A company serving the offshore industry is creating 100 manufacturing jobs at a plant in Scotland, as inward investment into the renewables sector gathers pace.

Dublin-based Subsea Micropiles is developing a marine anchor system for large offshore construction projects. It has secured £6.7 million from the state-owned Scottish National Investment Bank and £2.5m from Japanese investor Marubeni.

The deal will be noted in a debate about investment into Scotland in the parliament on today (27th) led by Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes.

One of the biggest recent investments was £800m from Copenhagen Investment Partners for new battery storage projects in South Lanarkshire and Fife.

Almost £500m has been committed by the Scottish Government over five years to grow offshore wind supply industries and infrastructure.

These have included £20m into subsea cable manufacturer XLCC’s planned new facility in Hunterston, Ayrshire, and £50m by Forth Ports in new infrastructure at the Port of Leith to support a major offshore wind contract.

A further £5m is being invested by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to support the development of a new harbour facility for the assembly of offshore wind turbines at Scapa Flow.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Ms Forbes said: “The increasing pace of investment announcements will create jobs across the country and is further evidence of growing private sector and investor confidence in Scotland’s economic potential.

“Scotland has the talent, skills and resources to become a major player in the global energy transition and the Scottish Government is determined to ensure that this happens.

“Work is gathering pace. The backing for Subsea Micropiles demonstrates the strategic approach the Scottish Government is taking alongside SNIB and our enterprise agencies, focusing on bringing new investment and green jobs to Scotland while supporting the delivery of our burgeoning offshore wind capabilities.”

Scotland will host the Global Offshore Wind Supply Chain Forum in Edinburgh next month.

GDP grows over year but flattens in final quarter

Scotland’s onshore GDP in the three months to December (Quarter 4) is estimated to have remained flat. This follows growth of 0.4% in Quarter 3. There was an overall growth of 1.1% in Scotland’s economy over the past year,

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the figures are encouraging. “With a focus on driving growth and investment, our draft budget for 2025-26 almost triples capital investment in the offshore wind supply chain to £150 million and provides funding to grow businesses at home and abroad.”

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said: “Long term growth remains the top priority of our Plan for Change to put more money in people’s pockets and raise living standards right across the UK.

Sentiment across the services sector deteriorated again in the quarter to February, according to the CBI’s latest Service Sector Survey.

Business volumes also fell faster for the fourth consecutive rolling quarter. In particular, consumer services saw a heavy fall in volumes, alongside a more tempered, but still significant, decline in business & professional services.