Council Support to Businesses
Perth and Kinross Council · 26 August 2026
Back to Economy and Infrastructure Committee — 26 August 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Our vision is a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality ___________________________________________________________________ Committee or Board: Economy and Infrastructure Committee Date of Meeting: 26 August 2026 Report Title: Council Support to Businesses Report Number: 26/219 Report Author: Kirsty Easton, Business Growth Team Leader Organisational Lead: Serge Merone, Strategic Lead – Economy, Development and Planning ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Purpose 1.1 The purpose of this report is to provide Committee with details of progress made to build on and improve the Council’s business-friendly approach to business engagement. It demonstrates how intelligence-led engagement supports business growth, investment, resilience and delivery of the Perth and Kinross Economic Action Plan. 1.2 The report outlines how the Council builds relationships with businesses, gathers business intelligence, coordinates support across Council services and partner organisations, and promotes Perth and Kinross as a business- friendly location in which businesses can start up, invest and grow. 1.3 Sections 1. Purpose 2. Recommendations 3. Background/Context 4. Main Issues 5. Proposals 6. Conclusion 7. Impact and Value Assessment 8. Appendices 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: 2.1 Notes the content of the report and the progress made to build on and improve the Council’s business-friendly approach via business engagement.
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2.2 Agrees the future priorities for business engagement as detailed in the report. 3. Background/Context 3.1 At its meeting on 27 August 2025, this Committee agreed to build on and improve the Council’s business-friendly approach and create a supportive environment with our partners to improve our strong business start-up and growth performance (Report 25/11 refers). This approach is recognised and a key element of achieving the ambitions set out in the Perth and Kinross Economic Action Plan and wider Tay Cities regional strategies and investment programmes. 3.2 Businesses are fundamental to the prosperity of Perth and Kinross. They generate employment, investment and wealth, strengthen local supply chains and contribute significantly to the area’s economic resilience and long-term prosperity. 3.3 Business engagement is much more than responding to enquiries. It is about developing trusted relationships with businesses, understanding their ambitions and challenges, gathering economic intelligence and ensuring businesses receive coordinated support throughout their lifecycle. 3.4 The Council gathers business intelligence through both formal and informal engagement, ensuring business feedback directly informs economic development priorities and future service delivery. By understanding the issues affecting businesses, the Council is better placed to anticipate opportunities, identify emerging challenges and respond proactively. 3.5 This intelligence-led approach supports delivery of the Tay Cities Regional Economic Strategy and Prospectus for Regional Growth (2025-2035) and Perth and Kinross Economic Action Plan (2025-2030) and contributes to the Council’s ambition of creating a strong, resilient and sustainable local economy. Business engagement is not an end in itself; it enables the Council and its partners to move from reacting to individual enquiries towards anticipating business needs, identifying opportunities for growth, understanding barriers to investment and ensuring that economic development priorities are informed by real-time business intelligence. It is an integral part of the customer-focused approach identified by Perth and Kinross Economic Partnership in the Perth and Kinross Economic Action Plan. This proactive approach helps safeguard jobs, supports investment, strengthens business confidence and reinforces Perth and Kinross’ reputation as a business-friendly location in which businesses can invest and grow. 4. Main Issues Business Relationship Management 4.1 The Business Growth Team leads the Council’s strategic engagement with businesses across Perth and Kinross. 4.2 A key element of this approach is the Top 100 Business Engagement Programme. The Top 100 Businesses are identified using a range of
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measures including business turnover, employment and future growth potential. The programme enables the Council to focus relationship management on businesses that make a significant contribution to the local economy whilst also supporting businesses with strong growth potential and opportunities for future job creation. 4.3 The programme was originally developed using Companies House data provided through expert advice to identify businesses with significant turnover. This information was subsequently reviewed and refined to ensure the programme reflects businesses with a substantive operational presence within Perth and Kinross. The list will continue to evolve through ongoing engagement, with additional businesses considered where there is evidence of significant employment, operational activity or future growth potential. 4.4 Within the current programme, there are a broad range of sectors including tourism and hospitality, food and drink, manufacturing, agriculture, renewables, construction, professional services and financial services. 4.5 Each business has been allocated a dedicated Business Lead Officer, providing a consistent point of contact and enabling officers to build detailed knowledge of individual businesses, their investment aspirations, growth plans and barriers to development. 4.6 Officers are currently engaging with all businesses listed in the programme. Targeting business support to our key growth sectors and businesses helps to identify opportunities for investment, expansion and job creation while allowing the Council to respond proactively where support may be required. This approach helps to maintain strong performance in business survival rates (4th highest business survival rate in Scotland) and growth potential (top local authority area in the UK for business growth potential 2025 – Growth Flag). 4.7 Alongside the Top 100 Business Engagement Programme, the Council also engages with businesses of all sizes, including start-ups, SMEs, inward investors and businesses seeking advice on land, commercial property, investment opportunities and wider economic development matters. Intelligence-led Engagement 4.8 In January 2025, the Business Growth Team introduced a bespoke Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system with expert advice to support business engagement activity. 4.9 The CRM provides a central record of business interactions, enquiries and follow-up actions, enabling the Council to coordinate engagement activity, build corporate knowledge and avoid duplication across services. Although the Economic Development service has led the initiative, strong engagement has been secured across Council services. This has resulted in a more coordinated approach to business engagement, improving efficiency for both the Council and local businesses. An evaluation of the CRM system is scheduled for January 2027 to assess its impact, identify case studies, and capture key learning.
