Discover Scotland’s High-Growth Industries in 2025
In conjunction with our analysis of Scotland’s fastest-growing companies, in this article we now turn our attention to the industries commonly found in the Scottish high-growth ecosystem — and how you can find these figures on Beauhurst.
At the time of writing, Scotland is home to 280,000 active companies, and our data shows that almost 4,000 (1.42%) of these are high-growth companies. But firstly, it’s worth explaining specifically what we mean by high-growth.
How we define high-growth companies
On the Beauhurst platform, we use our unique Growth Signals data to mark high-growth companies. These are assigned to a company based on a selection of growth-specific attributes, including:
- Equity fundraising
- Debt fundraising
- MBO/MBI
- Accelerator attendance
- 10% scaleup
- 20% scaleup
- Acquired
- Made acquisition
- IPO
- High growth list feature
A high-growth company will possess at least one of these attributes. For more on Growth signals, check out our full breakdown on Signals.
Now, let’s examine some of the most prevalent industries — including the eight high-growth sectors in the UK Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy — and the companies that are underpinning Scotland’s high-growth ecosystem.
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Scotland’s top high-growth industries
The most common industry among Scotland’s high-growth firms is Application software, accounting for 17% of all such businesses in Scotland. This is followed by Distribution and wholesale (9.6%) and Property development and construction (8.3%).
Our research also shows that 45% of companies in high-growth industries have at least one female founder. Amongst these Pregnancy and Parenting (48%), Beauty and cosmetics (43%), and Courses and educational material (36%) have the highest proportion of companies with female founders.
Almost a quarter (24%) of Scottish high-growth companies have attended an accelerator. The top industry for accelerated companies is again Application software (30% of companies), with Data provision and analytics (11%) and Online retailing (11%) companies coming joint second.
4.1% of high-growth companies in Scotland were spun out of an academic institution. Of these companies, again Application software was the most common industry (26% of high-growth spinouts). Pharmaceuticals came a close second (21%).
Now, we explore the top three high-growth industries in Scotland and the companies behind them.
Application software
Scottish Application software companies, which include SaaS platforms and AI companies, have collectively raised £1.06b in equity fundraisings since the start of 2021.
They have also generated over £2.37b in revenue over the last year, whilst the industry collectively employs at least* 22,700 people.
Application software companies are primarily based in Edinburgh (267) and Glasgow (168), with Aberdeen (49) the closest local authority behind.
Notable application software companies
Build a Rocket Boy
Location: Edinburgh
Equity raised: £246m
Growth Signals: Equity fundraising | 10% scaleup | 20% scaleup | Made acquisition
Build A Rocket Boy is a video game developer behind the upcoming titles EVERYWHERE and MindsEye, operating from Edinburgh with additional studios in Budapest and Montpellier.
Skyscanner
Location: Edinburgh
Equity raised: £102m
Growth Signals: Equity fundraising | Accelerator | 20% scaleup | High growth list | 10% scaleup | Acquired | Made acquisition
Skyscanner operates a global travel search and comparison platform for flights, hotels, and car hire, with headquarters in Edinburgh and over 1,200 employees worldwide.
Intelligent Growth Solutions
Location: Fife
Equity raised: £88.8m
Growth Signals: Equity fundraising | Debt fundraising | Accelerator | High growth list
Intelligent Growth Solutions develops vertical farming systems for indoor crop production, combining robotics, automation, and power management technologies from its base in Fife.
Distribution and wholesale
As a traditional sector, with more established businesses, companies in distribution and wholesale typically raise lower amounts in equity fundraising, whilst generating greater amounts of turnover and employing more people.
We see this in the data where companies in distribution and wholesale have generated over £12.3b in revenue*, and employ at least 51,000 people. Equity fundraising levels meanwhile are less than a quarter of application software companies, with £233m raised since the start of 2021.
Notable distribution and wholesale companies
Edrington
Location: Glasgow
Turnover: £1.33b
Employees: 3,211
Growth signals: 10% scaleup | 20% scaleup | High growth list | Made acquisition
Edrington is a producer and distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits, with a global portfolio that includes brands such as The Macallan, Highland Park, and The Famous Grouse.
Kepak Group
Location: Aberdeenshire
Turnover: £585m
Employees: 1,520
Growth signals: Made acquisition
Kepak Group operates meat processing and ready meal production facilities across the UK and Ireland, supplying both retail and foodservice markets from its Aberdeenshire base.
James Jones & Sons
Location: Falkirk
Turnover: £529m
Employees: 2,145
Growth signals: 10% scaleup | 20% scaleup | High growth list | Made acquisition
James Jones & Sons is a timber processing and pallet manufacturing group headquartered in Falkirk, with operations spanning sawmilling, forestry management, and packaging solutions.
