DEALMAKERS BREAKFAST
FINANCING OUR FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE
THURSDAY 10TH APRIL 2025
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH
08:15 – 11.30
EVENT PARTNER: THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL INVESTMENT BANK
ABOUT THE EVENT
Capital spending on Scotland’s infrastructure is expected to be over £7bn this year with the ambition of a ‘green reindustrialisation of Scotland’. But is this enough? And what will the nation get for such sums?
Meanwhile, there will be a tripling of investment in offshore wind in 2025, expected to leverage a further £1.5bn of private investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities.
The Scottish National Investment Bank, our Event Partner, has a minimum of £2bn to invest in projects in Scotland over the next decade.
The private sector is being pressed into action on housing, investing £768m in affordable homes. However, Scotland needs a mix of social rent, mid-market rent, and private home ownership to be built. But who will be funding this, and how?
£1.1 billion has been earmarked to maintain and renew our rail infrastructure, while £237 million will be invested in maintaining and improving our ports and delivering a ferry fleet for the islands.
Scotland’s trunk road network will receive £1bn to improve the sad state of our roads. While Scotland’s hospitality industry needs world-class resorts to maintain its global reputation.
So, where are the opportunities for Scottish businesses? How can we ensure that international capital is deployed correctly? And what lessons do we still have to learn about putting in place resilient, net zero infrastructure to meet the climate challenges that Scotland is facing?
Our panel of experts will untangle this range of vital topics and give conference attendees insights into the potential outcomes.
The objective of the conference will be to:
- Set out the primary challenges in building key infrastructure in Scotland
- Examine the financial and investor options, open to both the public and private sector, which will unlock major infrastructure projects
- Discuss how the UK and Scottish Governments and private sector funders can ensure clear delivery and audit transparency for both public and private monies
- Reflect on how PFI modelling can be improved and enhanced to deliver fairer outcomes
- Look positively at the future, to the possibilities and the legacy if infrastructure is delivered
Agenda
10 April 2025 | Agenda - Building to Last
Registration, Breakfast / Networking
Call to Panel Session
Panel: Introduction & Discussion
Intro by Event Chair & Discussion: A Spotlight on Infrastructure and the Pipeline of Deals
Editor, Event Chair
Kenny Kemp
Editor, Event Chair
Kenny Kemp is an author, editor, journalist, and Editor of The BUSINESS, distributed with the Sunday Times Scotland.
Kenny was the founding Business Editor of The Sunday Herald and Editor of BQ (Business Quarter) Scotland for five years from 2010 until 2015. He was a contributor and later Editor of Scottish Business Insider.
He was also the founding Editor of Panmure House Perspectives [Panmure House is the Edinburgh home of economist Adam Smith and is part of Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University].
He has been an Associate of the University of Edinburgh Business School since 2015.
Net Zero Director, Scottish National Investment Bank
Jimmy Williamson
Net Zero Director, Scottish National Investment Bank
Jimmy has over 20 years of experience in originating and structuring complex growth financing solutions across multiple sectors, including technology venture capital investment with NatWest and leveraged finance for private equity with Lloyds Banking Group, where he led their regional teams across the UK, including their sector coverage for the oil & gas vertical.
At Lloyds, he also managed its cornerstone investment into Bridges Ventures’ first fund, one of the UK’s first commercially successful impact investment funds.
More recently, he was the commercial director of Calash, a specialist energy and industrials strategic consultancy, helping clients and investors transition business models and monetise sustainable organic and acquisition-led growth in new and existing markets.
FRSE, Chief Executive, Scottish Futures Trust
Peter Reekie
FRSE, Chief Executive, Scottish Futures Trust
Peter has worked across the private and public sectors as a civil engineer, an infrastructure financier, and an advisor with one of the world’s leading professional services firms.
He joined SFT in 2008, when the Scottish Government established it as a centre of infrastructure expertise and became its chief executive in 2018.
Peter leads SFT’s work, which encompasses long-term strategy development across infrastructure sectors, structuring and managing multi-billion-pound investment programmes, and making the best use of existing assets in the transition to a net zero economy.
Peter is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Chief Executive Officer, Homes for Scotland
Jane Wood
Chief Executive Officer, Homes for Scotland
Jane is a well-known and highly regarded business leader in Scotland. She joined as Homes for Scotland’s Chief Executive in June 2022, responsible for driving the organisation forward to achieve its primary goal of delivering more homes for the people of Scotland.
Before this, Jane was BT Group UK Nations and Regions Director and a member of the BT Scotland Board, managing relationships with public bodies, politicians and other key stakeholders on strategic business areas, including climate change, skills, SMEs, infrastructure and public policy affairs.
She was previously also CEO in Scotland and then UK Executive Director for the membership organisation Business in the Community, and Head of Corporate Affairs for Scotland and Northern Ireland for the Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Chair, Noble & Co
Angus Macpherson
Chair, Noble & Co
Coffee Break / Intermission
Panel: Second Session
What kind of legacy do we want for Scotland?
Editor, Event Chair
Kenny Kemp
Editor, Event Chair
Kenny Kemp is an author, editor, journalist, and Editor of The BUSINESS, distributed with the Sunday Times Scotland.
Kenny was the founding Business Editor of The Sunday Herald and Editor of BQ (Business Quarter) Scotland for five years from 2010 until 2015. He was a contributor and later Editor of Scottish Business Insider.
He was also the founding Editor of Panmure House Perspectives [Panmure House is the Edinburgh home of economist Adam Smith and is part of Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University].
He has been an Associate of the University of Edinburgh Business School since 2015.