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4.10 The CRM currently contains records for: • 73 business enquiries • 73 business engagements • 23 land and property enquiries • 25 referrals and signposting interventions • 6 inward investment enquiries 4.11 The Council will continue to develop the CRM system and maximise future integration opportunities with the national Master Customer Record (MCR) being developed through the Business Support Partnership (BSP). 4.12 The Business Support Partnership is a collaboration of Scotland's national and local business support organisations, working together to provide a more joined-up, accessible and customer-focused support system for businesses. Its aim is to simplify access to advice, funding and growth support, helping businesses across Scotland achieve their ambitions. 4.13 To support consistency of engagement, the Business Growth Team has developed a Business Engagement Framework and officer checklist. Whilst not intended to be a prescriptive questionnaire, it provides a structured approach to business conversations, helping officers gather intelligence on business performance, workforce requirements, property needs, investment intentions, exporting, innovation and net zero ambitions. This intelligence supports more effective signposting, coordinated interventions and improved customer service. 4.14 Business intelligence gathered through engagement has identified several recurring themes affecting local businesses, including: • access to finance and investment; • redevelopment of vacant properties; • workforce recruitment and expansion; • availability of employment land and commercial premises; and • navigating planning and other regulatory processes. 4.15 Understanding these themes enables the Council and its partners to target support more effectively while informing future economic development priorities and service improvements. 4.16 Information gathered through business engagement is shared, where appropriate, across Council services and with strategic partners to help shape economic priorities, identify emerging trends and inform future investment decisions. This intelligence also supports delivery of the Perth and Kinross Economic Action Plan by ensuring that economic interventions continue to reflect the changing needs of businesses across Perth and Kinross. Creating a Business-Friendly Council 4.17 Businesses do not always know which Council service they require or who they should contact. The Business Growth Team therefore provides a single point of contact for businesses engaging with the Council, coordinating
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support across services including Planning, Property, Roads, Licensing, Procurement, Employability and other services where appropriate. In August 2025 officers committed to establishing a ‘Business-friendly’ Cross-Service Officer Group. This is now in place and include Officers who interface with businesses. The Group has a flexible and agile membership and Officers can be mobilised to reply to one-off requests or to deal with emergencies. The Group identifies areas of improvement on an on-going basis. 4.18 This coordinated approach improves the customer experience, helps businesses navigate Council processes, removes barriers where possible and ensures businesses receive clear communication throughout their engagement with the Council. Feedback from businesses has been positive. This will be reflected in our review of the CRM system, and approved case studies from businesses will be included. 4.19 Regular business meetings, site visits and tours also allow officers to better understand business operations, investment plans and future ambitions while strengthening relationships with key employers across Perth and Kinross. Early engagement also enables the Council to identify potential barriers before they become constraints to business growth, allowing support to be coordinated at the earliest opportunity and helping businesses progress investment more efficiently. 4.20 Whilst this report focuses on business engagement, specialist one-to-one business advice is primarily delivered through partner organisations including Business Gateway, GrowBiz or Scottish Enterprise. The Council’s role is to build relationships with businesses, gather intelligence, coordinate activity across Council services and ensure businesses are connected to the most appropriate specialist support. Strategic Engagement and Business Promotion 4.21 Business engagement extends beyond individual meetings and includes a programme of wider engagement activity designed to understand sector priorities, encourage collaboration and promote economic opportunities. 4.22 In the last year, the Council has delivered two business breakfasts and three business roundtable discussions covering general business, farming and agriculture, and estates and landowners. These discussions provide valuable opportunities to understand sector-specific opportunities and challenges while ensuring business feedback informs future priorities. Feedback from these events, including the need for tailored business support packages, a stronger focus on rural skills development, and investment to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, helped shape our Tay Cities Local Growth Fund Investment Plan. In turn, this programme of investment will help to address the challenges identified through engagement and maximise the opportunities highlighted by local businesses and stakeholders. 4.23 Business intelligence is also gathered through surveys, consultations and targeted engagement exercises undertaken throughout the year, ensuring that a broad range of business views help inform future policy development, service improvement and economic priorities.
