Development team here in edinburgh have more than half of their employees drawn from our graduates or those from the university’s computing school.

“there’s great networking going on across the city. a good example is the bid for a Digital Health & care innovation centre, which i’m leading. it pulls together all scotland’s medical schools, nHs 24, nHs lothian, grampian and Highlands, the school of informatics and the edinburgh parallel computing centre, our business school, glasgow school of art and teams from five other scottish universities, as well as companies such as 02, vodafone, philips and cisco.

“the aim is to bring together design, informatics, medical and commercial opportunities to exploit scotland’s unique and world-leading health information to support independent living. with populations ageing it will be increasingly vital to enable access to front line health and care services using novel and innovative approaches, and a super-connected infrastructure will be one enabler. “

stuart adds: “the goal is to support the european partnership in action and Healthy

tHe place tO bea super-connected edinburgh offers world-class opportunities for switched on investors.

combined with edinburgh’s critical mass in key sectors such as life sciences, informatics, technology and financial services, its highly qualified and skilled workforce and superlative quality of life, mean the city is an established international business centre, providing an excellent place to invest.

the city region’s commercial property portfolio includes top quality buildings in the prime central office core, through to competitively-priced properties in leith and edinburgh park, to a variety of specialist properties in developments such as Heriot-watt university research park and the edinburgh science triangle.

longer term, developments such as the international business gateway, neighbouring the airport, will provide an ideal hub for international business – with the airport directly connecting to more than 100 destinations.

for companies looking to expand, rationalise or relocate, prime office rents in edinburgh are around a third of london’s west end, less than half of the city of london and lower than prime office rents in both manchester and birmingham, adding to the city’s appeal.

steve mcgavin, Head of Development and regeneration with the city of edinburgh council, says: “there is an opportunity to develop new office accommodation to meet demand,

“eDinburgH is mOving

fast tOwarDs becOming

a super-cOnnecteD city,

wHicH will enable us tO

cOmpete witH tHe wOrlD’s

tOp Digital cities.”

living, and help to give every european citizen two additional years of healthy life.”

another medical innovation that provides a perfect example of ehealth’s potential is eosurgical.com, a start up company that designs and manufactures online training tools for surgeons to improve their operative skills. founded by paul brennan and roland partridge, both phD students and trainee surgeons at the university of edinburgh, the company has just won first place in the santander universities entrepreneurship awards’ postgraduate category.

However, ehealth is just one burgeoning sector within edinburgh’s economy that is set to benefit from the investment in

the cube, in the city centre, will be one development to benefit from the connected capital programme.

a world-beating digital infrastructure. gareth williams, ceO of skyscanner – already a global internet company based in edinburgh (see 10 questions page 8) – firmly believes the investment will benefit a host of new business opportunities: “enhanced bandwidth means people get access to leading technologies sooner, and that means the next generation of entrepreneurs here will already be familiar with leading edge technologies. that can only encourage more start ups – some of which will then form the engines of new job creation and tax revenues of the future.”

councillor alasdair rankin concludes:

“current fibre uplOaD speeDs in

eDinburgH are tHe fastest wiDely

available tO cOnsumers in tHe uk”

“the connected cities project is a great example of our pledge to provide for edinburgh’s economic growth and prosperity. the capital is already a world class visitor destination, and a great place in which to live, work, study and invest. edinburgh is moving fast towards becoming a super-connected city, which will enable us to compete with the world’s top digital cities.”

and we’re very keen to support potential investors and locate sites for development.”