Net Zero Director, Scottish National Investment Bank
Jimmy Williamson
Net Zero Director, Scottish National Investment Bank
Jimmy has over 20 years of experience in originating and structuring complex growth financing solutions across multiple sectors, including technology venture capital investment with NatWest and leveraged finance for private equity with Lloyds Banking Group, where he led their regional teams across the UK, including their sector coverage for the oil & gas vertical.
At Lloyds, he also managed its cornerstone investment into Bridges Ventures’ first fund, one of the UK’s first commercially successful impact investment funds.
More recently, he was the commercial director of Calash, a specialist energy and industrials strategic consultancy, helping clients and investors transition business models and monetise sustainable organic and acquisition-led growth in new and existing markets.
FRSE, Chief Executive, Scottish Futures Trust
Peter Reekie
FRSE, Chief Executive, Scottish Futures Trust
Peter has worked across the private and public sectors as a civil engineer, an infrastructure financier, and an advisor with one of the world’s leading professional services firms.
He joined SFT in 2008, when the Scottish Government established it as a centre of infrastructure expertise and became its chief executive in 2018.
Peter leads SFT’s work, which encompasses long-term strategy development across infrastructure sectors, structuring and managing multi-billion-pound investment programmes, and making the best use of existing assets in the transition to a net zero economy.
Peter is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Chief Executive Officer, Homes for Scotland
Jane Wood
Chief Executive Officer, Homes for Scotland
Jane is a well-known and highly regarded business leader in Scotland. She joined as Homes for Scotland’s Chief Executive in June 2022, responsible for driving the organisation forward to achieve its primary goal of delivering more homes for the people of Scotland.
Before this, Jane was BT Group UK Nations and Regions Director and a member of the BT Scotland Board, managing relationships with public bodies, politicians and other key stakeholders on strategic business areas, including climate change, skills, SMEs, infrastructure and public policy affairs.
She was previously also CEO in Scotland and then UK Executive Director for the membership organisation Business in the Community, and Head of Corporate Affairs for Scotland and Northern Ireland for the Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Chair, Noble & Co
Angus Macpherson
Chair, Noble & Co
Finish
Speakers
Jane Wood
Chief Executive Officer, Homes for Scotland
Jane is a well-known and highly regarded business leader in Scotland. She joined as Homes for Scotland’s Chief Executive in June 2022, responsible for driving the organisation forward to achieve its primary goal of delivering more homes for the people of Scotland.
Before this, Jane was BT Group UK Nations and Regions Director and a member of the BT Scotland Board, managing relationships with public bodies, politicians and other key stakeholders on strategic business areas, including climate change, skills, SMEs, infrastructure and public policy affairs.
She was previously also CEO in Scotland and then UK Executive Director for the membership organisation Business in the Community, and Head of Corporate Affairs for Scotland and Northern Ireland for the Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Jimmy Williamson
Net Zero Director, Scottish National Investment Bank
Jimmy has over 20 years of experience in originating and structuring complex growth financing solutions across multiple sectors, including technology venture capital investment with NatWest and leveraged finance for private equity with Lloyds Banking Group, where he led their regional teams across the UK, including their sector coverage for the oil & gas vertical.
At Lloyds, he also managed its cornerstone investment into Bridges Ventures’ first fund, one of the UK’s first commercially successful impact investment funds.
More recently, he was the commercial director of Calash, a specialist energy and industrials strategic consultancy, helping clients and investors transition business models and monetise sustainable organic and acquisition-led growth in new and existing markets.
Kenny Kemp
Editor, Event Chair
Kenny Kemp is an author, editor, journalist, and Editor of The BUSINESS, distributed with the Sunday Times Scotland.
Kenny was the founding Business Editor of The Sunday Herald and Editor of BQ (Business Quarter) Scotland for five years from 2010 until 2015. He was a contributor and later Editor of Scottish Business Insider.
He was also the founding Editor of Panmure House Perspectives [Panmure House is the Edinburgh home of economist Adam Smith and is part of Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University].
He has been an Associate of the University of Edinburgh Business School since 2015.
Peter Reekie
FRSE, Chief Executive, Scottish Futures Trust
Peter has worked across the private and public sectors as a civil engineer, an infrastructure financier, and an advisor with one of the world’s leading professional services firms.
He joined SFT in 2008, when the Scottish Government established it as a centre of infrastructure expertise and became its chief executive in 2018.
Peter leads SFT’s work, which encompasses long-term strategy development across infrastructure sectors, structuring and managing multi-billion-pound investment programmes, and making the best use of existing assets in the transition to a net zero economy.
Peter is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Angus Macpherson
Chair, Noble & Co
Angus Macpherson is chair of Noble & Co, one of Scotland’s leading financial advisory firms, and chair of the Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust PLC and a non-executive director of the Schroder Japan Trust PLC. He co-chaired the Scottish Investor Panel with the First Minister and is a member of the Scottish Government’s Financial Services Growth & Development Advisory Board. Before joining Noble in 2006, Angus began his career with Lazard Brothers and held senior roles at Merrill Lynch in Hong He Kong and Singapore, latterly as Head of Capital Markets and Financing for the Asian region. He joined the board of Edinburgh-based private bank Hampden Bank in October 2021.
SCOTTISH NATIONAL INVESTMENT BANK
The Scottish National Investment Bank was launched in November 2020 as a development investment bank for Scotland. It delivers patient, mission-impact investments to the Scottish economy.
The Bank provides patient (long-term) capital to businesses and. projects throughout Scotland. Supporting the development of a fairer, more sustainable economy, environmentally, socially and financially.
The Bank’s ambition is to invest its allocated public capital and encourage additional private capital to invest alongside it to support the delivery of our missions.
The Bank’s missions have been designed to address the long term, persistent challenges facing Scotland. The missions have been set by the Scottish Government, funded by Scottish Ministers.