BGF brings its Ready for Business campaign to Scotland

The crucial role of the Scottish economy in fuelling UK prosperity and the opportunities for politicians and Scottish SMEs to create a successful ‘scale-up nation’ were important messages coming out of Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens, as BGF brought its Ready for Business campaign to Scotland on 28th May.

A dynamic panel hosted by the BBC’s Kirsty Wark and including Insights Group CEO Andy Lothian, Audrey Baxter, Chair of Baxters Food Group and Will Whitehorn, former President of Virgin Galactic and Chair of the SEC, joined BGF’s CEO Stephen Welton to discuss the big decisions that politicians and business leaders need to take now to position the Scottish economy for global growth.

“Scotland’s strength is in its community. We should all be about connecting people and asking what we can do to serve our fellow entrepreneurs” – Andy Lothian, CEO Insights Group

Around 100 people from Scotland’s thriving business community joined Paddy Graham and BGF’s Edinburgh team to celebrate the strength and potential of Scotland’s SMEs, and share experiences and ideas on creating successful scale-up businesses.

The panel, L-R: Paddy Graham, Will Whitehorn, Audrey Baxter, Stephen Welton, Kirsty Wark, Andy Lothian

With advice on attracting top talent, driving exports, securing financial backing and going for international development, the panel agreed that businesses need to remain optimistic and not reduce their growth ambitions, despite wider economic uncertainty.

“You need some Richard Bransons to make an entrepreneurial country work. The US has lots of them, Scotland needs more” – Will Whitehorn, Chairman SEC and Deputy Chairman of Stagecoach

This is the second event to celebrate BGF’s Ready for Business campaign, a commitment from the investor to confidently advocate for business growth in the face of economic insecurity, and to demonstrate the significant impact of Britain’s fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises.

BGF will next be taking its campaign to the Midlands on the 5th June, with a panel including CEOs from East End Foods, CHS, Excalibur Games and Grenade, hosted by broadcaster Louise Minchin, to discuss the future of business in the Midlands.

You can read more about the campaign here.