> Contact: steve.mcgavin@edinburgh.gov.uk www.investinedinburgh.com

<feature

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given edinburgh’s commitment to become a super-connected city,

what opportunities do you see, and what does the city need to offer

both business tenants and developers, to retain its competitive edge?

hugh rutherford, partner, montagu evans LLpedinburgh’s challenge is how to expand with limited space in the city centre.

to the west, there is good availability of

grade a office space at edinburgh park and in the longer term the planned development of the international business gateway next to the airport. However, the city centre remains a popular focus: an unusually high mix of private housing in the centre itself, and the commuting links through Haymarket and waverley, means that demand for premium space in the centre is always high and increasing.

that explains why we¹ve seen the pre-let of 25% of the space in atria One almost a year before completion. it is the only speculative grade a office development over 9,290m2 outside london at present which completes in 2013. this is a good example of economic development support, as the building has been developed by the city of edinburgh council, in conjunction with eicc and scottish enterprise.

with pre-lets, developers can secure funding, which has been difficult, and we’re starting to see rental growth in the city centre. there is now scope for additional new development. as chair of the edinburgh business forum, i am involved in creating a plan with the chamber of commerce and the city council to address this.

leith continues to be a hub for creative businesses and there is planning permission in place at edinburgh bioquarter, which can support science companies.

edinburgh has the skilled workforce, the quality of life and the infrastructure to attract and retain high value business. the key thing is to keep supply and demand in balance. we need to plan now, to ensure we have the accommodation profile to match our current and future needs.

andrew Janson, Ceo, Janson propertywith soco, our development of the gap site in the centre of edinburgh, the city council were very helpful, especially identifying all

the groups in the city we had to consult with due to the site’s position and world Heritage status.

the development has secured a pre-let for a hotel and one of two retail units, so we have 90% of the space filled as we start the build. this has been a key factor as bank finance is just not there for speculative development.

with any development the market provides the impetus for what we focus on; a developer needs to see an exit. it’s all about the potential to sell and commercial office space needs banks to support new development and take a speculative risk again.

in this respect, edinburgh compares favourably with every other uk city outside london. there is the historic heritage here, which is a key advantage, and developers have to respect it. with soco we’re trying to enhance a whole area, creating a new quarter.

if there’s one thing that would help, it is having a one-stop shop within the council to facilitate all the aspects involved, from

planning, economic development and licensing to highways. it’s a welcome step to see that interaction across all services, and a focus on economic development, is a commitment in the council’s new economic strategy.

stuart anderson, head of teaching, edinburgh school of informatics, the university of edinburghwith better infrastructure we’re definitely going to see changes in the way that things

happen, with a big shift to cloud providers. while infrastructure is important, the

other key element is skilled people. we need more people with good maths skills. Helping ensure the next generation have the right skills will bring a real benefit and we need to expose pupils in school to computing, not as a business skill but as a science in itself.

if we can exploit the super-connected city to enable schools to make that step change then it will make a big difference to helping us get where we want to go in economic terms.

toby Withall, Director, gvageneral trends continue, such as the preference for occupiers to relocate to city centres, which provide the public transport infrastructure

for staff, and support the increasing sustainability and csr agenda that tenants have to consider.

in the second quarter of 2012, edinburgh recorded twice its average take-up, including 7,432m2 at exchange square 1, to blackrock.

However we believe that by early 2014 there is likely to be a shortage of grade a office stock in the city centre, meaning suitable quality supply might dwindle just as many of edinburgh’s key occupiers approach significant lease events – such as lease ends and break clauses.

for landlords, this presents an opportunity, as the ‘tipping point’, where demand outstrips supply, will have an immediate positive effect on rental values.

Dr mike Capaldi, Commercialisation Director, edinburgh BioQuarterscotland’s life sciences sector is growing rapidly and at the bioquarter we bring together

the right partners at the right time in a research environment designed to offer ease of occupancy and operation, flexibility to evolve and grow, and a fertile environment for collaboration. investing in digital connectivity is an essential part of that mix.

scotland is undoubtedly attractive to pharmas, as we are so well linked up for research. it’s becoming a rich environment that will attract the leading companies, as well as start ups.

extending to more than 100 acres, edinburgh bioquarter is a joint venture between scottish enterprise, alexandria real estate equities inc, the university of edinburgh and nHs lothian. Once fully developed, we will offer up to 130,063m2 of specialist accommodation for academic, commercial and healthcare activity here.

for larger companies we have immediate space available in nine, which offers accommodation from fully fitted and serviced laboratories and offices. smaller companies can access space ready for bespoke fit out to meet individual company requirements. and if companies want to build, we have plots available.

