# Scottish National Investment Bank

The Scottish National Investment Bank is a Scottish state-owned investment and national development bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Although referred to as a bank, it does not do normal banking operations nor accepts deposits. The bank uses public money to fund commercial projects across Scotland with the hope that this seed capital will encourage further private investment, to help develop a fairer, more sustainable economy. £2 Billion of taxpayers money is earmarked for the bank.
The bank is a public corporation, with the only shareholder being the Scottish Government. It reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy.

## History

The bank was announced in September 2017 in the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's 2017 Programme for Government.
Benny Higgins was appointed as a strategic adviser, to oversee the organisation launching. In February 2018 an implementation plan was launched. The Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020 was passed by Parliament on 21 January 2020. The Act legally obliged Scottish Ministers to establish a National Investment Bank for Scotland as both a public body as a publicly limited company.
The bank was formally launched in November 2020.
In February 2022 Eilidh MacTaggart left the bank as Chief Executive. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was questioned about the departure in the Scottish Parliament. The departure coincided with the publication of the Scottish Government's National Strategy for Economic Transformation which would direct the focus of future investments made by the bank. Ms MacTaggart subsequently insisted she left the bank for personal reasons, and received £117,500 having to work her notice period under the terms of her contract. In April 2023, Al Denholm was appointed Chief Executive.
As of October 2023, the bank had committed £463.2 million in investments.

## Activities

The bank seeks to invest in businesses, projects and communities across Scotland, with its investment targeted to support three main aims:
* Supporting Scotland's transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2045
* Building communities and promoting equality by 2040
* Harnessing innovation to enable our people to flourish by 2040
The bank has an initial budget of £2 billion for the first 10 years of its existence (2020–2030).

## Portfolio

| Date | Company | Sector | Value (GBP) |
| 23 November 2020 | M Squared Lasers | Quantum technology | 12,500,000 |
| 24 February 2021 | PfP Capital | Mid-market rental housing | 40,000,000 |
| 27 July 2021 | R3 IoT | IoT satellite connectivity | 1,000,000 |
| 29 July 2021 | Forev | EV charging infrastructure | 2,000,000 |
| 11 August 2021 | IndiNature | Natural fibre insulation | 3,000,000 |
| 17 August 2021 | Gresham House Forestry Fund | Woodland creation | 50,000,000 |
| 7 September 2021 | Nova Innovation | Net zero | 6,400,000 |
| 22 September 2021 | Sunamp | Net zero | 6,000,000 |
| 15 November 2021 | Iona Wind Partnership | Net zero | 13,000,000 |
| 03 December 2021 | Strathcarron Homes | Housing | 3,000,000 |
| 07 January 2022 | Lothian Broadband Group | Rural broadband | 20,000,000 |
| 18 January 2022 | Highland Coast Hotels | Tourism | 4,450,000 |
| 28 January 2022 | Port of Aberdeen | Marine infrastructure | 30,000,000 |
| 31 March 2022 | Travelnest | Tourism | 3,000,000 |
| 9 May 2022 | Circularity Scotland | Deposit-return scheme | 9,000,000 |
| 9 May 2022 | Elasmogen | Pharmaceutical industry | 3,500,000 |
| 4 July 2022 | Orbital Marine Power | Renewable energy | 4,000,000 |
| 13 July 2022 | pureLiFi | Telecommunications | 10,000,000 |
| 18 July 2022 | Wavegarden Scotland | Surf technology | 26,000,000 |
| 5 September 2022 | Trojan Energy | EV charging infrastructure | 9,000,000 |
| October 2022 | Orbex | Bio-fuel satellite launch | 17,800,000 |
| November 2022 | Social and Sustainable | Social housing | 15,000,000 |
| December 2022 | North Start Renewables | Renewable energy operations | 50,000,000 |
| January 2023 | PneumoWave | Biosensor technology | 5,200,000 |
| March 2023 | Utopi | Data analytics platform | 5,000,000 |
| April 2023 | Forrit | Cloud-based content | 5,000,000 |
| April 2023 | Verlume | Renewable energy | 6,600,000 |
| October 2023 | Cyacomb | Innovative technology | 2,600,000 |
| October 2023 | Par Equity | Innovative technology | 20,000,000 |