Business
Business Profile
The thriving, modern environment of Edinburgh provides work for around 440,000 people. Roughly 47.5 % are involved in managerial, professional and administrative occupations and under 20% of them are involved in manufacturing. Most jobs are in the service industry (over 18,000 people work in tourism alone), finance and administration. Recent statistics indicate a level of 2.4% unemployment, compared with the Scottish average of 3.0% and the UK average of 3.0%.
More than 75% of all those working in manufacturing are employed by four sectors – the chemical industry; electrical engineering; paper, printing and publishing; and food and drink. 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 known as ‘The Exchange’ has been built in an effort to sustain this position. The Exchange 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, bringing in an estimated additional revenue of 24.2 million.
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.
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.
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Business