Scotland needs to use interest and investment in Edinburgh and Glasgow as a springboard to help its other cities, according to Stuart Black, director of the Scottish Cities Alliance.
Black was speaking on an EG panel looking into continued investment into towers in London, but pointed out that as interest in the capital slows, Scotland is second to just London and the South East in terms of inwards investment.
“I think you have to look at it slightly differently – if people look at Edinburgh and Glasgow then they are also going to be willing to look slightly further afield,” he said.
“Scotland is open for business, there is obviously political uncertainty associated with Brexit, but we are here to make sure the positive sentiment towards Scotland is turned into business transactions.”
The Scottish Cities Alliance represents seven cities around the country.
“That’s a typical pattern happening across Europe: people will go to the capital cities and if they like the country they are in they will look at other locations in it.”
“Scottish government is also keen to see the investment spread around. You cannot force developers to go, you need to work with them, but we are confident that when they know about Edinburgh and Glasgow, that gives them a strong foothold in Scotland, and then they start to look further afield.”
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