Investing in the future of ‘Digital Scotland’

Once the heartland of some of the UK’s heaviest industries, Scotland has embraced the digital revolution of the last few years and is on course to be a major ‘tech destination’. Recent data from Tech Nation states that Scotland’s digital economy turns over revenues of £8bn, and is already home to three tech unicorns – with a further two in the making.

Tech is set to change the socio-economic landscape of Scotland for the better with new digital companies regularly springing up across the nation – one which already boasts over 12,000 digital companies.

Andrew Smith, Chief for Next at AND Digital, says: “It’s astonishing to see the transformation and opportunities that Digital Technology has brought to the nation over the past few years. Given the growth we’re continuing to see in Scotland’s digital economy, it’s no surprise that AND Digital has already seen great success from its first two major investments into Scotland (AND’s Edinburgh club opened in March 2020, followed by its Glasgow club which opened in June 2021).”

Big plans for Edinburgh in 2022

AND Digital is no stranger to ambitious growth. Since its inception eight years ago, AND has grown to around 1,300 ANDIs (the collective name it gives to its people), and now operates across 14 locations in the UK.

Already ranked as the UK’s sixth best tech hub, and having attracted £74 million in tech investment according to recent figures, Edinburgh is set to play an even bigger part in AND’s expansion journey with a second new club planned to be opened in the city by May 2022.

Andrew Smith, continues: “With its entrepreneurial reputation and thriving tech community, Edinburgh remains an ideal destination for AND’s expansion into Scotland. Opening in May 2022, our second Edinburgh club will be another step forward to our ambitious goal of having five clubs in Scotland with over 500+ Scottish ANDis by 2025.

We strongly believe the city will continue to provide exceptional tech talent, which we will grow within our collaborative club environment and deploy to solve our clients’ most critical tech challenges – after all, it’s what AND is purpose-built for.

What’s more, there’s never been a better time to focus on delivering both nimble digital products at scale and upskilling in-house teams – AND Digital is perfectly placed to do both. Our intent is to build on the fantastic work of our existing clubs, and provide our Scottish customer base with the support it needs to achieve digital acceleration – whether that’s supporting in the building of innovative products for themselves or supporting them in developing their own tech capabilities.”