Edinburgh is home to 50,000 companies for the first time, according to new research, highlighting both the strength of its vibrant tech scene and the allure of starting a business in Scotland’s capital city.

The report conducted by software specialists, Inform Direct, shows that at the end of June 2018, 50,143 companies were registered in Edinburgh. Of these, over 22,000 were located in the city centre, while 4,965 were located on Leith Walk and 4,323 in Leith.

Edinburgh is becoming one of the fastest growing technology communities in Europe, attracting a myriad of organisations from a broad range of sectors including software engineering, artificial intelligence and data science.

Attracting Talent

Across Scotland, an increase in the number of new businesses highlights a positive, healthy ecosystem. There were 237,941 businesses registered in Scotland at the end of 2017, an increase of 5.7% on the year previous.

Edinburgh saw an increase of over 6,000 business throughout 2017, while Fife and South Lanarkshire seen an additional 1,850 and 1,842 new businesses respectively. Glasgow, however, leads the way in the number of new businesses registered last year with 7,003 – eclipsing Edinburgh as the ideal location for many organisations.

This made Glasgow the sixth most popular destination for a new business in the UK behind London, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Essex.

John Korchak, director of operations at Inform Direct said: “The city of Edinburgh is clearly a supportive environment for new business ventures and successful in attracting technology companies to join its growing cluster.

“Already home to such established names as Craneware, Amazon Development Centre Scotland and Microsoft’s Technology Centre is a powerful draw for other companies and start-ups.

“The city’s world-class universities, including the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, are also playing a part by providing skilled graduates to enhance the technology sector further.”

Over a five year period between 2012 and 2017, the number of businesses in Scotland grew consistently; from 169,954 in 2012 to the numbers highlighted in this years report (237,941).

When comparing Scotland to the UK, it ranks second in growth over the past five years at 40%, just 0.3% behind Northern Ireland. Starting a new business in Scotland, however, appears to be a far more alluring prospect than in England or Wales, which sit at 33.5% and 36.3% respectively.