Our role is to make things happen and there’s a great momentum building up.

Cameron stott, Director, JonesLangLasalletenants want quality office space serviced by good transport links at good value and edinburgh can provide all three. edinburgh

park, on the city’s west side, is a prime business park only a few minutes from the airport. this combines with rentals that can be half those of the city centre for grade a accommodation.

there are also several existing developments that could provide accommodation by 2014, if the client is willing to pre-let space in the city centre.

longer term, the new international business gateway being developed next to the airport will appeal to international businesses.

as sustainability and csr requirements increase, the focus on public transport links increases and people look increasingly at transport hubs. west edinburgh is serviced by two railway stations providing direct access to more than 30 other stations, while the new Haymarket interchange will create a city centre transport hub linked to the international airport.

it’s also great to see investments such as the connected cities project. it’s never been more important to invest in the future and initiatives such as this help us stay one step ahead of the competition.

steve mcgavin,head of Development and regeneration, the City of edinburgh Councilimproving the city’s accessibility and connectivity is a key focus

for the council. bringing forward major developments to complement the existing range of outstanding commercial opportunities in the city will be essential if the city is to remain competitive. we are investing in high quality infrastructure and public spaces to ensure that edinburgh remains the most attractive place to do business in the uk and it is vital that the council’s services ensure a unified approach is taken to supporting new development.

marc Wilkinson, head of office, Brewin Dolphinas one of the uk’s leading investment managers, edinburgh is a very important market for us. it has a rich history in the financial

services sector; a strong catchment area for our financial planning and investment management services and a good pool of employment talent.

as the business has expanded in the capital, we’ve found ourselves based in three different offices around the city. the opportunity to bring everyone under one roof in one modern location prompted our property search.

we looked at a number of different options but picked atria for a variety of factors. its prime city centre location was a big draw to us. it’s right in the heart of the financial centre with good transport links for our staff and our clients and surrounded by a range of different amenities. the design of the building was also a key consideration. the space is open and bright but is also importantly a secure place to work and, as we are dependent on technology, has robust it facilities.

these are the considerations facing many growing businesses and edinburgh had the right location at the right time for us. we very much look forward to moving in next year.

rOunD table:

“if we can explOit tHe super

cOnnecteD city tO enable

scHOOls tO make tHat step

cHange tHen it will make a

big Difference tO Helping us

get wHere we want tO gO in

ecOnOmic terms.”

“if tHere’s One tHing tHat

wOulD Help, it is Having

a One-stOp sHOp witHin

tHe cOuncil tO facilitate

all tHe aspects invOlveD,

frOm planning, ecOnOmic

DevelOpment anD

licensing tO HigHways.”

<insigHts

www.investedinburgh.com14 invest eDinBurgh |OctOber tO December 2012 | | OctOber tO December 2012 | invest eDinBurgh 15

tHe business Of festivals

international regard for edinburgh’s

festivals is leading to a host of new

and inspiring opportunities...

Last year during a public reading at the edinburgh international Book festival (eiBf), historical novelist sara sheridan happened to mention that she was in the process of writing a crime novel. neville moir, a publisher at edinburgh-based polygon, was in the audience and contacted sara to secure the publishing rights to her crime novel. Brighton Belle was published by polygon in 2012 and a second crime novel, London Calling will be published in 2013.

such deals are normally the preserve of trade shows, rather than traditional public festivals. but increasingly, festivals are attracting more and more business leaders, keen to network and open to the opportunity to strike deals.

the international regard for edinburgh’s festivals reflects the value to businesses of attending the right festival events. while it may be some time before the value of deals struck at or immediately after a festival equals the £245 million generated for the city economy in 2010 by festival attendees, it is undoubtedly growing.

bringing together the right ingredients was the inspiration for the edinburgh international science festival (eisf), which this year launched a new flagship event to capture that same spirit of energy and ideas. the edinburgh enlightenment exchange – edinburgh e2 – celebrates and revives the 18th century spirit of scotland as ‘a hotbed of genius’.

