Scottish business leaders have warned that access to investment capital is drying up and choking the ability of companies to grow.
MFMac’s biannual survey found that almost half (48%) rate the availability of investment capital in Scotland as scarce or very scarce. Just 8% describe investment as readily available.
It means firms are concentrating on defensive strategies, such as increasing revenue (79%) and improving operational efficiencies (65%), with little headroom for growth strategies such as entering new export markets (6%) or product diversification (22%).
A flat economic outlook is the primary barrier to growth, with two-thirds (67%) identifying the uncertain economy as their biggest challenge, with more than a third (38%) calling conditions “weak”.
Official data shows that GDP per head in Scotland is estimated to have grown by just 0.2% during Q1 2025, while annual real GDP per head grew by 0.3% in the whole of 2024**.
Meanwhile, the volume of private sector investment in Scotland has slowed in 2025 after building some momentum last year.
Mid-market private equity deals in Scotland fell 14% in the first half of 2025, while the number of venture capital deals recorded in Q1 declined by 6% compared to the previous quarter.
Chris Harte, chief executive of MFMac, said: “It is proving hard for Scottish businesses to shake off the effects of wider economic stagnation, which might explain why many leaders think investment capital is so scarce.
“Scotland remains one of the UK’s top destinations for foreign investment, but domestic capital investment is looking harder to come by.”
With the Scottish Parliamentary Elections due in the first half of next year, business leaders want politicians to address the long-term fundamentals required to create the conditions for growth.
These include business taxation and reliefs (37%), greater access to sector specific funding (23%), and skills and education (21%).
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