Business News Round Up (28/09/2026)
Edinburgh beats Manchester in FDI rankings
Edinburgh has beaten Manchester as the UK’s second most attractive location for foreign direct investment (FDI), according to new research. The ranking of 48 UK locations uses measures linked to their appeal to overseas investors. Edinburgh retained second place in the latest rankings, behind only London and ahead of Greater Manchester, Birmingham and Oxford. It was also the only location in the top five to improve its overall score. The findings emerge in the latest Investment Confidence Index, produced by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) for Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie and Irwin Mitchell. The report found Edinburgh performed strongly across growth potential, local skills and infrastructure, supported by its highly qualified workforce, strong international connectivity and position as one of the UK’s leading financial centres.
International travel boosts UK economy to £88.5 billion
New figures from ABTA and UKinbound reveal that the combined economic contribution to the UK economy from inbound and outbound travel has increased to £88.5 billion per year, up from £80 billion. In addition, international travel supports 1.4 million jobs throughout the UK. The findings also provided a breakdown of how the industry supports the UK’s nation and regions. For example, in the North West, where the Labour Party conference is being held, outbound travel contributes £6.4 billion and inbound travel generates £3.5 billion for the regional economy, supporting 98,000 and 57,000 jobs respectively. The associations say this regional breakdown is critical when engaging with a government that wants to see a boost to all parts of the UK, as it clearly demonstrates that the travel industry is delivering on this ambition, with the potential for further growth if the right policy framework is put in place.
https://travelmole.com/news/abta-international-travel-boosts-uk-economy-to-88-5-billion
Scottish Financial Enterprise to host Scotland’s ‘first-ever’ Global Investment Scale-Up Summit
Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) is set to host Scotland’s first-ever Global Investment Scale-Up Summit, in a bid to drive focus and investment in domestic scale-up companies. The business-led summit will take place in January 2027, building on last year’s flagship global investment summit hosted by SFE and the then Lord Mayor of London, which brought together global investors with firms in key growth sectors. The scale-up summit event will be hosted in Edinburgh and will represent the “start of a plan to better coordinate and communicate the activities aimed at positioning Scotland as an attractive place to invest and start and scale a business”, SFE said in a statement. The summit will bring together more than 100 investors and senior-level international decision-makers with high-growth Scottish businesses, creating opportunities to connect ambitious companies with the capital and networks they need to grow.
Free AI support for over 150,000 small businesses
More than 150,000 micro and small businesses in the UK and Ireland will be able to access free help to adopt and effectively use AI tools through a three-year programme funded by a grant of £1.5 million from Visa Foundation. Delivered by Enterprise Nation, AI for Every Business will provide practical videos, webinars, regional events and personalised assessments. It aims to reach 157,000 businesses. A smaller cohort of entrepreneurs will receive more intensive support including coaching, peer learning, and mentorship to help put AI tools into practice. According to research by Enterprise Nation, only 21% of small businesses in the UK regularly use AI. Almost half don’t trust AI tools enough to act, while 42% said they would only engage with AI if it were completely free. The report warned that without targeted support, “these businesses risk missing the productivity, growth, and resilience benefits that responsible AI adoption could provide”.