“we brought together some of scotland’s most creative individuals for a day-long showcase – scientists, artists, musicians, authors and other creative

innovators to share their ideas, inspiration and passion, and see what new ideas evolve from this unique meeting of minds,” explains Dr simon gage, Director, eisf.

after the event multiple blogs by those attending were united in their reaction: ‘inspirational’.

innovations like this help maintain the festivals as the biggest and best in the world, ensuring edinburgh is recognised as ‘the world’s no.1 festival city’ and, increasingly, draw an audience of business people in addition to the public.

indeed the commercial success of eisf led to it being commissioned by the abu Dhabi technology Development committee to stage the first science festival to be held in the united arab emirates, in 2011. this year the association continued, with the team from edinburgh programming the entire festival in abu Dhabi.

the international regard for edinburgh’s festivals reflects the city’s unique combination of events; which span everything from the world’s longest established science festival to the world’s oldest film festival.

the vibrant cultural and commercial life edinburgh’s festivals stimulate, are a major factor in making edinburgh one of the most attractive places to live, work, invest and visit – not to mention do deals!

there are more festivals emerging in edinburgh including the mediaguardian

edinburgh international television festival and the royal Highland show as well as the turing festival – a global celebration of digital technology. this year the turing festival attracted steve wosniak, apple’s cofounder, as a keynote speaker. it also introduced an exclusive invitation-only event for the leading ceOs in the tech industry to ‘share knowledge and deepen and strengthen connections between companies’.

brendan richardson, a 17-year veteran of the silicon valley venture capital and private equity circuit, was also at the turing festival, chairing a session on investment. “there’s undoubtedly a real value in such sessions,” he said.

“for me, as an investor, i’m looking for things that are disruptive in the market. scotland has a real history of innovation and there’s a trend for more and more festivals to showcase innovations of all kinds.

“the density of innovation in scotland is higher than i see elsewhere. you have all the ingredients here, with great universities, and it’s time to combine them and turn up the heat. festivals offer a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to hone their pitch.”

edinburgh has more university graduates per head of population than any other uK city. one in five pupils leaving edinburgh’s secondary schools in 2010 (age 18) already held an advanced higher or higher national Certificate, and only 3% left school with no qualifications at all.

but the economic slowdown has had a major impact on young people, with reduced opportunities and increased competition for jobs and places in higher or further education driving up youth unemployment rates.

“if this trend had been allowed to continue, it would have had significant implications for our people, economy and communities,” explains ken shaw, Head of employability and skills, the city of edinburgh council.

“the longer an individual is out of work, the more entrenched unemployment can become.”

in edinburgh, the answer has been a highly successful scheme to unite the public and private sector in providing opportunities for young unemployed people to gain work experience – the edinburgh guarantee.

“a large proportion of school leavers left in the cohort seeking employment six months after leaving school have standard or higher grade qualifications,“ adds ken. “this suggests a lack of opportunity, rather than a lack of skills and qualifications.”

working with the public, private and voluntary sectors the edinburgh guarantee has increased the number of jobs, education or training opportunities being made available to young people, and the level of support available.

the city of edinburgh council is edinburgh’s single largest employer, with just below 21,000 employees. “in 2011

we took on 50 apprentices under the guarantee, across most services.”

One of those joining the council was 17 year old Jordan lewis. “i wanted to get a job as a mechanic, but had no experience and was getting nowhere,” explains Jordan. “with the council, i’ve been brought into the parks Department on a four-year apprenticeship, working with the maintenance team. i love it. the work is great and the people are friendly.”

grieg innes left school at the end of 6th year. “i didn’t get the grades i needed to go to university and wasn’t sure what i wanted to do. i registered for help in finding a job, but without experience it was impossible. they told me about a number of posts being offered by standard life and i applied.”

grieg was among ten young people initially given placements by standard life. “we got involved after a conversation i had with sue bruce, the council’s chief executive,” explains sandy begbie, group Operations Officer. “this is an issue i believe we should do something about, as a leading employer in the community, and i was very impressed by the way sue spoke about the guarantee. from our first tranche of ten, three have been taken on permanently – including grieg – one is on a fixed term extension to their placement and one has gone on to college.”

standard life has just taken on another 11 young people on six month placements under the guarantee. “we’ve found it a

really valuable experience. young people bring great skills with technology. the positive impact of the group has made such an impression across the business that we’re already planning our third intake, for 2013, and the areas of the business wanting to get involved means we’ll double our intake.”