Property development and construction
As with distribution and wholesale, property development and construction industries possess a higher proportion of established companies. With this in mind, figures around fundraisings, turnover, and employment track similarly.
According to our data, company turnover across the Scottish property development and construction industry sits at £11.2b, whilst these businesses employ at least 62,500 people. Since the start of 2021, companies in this industry have raised £98.3m.
Notable property development and construction companies
Mott Macdonald
Location: Aberdeen
Turnover: £2.37b
Employees: 18,586
Growth signals: 10% scaleup | 20% scaleup | High growth list | Made acquisition
Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy delivering infrastructure and environmental projects across sectors including transport, energy, and water.
City Facilities Management
Location: Glasgow
Turnover: £1.14b
Employees: 6,957
Growth signals: 10% scaleup | 20% scaleup | High growth list | Made acquisition
City Facilities Management provides facilities management services — including cleaning, refrigeration, and maintenance — to large retailers and commercial clients across the UK and internationally.
Robertson
Location: Moray
Turnover: £825m
Employees: 2,866
Growth signals: 10% scaleup | 20% scaleup | High growth list
Robertson is a construction, infrastructure, and support services group headquartered in Moray, operating across the built environment lifecycle from development to facilities management.
*turnover and employment figures are based on filings submitted to Companies House, so the actual figures will be higher than these.
Scotland’s role in the UK’s industrial strategy
As part of Invest 2035: the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, the UK government outlined eight high-growth industries (IS-8) that it expects to make the largest net positive impact on the UK economy.
These industries are:
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Clean Energy
- Creative Industries
- Defence
- Digital and Technologies
- Financial Services
- Life Sciences
- Professional and Business Services
Mapping Scotland’s innovation economy
Here we’ve examined the distribution of companies, both across the Scottish high-growth ecosystem, and all active companies in Scotland more broadly.
Amongst Scotland’s high-growth companies, the top IS-8 sectors are Digital technologies, Professional and business services, and Creative industries.
Widening our gaze to every active company in Scotland, the top three remain the same, but Professional and business services comes out on top, with digital technologies moving down into second place. Creative industries remain in the third spot, though we see a leap from 13% of companies to 20% in their distribution.
How to find high-growth companies using Beauhurst
Finding high-growth companies on Beauhurst is straightforward. Firstly, launch Advanced Search and search by ‘companies’.
Specify that these companies are based in Scotland, and ensure that their Companies House status is selected as ‘active’. This will ensure you only return companies that are still operating.
The next step is crucial. Select ‘Signals’ and check the ‘Growth’ box. This will show every Scotland-based company that has at least one of the growth criteria we outlined earlier in this article.
Or, to use our new natural language search, simply type in ‘companies in Scotland with a growth signal’ to the search bar at the top of Advanced Search and hit enter.
The search will then automatically populate with the right criteria, ready for you to analyse or refine your search further.
From here, you have a number of options.
Refine your search
Perhaps you want to only find recently established companies, or maybe companies in a specific industry.
You can also drill down into a specific city, local authority, or region in Scotland. Add any (or all) of these, amongst other criteria, to find the precise information you need on high-growth Scotland-based businesses.
Create a dynamic list
Once you’ve settled on your search, and you’re happy with the results, you can begin adding these companies to a Collection. On Beauhurst, Collections are lists of businesses that you want to keep track of. This list can either be static for a snapshot in time, or you can make it dynamic where companies are added and removed based on a set criteria. The choice is yours.
Add to your CRM
Want this information in your CRM? If you have HubSpot or Salesforce, you can sync Beauhurst data with your own CRM to either enrich or replace your existing records.
This gives your team intelligence, and added context, to act on new opportunities or to assist with reporting.
Want to find high-growth companies in Scotland?
Scotland’s high-growth companies play a vital role in the UK’s wider innovation economy — whether that’s through job creation, turnover generation, or international expansion.
Our analysis shows that industries such as application software, distribution and wholesale, and property development and construction are particularly well represented — with companies in these industries raising significant sums, generating billions in turnover, and driving employment across the country.
Many of these companies also sit within the UK Government’s strategic IS-8 sectors, reinforcing Scotland’s importance to the national economy and its role in future-facing industries.
With Beauhurst, it’s easy to explore this landscape in more detail — from identifying key players in each industry to building dynamic lists of high-growth companies across Scotland. Whether you’re prospecting, researching, or tracking industry trends, Beauhurst gives you the data and tools to take the next step.
Want to see the data in action? Take a quick online tour of the platform. Or fill in the form below to talk to us today.
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