Scotland top UK destination outside London for financial services FDI

The figure was released ahead of the EY Scotland Attractiveness Survey 2025 later this month. While London continues to lead with 39 projects, Scotland is the top location outside London with Edinburgh (six projects) joint top city outside of London alongside Manchester. These results come after both Edinburgh and Glasgow boosted their positions as leading global financial centres, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI). Edinburgh placed 29th in the GFCI, while Glasgow, which attracted four FDI projects, placed 32nd - up five places on last year and up from 51st the year before.

The US continues to be Scotland’s top inbound country of origin for financial services FDI, with five projects in 2024 and a total of 38 projects over the last decade. The UK attracted a total of 73 financial services FDI, down from 108 the year before. However, the UK continues to be Europe’s most attractive location for financial services FDI with total project numbers across Europe falling 11 per cent year-on-year (from 329 projects in 2023 to 293 projects in 2024).

READ MORE: How Edinburgh can bolster its position as a global asset management centre

EY Scotland Managing Partner for Financial Services Sue Dawe said: “We continue to see Scotland perform well in attracting financial services FDI projects. In 2024, we saw almost as many projects expanding existing operations as we did brand new projects – which is a great indication that these companies view Scotland as a viable proposition to continue investing in.

“While the UK continues to be Europe’s top financial service FDI location, the fall in overall investment that was recorded at both those levels tell us that we cannot take the foot off the peddle. If Scotland is to remain an attractive place for companies within an increasingly competitive market then we need to dial-up what we do well – working together across sector, government and education – and not shy away from challenges on the horizon.

“Financial services isn’t simply one of Scotland’s growth sectors – it’s the growth sector that enables other growth sectors; so, if we get this right and continue to be the most attractive place to establish financial services operations outside London, the Scottish economy as a whole will benefit. We’ve already demonstrated what can be achieved when we work together, this should be no different.”

CEO of Scottish Financial Enterprise Sandy Begbie said: “EY’s latest Attractiveness Survey demonstrates the continued strength and attractiveness of Scotland’s world class financial services industry, based on the depth, breadth and maturity of our ecosystem, the quality of our universities and skills pipeline, and the leadership we are showing in priority areas like data, AI and green finance. As we set out in our growth strategy, our sector’s ambition is to grow its economic contribution by £4-7bn over the coming five years and attracting inward investment will play an important role in this.

“We believe there is even greater potential for progress – particularly by taking advantage of global trends around near-shoring and the establishment of large regional hubs - and have redoubled our efforts to promote Scotland as a good place to invest.”