“i’ve got a full-time job now with standard life investments, thanks to the guarantee,” says grieg. “i’m sure that without this opportunity i’d still be looking for my first job.”

latest statistics for edinburgh show the number of young people not entering work, training or education after six months has fallen by more than 25%.

“that’s great news,” adds ken, “and thanks in no small part to the tremendous support we’ve received from businesses across the city. since launching the edinburgh guarantee we’ve had more than 600 offers of support from a wide range of private, public sector and community-based organisations. they include many of the city’s largest employers – bt, rbs, bank of new york mellon, lloyds banking group, royal london group, nHs lothian, visitscotland, Jewel & esk, telford and stevenson colleges, primark and amazon.

“we’re continuing this engagement with edinburgh’s business community, particularly small and medium sized organisations to increase the breadth and depth of support for the edinburgh guarantee- drawing on the expertise of the edinburgh business forum, edinburgh chamber of commerce, and scottish business in the community to generate awareness and unlock opportunities.

access to a skilled workforce is a key

appeal for businesses looking to expand

or relocate. with that in mind, edinburgh’s

public and private sectors are working

together to extend the city’s skills base.

www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/edinburghguarantee

grieg innes gained a permanent job with standard life through the edinburgh guarantee

experience guaranteeD

mOre tHan 60 per cent Of

tHOse On tHe eDinburgH

guarantee Have mOveD On

tO a permanent pOst.

“scOtlanD Has a real

HistOry Of innOvatiOn.”

the abu Dhabi technology Development committee commissioned the edinburgh international science festival to programme their entire science festival in 2012.

www.investedinburgh.com16 invest eDinBurgh | OctOber tO December 2012 | | OctOber tO December 2012 | invest eDinBurgh 17

<makingitHappen <aDDeDextras

popuLation & househoLDs Latest LaBour suppLy anD marKet Latest

Total population, Edinburgh [3] 495,360 Number of people aged 16-64 [12] 344,400

Total population, City Region [3] 1,625,330 ... of which economically active [12] 74%

Households, Edinburgh [3] 221,954 ... in full-time employment [12] 52%

Households, City Region [3] 718,532 ... in part-time employment [12] 4%

Net in-migration, Edinburgh [3] 7,491 Self-employed [12] 10%

Net in-migration, City Region [3] 12,649 Unemployed and seeking work [12] 8%

empLoyee JoBs By oCCupation Latest gva eDinBurgh (£miLLion) Latest

Managers and senior officials [1] 17% Financial and insurance activities [1] £4,648

Professionals [1] 19% Public administration; education; health [1] £3,519

Associate professionals and technical occ. [1] 16% Distribution; transport; accommodation and food [1] £2,136

Administrative and secretarial [1] 12% Business service activities [1] £1,800

Skilled trades [1] 7% Real estate activities [1] £1,112

Personal services [1] 8% Production [1] £1,111

tourism in eDinBurgh Latest registereD enterprises in eDinBurgh Latest

Visits to Edinburgh (000s) [10] 3,267 Professional, scientific and technical activities [4] 3,290

Nights stayed in Edinburgh (000s) [10] 12,030 Wholesale, retail and repair [4] 2,495

Average nights stayed in Edinburgh [10] 3.7 Information and communication [4] 1,605

Expenditure (£M) [10] £1,015 Accommodation and food services [4] 1,400

Average expenditure per visit [10] £311 Construction [4] 1,340

Annual Airport Passenger volume [7] 9,386,082 Administrative and support service activities [4] 1,075

annuaL statistiCaL overvieW

For more annual statistical information see www.edinburgh.gov.uk/edinburghbynumbers

