Scotland’s capital city was ranked strongly in the Investing in Britain: Cities Built for the Future report for its highly skilled workforce, outstanding business fundamentals, innovative culture, strong economic performance and excellent quality of ‘place’. However, it warned the historic city not to rest on its laurels or it could find itself being eclipsed by another city.

The report, commissioned by global consultancy Acardis, stated that: “Edinburgh needs to ensure that the speed of its economic growth doesn’t surpass its ability to invest in housing and infrastructure.”

For Edinburgh to maintain its status as most attractive UK city for inward investment, the report says the city will need to spend heavily in key areas such as more affordable housing, improved air quality, enhanced infrastructure and an environment that fosters invention and the creation of patents.

Key Levers for City Rating

Peter Hogg, UK Cities Director at Arcadis said: “The important thing is to recognise which levers need to be pulled — whether that’s more affordable housing, more efficient transport or better digital connectivity — to ensure a city attracts the type of investment it needs. Every region needs to look at what it has, and how it can make the most of it.”

“In the report each city was measured and indexed using six pillars: economic performance, brand, housing, quality of life and place, people and growth, and infrastructure. The average score of the city’s results formed each city’s overall rank.”

Cllr Gavin Barrie, Housing and Economy Convener, said: “It is great to see Edinburgh getting the recognition it deserves in this area and this is welcome confirmation that along with our partners across the city, we are continuing to drive investment to the Capital, which is creating thousands of new jobs.”

“We are also well aware of the challenges that we face to keep up with our growing population which is why we are investing in one of the biggest affordable house building programmes in the UK with a commitment to build 20,000 new homes in the next 10 years.”