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4.24 Sector-specific engagement has also been supported through programmes including Perthshire Talks Tourism, Trade Ready export training and Accessible and Inclusive Tourism training, engaging several hundred businesses across priority sectors. Feedback has been positive and helped to inform the tailored support that will be available through programmes such as the Local Growth Fund. 4.25 The Council also promotes businesses and investment opportunities through Invest in Perth, the Council’s inward investment brand, Invest in Perth Magazine, the Business & Economy Bulletin, the Invest in Perth website, social media, business case studies and the Perth City and Towns website, where businesses can promote themselves through a free online business directory. 4.26 These communication channels not only promote individual businesses and investment opportunities but also help position Perth and Kinross as an attractive, connected and business-friendly location in which to start, invest and grow a business. 4.27 The Business & Economy Bulletin currently has over 1,400 subscribers with an average open rate of approximately 30%, demonstrating strong engagement with the local business community. 4.28 Between January 2025 and July 2026, the Invest in Perth website recorded approximately 98,000 page views, while business-focused LinkedIn activity generated over 3.3 million views, highlighting the significant reach of the Council’s business communications. 4.29 Building on this collaborative approach, the inaugural Perth and Kinross Economic Summit will take place on 9 September 2026, bringing together businesses, public sector partners and stakeholders. Discussions will explore how the region builds economic resilience, strengthens skills and workforce development, unlocks investment, improves infrastructure, supports sustainable growth through clean innovation, and maximises opportunities within the rural economy. The Summit is being supported by SSE as headline sponsor. Partnership Working 4.30 The Council works closely with a wide range of local, regional and national partners to support businesses across Perth and Kinross. 4.31 Business representative organisations including Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses, Perth and Kinross Business Partnership and Perthshire Tourism Partnership provide valuable insight into collective business priorities and emerging economic issues. These relationships are complemented by sector-specific engagement, business forums and roundtable discussions. 4.32 The Perth and Kinross Economic Partnership provides the strategic forum through which businesses, representative organisations and public sector
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partners work collaboratively to shape economic priorities and oversee delivery of the Perth and Kinross Economic Action Plan. 4.33 The Partnership has also developed a Business Champions initiative to strengthen engagement with the local business community and demonstrate its customer-focused approach. The initiative brings together respected business leaders from across Perth and Kinross to act as ambassadors for the region, promote the Economic Action Plan, support inward investment activity and provide practical business insight to help inform future priorities. Business Champions will also support delivery of engagement activity including roundtable discussions, business events, place promotion and the inaugural Perth and Kinross Economic Summit. 4.34 Business intelligence gathered through direct engagement is shared, where appropriate, to help inform partnership priorities, influence policy development and strengthen collaborative approaches to supporting economic growth. This ensures that local business perspectives continue to shape collective decision-making and the delivery of shared economic priorities across Perth and Kinross. 5. Proposals Future Priorities 5.1 The Council will continue to build and improve on its business-friendly approach via business engagement by: • developing long-term relationships with businesses across Perth and Kinross; • continuing to enhance the use of CRM and business intelligence; • strengthening collaboration across Council services and partner organisations; • expanding strategic engagement through business events, roundtables and the Economic Summit; • promoting Perth and Kinross as a business-friendly location for investment and growth; • continuing to strengthen the evidence base through business engagement, surveys and intelligence gathering to inform future policy and investment decisions; and • using business intelligence to inform future economic development priorities and service delivery. 6. Conclusion 6.1 Business engagement is not an end in itself; it is the mechanism through which the Council builds relationships, gathers economic intelligence, coordinates support and helps create the conditions for sustainable business growth across Perth and Kinross. 6.2 By developing trusted relationships with businesses, providing a coordinated approach across Council services and working collaboratively with partner organisations, Perth and Kinross Council is well placed to understand
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business needs, respond proactively to emerging opportunities and challenges, and support a resilient, competitive and growing local economy. It is a key element to build and improve on the Council’s business-friendly approach. As the Council continues to strengthen relationships with businesses and partners, business engagement will remain central to understanding the needs of the local economy, shaping future priorities and ensuring Perth and Kinross continues to be recognised as an attractive, supportive and business-friendly location in which businesses can invest, innovate and grow. 7. Impact and Value Assessment This is an operational report, and as such, no further assessment is required. 8. Appendices 8.1 None