Average gross annual earnings per resident in major UK cities (2011) [1]

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19 Land Registry (English & Welsh Cities)20 Department of Work and Pensions21 Jobcentre Plus22 Business Gateway23 FAME24 FDI Markets

1 Office for National Statistics2 General Register Office for Scotland3 National Records of Scotland4 Scottish Corporate Sector Statistics (2010)5 Valuation Office Agency6 Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre

SourCES7 Edinburgh Airport/(BBA)8 Office of Rail Regulation9 LJ Forecaster10 VisitScotland 11 International Congress and

Convention Association12 Scottish Government

13 The City of Edinburgh Council14 Scottish Retail Consortium15 British Retail Consortium16 Lynn Jones Research17 Scotland’s Global

Connections Survey 200918 Register of Scotland

ftse aim aLL shareHavelock europa plc 13.3 10.6 -20bowleven plc 96.4 77.2 -19.8craneware 410.6 404 -1.3cupid ltd 204.0 199 -2.4Dawson international plc 1.4 – –indigovision group plc 394.1 360 -8.6Omega Diagnostics group plc 10.3 16.7 6.2

maJor investment trust Companiesaberforth smaller companies trust 633.6 663 -4.6caledonian trust 99.4 72.5 -17edinburgh Dragon trust 246.2 245.4 -0.3edinburgh investment trust 499.3 515 3.1north american income trust 691.0 713.7 3.2scottish american investment trust 227.0 219.6 -3.2the scottish investment trust plc 484.9 484.2 -0.1scottish mortgage investment trust plc 704.1 715 1.5

ftse smaLL CapJohn menzies plc 596.0 646 8.3melrose resources 123.0 130 6Optos plc 238.4 170 -28.6wolfson microelectronics plc 186.7 213.7 14.4

eDinBurgh Company inDex - share priCe Comparison (penCe)ftse 100 29/03/12 20/09/12 % changeroyal bank of scotland group 278.3 265.3 -4.6standard life plc 227.5 277.7 22

ftse 250murray international trust 999.0 1038 3.9cairn energy 329.4 286.8 -12.8

ftse fLeDgLing inDexJohnston press plc 6.2 8.1 31.4

Figures were taken from www.google.co.uk/finance on 20/09/12.

[i] Comparator cities are Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham.

most of edinburgh’s major employers (see table below) are supporting the edinburgh guarantee (see page 17), which is helping arm those edinburgh’s school leavers who do not go on to further study or permanent employment, with work experience.

However, almost two-thirds (63%) of young people leaving one of edinburgh’s public high schools do go directly on to study at either further or Higher education level. indeed, almost one-third of edinburgh’s school leavers have already attained at least one pass at Higher national certificate or advanced Higher level.

edinburgh’s four universities had 57,995 students enrolled in undergraduate programmes in the academic year 2010-11. for 2011, the university of edinburgh and edinburgh napier university sit in the top 10 for universities whose graduates have gained a job within six months of graduation. the list was published by the uk’s Daily Telegraph in september. it reveals that graduates of a scottish university were 50% more likely to find a job in 2011 than graduates from an english university.

eDinBurgh’s empLoyment

See Edinburgh by Numbers 2012-13

Total GDP Services Sector Construction Sector-7-6-5-4-3-2-101

Scottish GDP Q1 2012 UK GDP Q1 2012

Latest trenDs

Q2/2012 on Q2/2011 % change

For monthly updates on Edinburgh’s Economy see ‘Essential Trends’ and ‘Edinburgh Economy Watch’

Scottish GDP Q1 2012

Q2/2012 Claimant Rates [i]

tourism Q2/2012 retaiL Q2/2012

Airport Passengers [7] 2,685,677 Footfall (number of pedestrians in Leith Walk) [13] 660,288

