Business News Round Up (08/01/2026)
£140m Scottish Local Growth Fund boost for economic growth
The UK government has announced that £140 million will go towards five Scottish Local Region Growth Funds in a bid to drive economic prosperity across Scotland. Glasgow City will receive £60.9m from the fund over the next three years, with Edinburgh and the South East receiving £37.8m. Tay Cities (£19.5m), Ayrshire (£11.8m), and the Forth Valley Region (£9.8m) will split the rest of the funding. The programme will fund regional projects which will aim to drive economic growth. That might mean projects like infrastructure investment, business support, or skills development – projects which will make a real difference in terms of skilled jobs and people’s prosperity. The new Scottish Local Growth Funds will provide targeted funding to boost economic growth and improve living standards by investing in the regions that contain the areas with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income (RDHI) per capita.
https://www.digit.fyi/140m-scottish-local-growth-fund-boost-for-economic-growth
Scottish commercial property investment reaches £2bn in 2025
Investment in Scottish commercial property proved highly resilient last year, closing in on the £2 billion mark despite 12 months of uncertainty, according to Knight Frank. The independent commercial property consultancy’s analysis of Real Capital Analytics’ (RCA) data found investment volumes reached £1.96bn in the final stages of the year, with several more deals close to completion. That was almost exactly in line with the £1.97bn average for the previous five years. Retail was the top-performing sector, attracting £717 million of investment. Deals included the sale of Braehead Shopping Centre for a reported £220m, along with retail parks such as Rose Street Retail Park in Inverness, Dundee’s Gallagher Retail Park, and Waterfront Retail Park in Greenock. Offices were the next best performer at £461m.
UK Government unveils new £210m ‘cyber action plan’ to tackle threats and strengthen online public services
Ministers have unveiled a new £210 million ‘cyber action plan’ to tackle threats and strengthen online public services. New measures will be introduced to make online public services more secure and resilient, so people can use them with confidence – whether applying for benefits, paying taxes or accessing healthcare. Driven by a new Government Cyber Unit, the plan will rapidly improve cyber defences and digital resilience across government departments and the wider public sector, so people can trust that their data and services are protected. While cyber security within the wider remit of national security is a reserved matter, within Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, certain devolved public services are the responsibility of the respective governments. Devolved governments will seek to ensure that the providers of public services for which they have oversight are resilient to cyber risks and will collaborate with UK Government on UK-wide cyber security and resilience issues.
CBI Scotland challenges political leaders ahead of Holyrood election
Ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, CBI Scotland has issued a clear challenge to Scotland’s party leaders to make growth and competitiveness the central pillar of the election campaign, as well as asking parties to commit to tangible pro-business policies in their respective manifestos. Launching its own ‘Business Manifesto’, the CBI has identified a series of key challenges that the next Scottish Government must grasp in order to bolster investment and return Scotland’s struggling economy to the path of growth and competitiveness. The CBI argues that bold action is needed to support higher education and skills delivery, tackle Scotland’s tax and regulatory drift from the rest of the UK, and upgrade Scotland’s infrastructure to make it fit for a modern economy.