World City Guide

Business

Business Profile
The thriving, modern environment of Edinburgh provides work for over 400,000 people. Most jobs are in the service industry (over 18,000 people work in tourism alone), finance and administration. Increasingly the finance industry in all its guises is becoming Edinburgh’s most important economic sector and certainly its biggest employer. The year 2005 saw record lows in local unemployment rates, standing at 2.4% in May 2005 compared to a Scottish level of 5.7%.

Five of the largest manufacturers are Johnston Press plc, Diageo Scotland ltd, Diageo Distilling ltd, Sidlaw Group ltd, Scottish & Newcastle (brewing/leisure). Of the service sector, 80% work for information technology, tourism and financial companies. The latter account for a third of all commercial office space in the city, making Edinburgh the second most important financial centre in Britain (after London). A new financial district has grown rapidly in the west of the city centre to cater for this expanding sector. The Exchange financial complex cost more than £400 million to build and includes the huge Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC). Since the opening of the EICC in 1995, more than 100,000 new business tourists have arrived annually in the city, a trend that looks set to continue with vastly improved direct flight connections and major players like The Royal Bank of Scotland investing in properties near the airport.

The five largest companies in Edinburgh (ranked by turnover) are Standard Life, Scottish Equitable plc, Scottish & Newcastle plc, Scottish Equitable Managed Funds Ltd and Scottish Courage. Some of the major employers are Scottish & Newcastle, The Royal Bank of Scotland, H BoS (Bank of Scotland), Standard Life, The Governor & Co, Scottish Executive, Lothian Health Board and City of Edinburgh Council.

Most hotels now have Internet facilities and the city also sports a growing number of Wi-Fi hot spots, as well as a sprinkling of Internet cafes.

Business Etiquette
Standard office hours are Monday to Friday 0900-1700. Punctuality is expected at meetings. Both men and women are expected to wear suits. It is common practice to shake hands when greeting a business contact and to use his or her surname until both parties agree to use forenames (although formalities are often dispensed with straight away). English is the language of business – the only difficulty visitors may have is in understanding the Scottish accent, which can be quite strong. An increasing number of locals speak other European languages.

Clients are usually well entertained by their Edinburgh hosts, most likely taken to lunch in a restaurant or pub (depending on the formality of the business) or to a restaurant in the evening. It is not usual for clients to be invited to one's home. If this is the case, however, visitors should take a gift of flowers, chocolates, wine or whisky, the latter single malt rather than blended, and always Scottish.