% Annual Change -1.9% Annual change -8.9%

Hotel Occupancy [9] 85.9% Sales (Edinburgh) % change on Q2 2011 [13] -4.6%

% Annual Change -4.1% Sales (Scotland) % change on Q2 2011 [14] 0.2%

Forward Bookings Q3 2012 [9] 54.30% Sales (UK) % change on Q2 2011 [15] 3.0%

% Annual Change -5.50% UK Average Consumer Price Index [1] 2.6%

LaBour marKet Q2/2012 housing Q2/2012

Jobseeker’s Allowance Claimant Count* [20] 11,416 Average House Prices [18] £202,346

% Annual Change 4.5% % Annual Change [18] -0.8%

Jobseeker’s Allowance Claimant Rate* [20] 3.3% House Sales [18] 512

% Annual Change 0.1% % Annual Change [18] -19.7%

Vacancies advertised by Jobcentre Plus* [21] 4,282 Average house sales comparator cities [19] [i] 388

% Annual Change 41.1% % Annual Change [19] 20.0%*monthly average

Business Q2/2012 sCottish/uK gDp Q1/2012

Business Start Ups [22] 406 Total Gross Value Added, Scotland [12] -0.1%

% Annual Change [22] 21.6% Total Gross Value Added, UK [1] -0.5%

New Incorporations [23] 1,277 Services Sector, Scotland [12] 0.2%

% Annual Change [23] 1,0% Services Sector, UK [1] -0.1%

Foreign Direct Investment Projects [24] 5 Construction Sector, Scotland [12] -6.9%

% Annual Change [24] -61.50% Construction Sector, UK [1] -4.9%0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-10

eDinBurgh’s Largest empLoyers By heaDCount (2011/12)

rank emplOyers sectOr HeaDquarters emplOyees

1 the city of edinburgh council public sector edinburgh 20,900

2 nHs lothian public sector edinburgh 19,600

3 lloyds banking group (including Scottish Widows) banking london 11,700

4 royal bank of scotland group banking edinburgh 8,500

5 university of edinburgh Higher education edinburgh 7,800

6 standard life insurance and pensions edinburgh 5,700

7 scottish government** public sector edinburgh 3,800

8 lothian and borders police** public sector edinburgh 2,700

9 royal mail public sector london 2,300

10 aegOn uk insurance and pensions edinburgh 2,200

11 selex galileo manufacturing basildon 1,900

12 lothian buses public sector edinburgh 1,900

13 tesco* retail cheshunt 1,800

14 asDa retail leeds 1,600

15 edinburgh napier university Higher education edinburgh 1,600

Source: The City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Employers Survey*2009 Figures **2010 Figures

<tHestatistics

18 invest eDinBurgh | OctOber tO December 2012 | | OctOber tO December 2012 | invest eDinBurgh 19

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.

eDinburgH in brief...

tOp Of tHe tableedinburgh’s ranking among big* cities (2010 or latest)

gva† per personpopulation growth 2000–10

employment rateeducation nvQ4 or above

Company start-ups

1 edinburgh leeds bristol london london

2 london bristol edinburgh edinburgh edinburgh

3 bristol edinburgh leeds glasgow manchester

4 glasgow london london bristol bristol

5 leeds nottingham newcastle manchester leeds

average household broadband connection speeds

edinburg

h

birmin

gham

london

new york

10.1 mbps

8.9 mbps

8.8 mbps

7.8 mbps

telecOmmunicatiOns

100% of Edinburgh households speed availability > 8 Mbps

* 8 core cities, plus London, Bristol and Glasgow † Gross value added

travel times to edinburgh city centre (2012) from uK cities

transpOrt links

Edinburgh

new york7hrs 40mins

paris1hr 40mins

frankfurt1hr 50mins

istanbul4hrs 20mins

London55mins

Direct links and times from edinburgh

households accessing the internet every day

73%

% of edinburgh households

(all)

% of edinburgh households

(income > £30k)

glasgow

by car

by train

by airplane

aberdeen

liverpool

manchester

leeds

birmingham

bristol

london

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 420 480

Journey time (minutes)

94%

source: Centre for Cities

see Overleaf fOr mOre statistics...