Scotland’s investment and finance sector is full of real opportunities
Pamela McHarg relishes the market’s ‘micro-climate’ after a decade in London
Having recently returned to the Scottish legal market, after more than a decade working for a City of London law firm, I’ve been struck by just how much momentum there is within the Scottish finance and investment sector. What I’m seeing is a market with its own energy, clear areas of strength, and real opportunities for investors, lenders and advisers alike.
The Scottish market operates in its own “micro-climate” sitting outside of London and the wider UK playing field. Over the past couple of years in particular, there has been an increase in interest from investors and debt providers driven by several factors including a boost in demand for private credit, a resilient property sector and a strategic focus on Scotland’s infrastructure.
The Scottish government is planning to launch bonds in the 2026-2027 financial year with a total planned programme of £1.5 billion over five years. These funds will be utilised to find capital infrastructure projects such as transport and public assets.
Government-backed investors such as the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) are finding their stride, offering liquidity in circumstances where historically private capital may not be able to invest.
SNIB has reportedly committed over £991 million to projects and companies and has helped attract more than £1.4 billion in additional private capital. The memorandum of understanding between SNIB and The National Wealth Fund has resulted in the funding of key energy transition initiatives with the intention of facilitating further private investment.
The exponential growth of SMEs and family businesses in Scotland continues to attract a mix of debt, government-backed investment and private equity/venture capital. Whilst traditional banks remain strong in the market, we are seeing alternative lenders increasingly showing an interest in Scotland.
Data uncovered by the Scottish Productivity Index (published by CBI Scotland and Addleshaw Goddard in late 2025) demonstrates that whilst Scotland has been lagging in terms of productivity growth when compared to the other key markets in the UK, there is plenty of potential which can be exploited to expand Scotland’s economy.
This potential has been recognised by the investor and advisory community. Following its acquisition by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Scottish-headquartered accountancy firm AAB has been on an acquisition trail and expressed ambition to quadruple its size by 2030. Scottish-based Par Equity has merged with Praetura Ventures and Praetura Investments to create a £670m “Northern Power House”.
Scotland is inevitably impacted by the wider macro-economic climate. However, it will be interesting to see if the potential which has been identified coupled with a renewed focus from investors and debt providers tangibly improve productivity.
For our part, Addleshaw Goddard continues to expand and invest in Scotland with two new offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow and a new banking team in Glasgow led by Fiona Cameron of which I am delighted to be a part.
It is an exciting time for me to be pivoting in my career, and I am looking forward to finding out what my next chapter has in store.
Pamela McHarg is Legal Director in the Finance team at Addleshaw Goddard