Scottish Financial Enterprise, the industry body for the country’s financial services sector, has announced what it describes as Scotland’s first Global Investment Scale-Up Summit. The event is scheduled for January 2027 in Edinburgh and is designed to steer more capital toward growth stage Scottish companies. Organisers said the gathering would bring high growth businesses together with the kind of investors who can fund their next phase of expansion at home rather than abroad.
The summit is expected to draw more than 100 international investors and senior decision makers, who will meet Scottish firms that have moved beyond the earliest startup stage but have not yet reached global scale. The programme is meant to shorten the distance between promising young companies and the funding rounds that let them compete internationally, an area where Scottish businesses have often had to look overseas for backing.
The plan builds on the Scaling Scotland report by Shane Corstorphine, a former senior executive at the travel search company Skyscanner. The report found that Scotland has around 1,520 scale-ups turning over less than 5 million pounds a year, yet only 85 that pass 50 million pounds in revenue. That gap, its author argues, shows how few Scottish companies manage the jump from solid regional performer to major employer with an international footprint.
“This summit will provide a unique opportunity to put some of our most exciting and fastest growing businesses directly in front of global investors,” said Sandy Begbie, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise. He framed the event as part of a wider effort to keep more of the value created by Scottish firms within the country as they grow, rather than seeing that value move elsewhere when companies scale.
Corstorphine restated the central finding, noting that “Scotland has around 1,520 scale-ups turning over less than 5m, but only 85 above 50m.” Ana Stewart, Scotland’s chief entrepreneur, said the barriers were practical as much as financial. “Entrepreneurs face real challenges when they come to scaling their business and to realise their potential,” she said. The organisers hope the summit will turn those findings into fresh investment commitments.
