Top ranking for Inverness

The city of Inverness has come out as one of the winners of the fDi’s European Cities and Regions of the Future 2018/19 ranking.

fDi Magazine, part of the fDi Intelligence division of the Financial Times,  is a specialist publication in all areas relating to foreign direct investment and investment promotion.

Following an annual study of the most promising investment locations in Europe, it has ranked Inverness top of the Micro Cities category – Cities with an immediate city population of less than 100,000.

The Highland capital came in the top 10 for 4 separate categories:

• Micro cities
• Best for economic potential
• Best for human capital and lifestyle
• Best for business friendliness

In September last year The Highland Council reaffirmed its commitment to work with partners in the Scottish Cities Alliance to drive inclusive growth for Scotland.

Chair of the Council’s Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Allan Henderson attributes the success in the rankings to this partnership approach and the hard work and commitment of everyone involved.

He said: “It is great news that the growing economy and future investment potential of Inverness has been recognised. To perform so well globally against cities across Europe is a reflection of the excellent work the Council and our partners are doing not just in Inverness, but across the the Highlands to make the whole of our area an attractive prospect for investors. As well as the business opportunities, the rankings also take into account the lifestyle people can enjoy which plays a big part in creating the right mix to draw new investment to our area.”

The Provost of Inverness, Councillor Helen Carmichael is delighted with the high ranking given to Inverness and highlighted some of the new opportunities opening up in the city. She said: “Shortly the former Inverness College site will be going on the market. This is a prime site next to the new £25m Justice Centre and close to the city centre. Another key city centre site has recently been bought by Dutch investor Vastinit for a new Moxy Hotel and in December the first stage of the West-Link project delivered a new river crossing which not only eases traffic congestion but is enabling new housing development and to creation of excellent new sporting facilities. ”

The Leader of The Highland Council Councillor Margaret Davidson added: “This is a time full of exciting prospects for Inverness and the Highlands. We have signed a City-Region Deal, we have a state of the art Campus and a thriving airport with has greatly improved connectivity nationally and internationally. Inverness is one of the UK’s top tourist destinations and we are continually adding new attractions, the latest being the new Castle Viewpoint and free wifi for the city.

“Inverness and the Highlands is a fantastic place to live, work and do business and the high ranking we have been given confirms this so we look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Scottish Cities Alliance to continue this momentum.”

The Scottish Cities Alliance is the unique collaboration of Scotland’s seven cities – Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Perth and Stirling – and the Scottish Government working together to promote the country’s great economic potential.

Chair of the Scottish Cities Alliance and Leader of Dundee City Council, Councillor John Alexander said: “The Scottish Cities Alliance is delighted that Inverness’s great work to attract foreign direct investment to the region has been recognised by such a prestigious publication. This collaborative approach used by the Alliance is helping to boost the economy of Inverness and the wider region, as well as the other Scottish cities by helping to attract investment, which in turn brings jobs and greater prosperity.

“Collaboration and its benefits are at the heart of everything the Alliance stands for and it is hugely satisfying to see the team work being recognised by a leader in this field.  Inverness features in our Pitch Book (www.scottishcities.org.uk/pitchbook) which promotes the billions of pounds worth of opportunities across Scotland’s seven cities and this is promoted around the world, helping to make Scotland a destination of choice for investors. Great interest has already been shown in Inverness Campus which features in the Pitch Book.

“I look forward to building on Inverness’s successes and working with all partners to attract big investments from around the world to our cities to help deliver a stronger future economy for a more prosperous Scotland.”

To create a shortlist for the fDi European Cities and Regions of the Future rankings, the fDi Intelligence division of the Financial Times collected data using the  specialist online FDI tools fDi Benchmark and fDi Markets as well as other sources. Data was collected for 481 locations (294 cities, 148 regions and 39 local enterprise  partnerships), under five categories: Economic Potential, Labour Environment, Cost Effectiveness, Infrastructure and Business Friendliness. Locations scored up to a  maximum of 10 points for each data point, which were weighted by importance to the  FDI decision making process in order to compile both the subcategory rankings as well  as the overall European Cities and Regions of the Future 2016/17 ranking.

 .  Please see this link for more information