Private Capital makes a £10.8bn contribution to the Scottish economy

A new report has found that businesses backed by private capital generate £10.8bn for the Scottish economy each year.

Private Capital in the Scotland is set to be launched today by the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) at its Invest Scotland Forum, held at the Edinburgh Future Institute.

The report finds that:

• In 2024 alone, private capital invested £707m into businesses in Scotland.
• As of 2025, private equity and venture capital firms support 639 businesses across Scotland, up from 621 in 2023. These businesses are significant employers, supporting around 159,000 jobs - a 9% increase compared with 2023.
• University spinouts are increasingly driving regional growth and attracting venture capital investments. The University of Edinburgh, University of Strathclyde and University of Glasgow sit within the top 20 for producing spinouts in the UK and according to data from Beauhurst, Scotland saw 350 spinouts headquartered there since 2011, with £1.5bn invested.

Speakers at the Invest Forum, including Business Minister Richard Lochhead MSP and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy Daniel Johnson MSP, will discuss the report and its recommendations for boosting private capital investment in the Scotland. Recommendations include:

• The Scottish Government should continue to implement the initiatives outlined in the 2023 National Innovation Strategy, collaborating with key partners and industry to achieve its ambition of realising the economic and social benefits of innovation in Scotland.
• The Scottish Government should ensure that the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) is set up to facilitate long-term investment strategies that also prioritise local opportunities, thus increasing the flow of capital to businesses in Scotland alongside delivering better returns.
• The UK visa system should be streamlined and modernised, to introduce a more efficient, user-friendly process for high-skilled visa routes such as the Global Talent, Innovator Founder, and High Potential Individual (HPI) visas. Decisions should also be made in days rather than months and ensure cost effectiveness to prevent the UK losing top talent to more agile jurisdictions.

Commenting, BVCA Chief Executive Michael Moore said:

“Scotland is an exciting destination for private capital, whose investment is supporting the development of over 600 businesses right across the nation. These businesses bring real value to local communities through the 159,000 jobs they support.

“However, while there is much to celebrate about the scope and scale of investment in Scotland’s businesses, it could be even more substantial and close the gap with other parts of the UK. Policymakers, regulators, and industry all have a role to play in helping to facilitate greater levels of investment across every nation and regions of the UK to ensure that opportunities are not lost.”

Notes to Editors  

For further information, please contact:  
BVCA Press Office 
Email: [email protected] 

A full copy of the report can be found here. 

Case Studies

Aggreko - Aggreko is a global leader in energy solutions, providing rapidly deployable modular power and temperature control solutions for approximately 13,000 commercial and industrial clients serving multiple end markets across 75 countries.

As highly skilled sector specialists, they bring proprietary application know-how and engineering capability to deliver efficient, reliable and sustainable energy solutions when customers need them most, from emergency critical services to longer term energy solutions. 

As a global leader, they play an important role in the energy transition, continually investing in more sustainable products, fuels and services to make greener solutions accessible to customers, helping them wherever they are on their energy transition journey.
 

Strathberry - Strathberry is an internationally-known fashion brand, specialising in luxury leather goods. The business started from the vision of husband and wife team Guy and Leeanne Hundleby to create a brand that had a strong product value, quality proposition and has scaled rapidly.

During 2024, the business delivered significant growth and continued to invest in the foundations to support ongoing growth in 2025 and beyond.

BGF’s investment in Strathberry has provided funding and broader experience of working with scaling businesses across the UK. BGF’s investment has helped Strathberry increase the number of employees from 52 in 2021 to nearly 100 today, with the vast majority of new hires in the UK. BGF’s investment has also supported increased ecommerce capability and the company opening two new retail stores.
 

Autonomo - Autonomo is a checkout-free software startup founded by James Sutherland and former Metro CEO Patrick Müller-Sarmiento in 2021. The company enables retailers to convert existing stores into cashierless shopping experiences using computer-vision powered technology. Since launch, Autonomo has established itself as a serious player in the checkout-free software field.

The €2.3 million seed funding round was co-led by London-based Potter Ventures and supported by River Capital. This round brought Autonomo's total funds raised to approximately £3.8 million, with previous investment from members of The Edeka Group (Germany's largest supermarket corporation) and angel investment from current and former directors at Aldi, Delivery Hero, Metro, Carrefour, Apple, and Brookstreet Equity Partners. 
 

James Sutherland, CEO Autonomo said:

"Working with River Capital and their fund:AI team has been transformational for Autonomo. From our very first meeting, David Walters and the team demonstrated a deep understanding not just of our technology, but of our vision to revolutionise retail across Europe.”

Background 

About the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association  

The British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) is the industry body and public policy advocate for the private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) (private capital) industry in the UK. With a membership of over 600 firms, we represent the vast majority of all UK-based private capital firms, as well as their professional advisers and a large base of UK and global investors. The private equity and venture capital industry has a vital role to play in driving national and regional growth. Currently over 13,000 companies, employing more than 2.5 million people, are backed by private equity and venture capital investment in the UK.