Plans to open a new financial services and tech centre that will create 300 jobs in Edinburgh have been welcomed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today.

Computershare, a financial services company headquartered in Australia, has been endowed with a £2 million grant from Scottish Enterprise and is also working closely with Scottish Development International to help develop the centre, which will open next year. The announcement comes amid a positive report from SDI, detailing that 7,839 jobs were secured in the year 2016/17 – an increase of 10% over the previous year.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today visited the site on St. Andrew Street, where the new centre is to be located. She said: “This announcement, with the creation of 300 highly skilled technology jobs and investment in the city centre, is fantastic news for Edinburgh’s economy. Scotland is open for business and continues to be a very attractive location for investment, as evidenced by the recent EY Attractiveness survey, which noted that Scotland was the top UK location for foreign direct investment outside London for the fifth consecutive year.  Together with the inward investment figures published by SDI, this offers further evidence that we have the skills and expertise to attract and retain global companies like Computershare.”

Computershare offers a number of financial services, including stock transfer and employee share plans, in a number of different countries. The firm opened operations in Edinburgh in 1998, bringing these services to around 150 local companies, including several listed on the FTSE100.

Stuart Irving, Global President and CEO of Computershare said: “As a truly international capital city, Edinburgh has a bright future and is a natural home for a global company. As a growing business we need the skills and hard work we see on offer in this city. We are grateful to the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International for helping us with our plans and are looking forward to our continued partnership.”

Neil Francis, Operations Director at SDI, said: “When a company like Computershare chooses to invest in Scotland, it sends a message to the rest of the world that Scotland is a first-class destination. We have a clear focus on winning the right kind of investment for Scotland – which is secured because of our skills base, science and research excellence and our connected business infrastructure, and this investment by Computershare is an example of this.

“We’re thrilled to have secured these new jobs in Edinburgh; it’s a ringing endorsement of our offering to international investors and we look forward to working with the Computershare team to help them fulfil their growth ambitions in Scotland.”