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Edinburgh Business

Introduction

Edinburgh's economy is largely based around the service industry. Tourism, financial services, banking are particularly important as well as high tech and education. The coming of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 particularly made Edinburgh the prestige location for many Scottish companies. The city is the second largest financial centre in the UK after the City of London and is the fourth in Europe by equity assets.

The city has the second highest gross value after London per capita in the UK. The top employers are City of Edinburgh Council, NHS Lothian, Royal Bank of Scotland , Lloyd’s Banking and the Unversity of Edinburgh.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has its HQ here and Edinburgh has produced some homegrown insurance companies such as Standard Life and Scottish Widows. The major players are housed to the west of the city in the Exchange business district. Edinburgh Park is one of the largest business parks in the UK.

Tourism is a huge value industry to the city, Scotland’s most popular tourist destination, particularly in the budget travel and backpacking sector and assisted by the growth of Edinburgh Airport.

The annual Edinburgh Festival attracts huge numbers every year as does the Hogmany street party at New Year. Business and conference tourism is also important to the city, which is the UK’s most popular conference destination. Visitors are attracted by the UNESCO world heritage sites of the Old Town and New Town as well as the history and culture which is clearly visible in such landmarks as Edinburgh Castle, famous for its annual Military Tattoo, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Find a Business

Edinburgh Online features a number of powerful tools enabling you to find local information and businesses fast.

You can use the search facility at the top of every page to search for a business.

Alternatively there are several ways to find the businesses listed in our database by browsing different sections on the website:

By type of business: If you are not looking for any business in particular, but instead want a list of businesses provising a particular service, try our Local listings database, both of which are categorised by business type.

By location: If you want to see which businesses are based on a particular street, you can find it using our Edinburgh street index

By name: If you want to find a particular business and know its name, you can find it using our A-Z List of Businesses.

Shopping: Edinburgh Online has a dedicated Shopping section with a shopping guide and varous tools to find local shops.

Common Business Types

clothes shops | news agents | convenience stores | chemists | supermarkets | general stores | cards and gifts shops | post offices | jewellers | womens clothing shops | charity shops | shoe shops | florists | bookmakers | mobile phone shops | launderettes/ dry cleaners | video libraries | vets | book shops | mens clothing shops | wedding retailers | discount shops | antique shops | department stores | photographic processors | fashion accessories shops | baby clothing shops | office supplies shops | shoe repairing | toy shops | boarding kennels and catteries | arts and crafts shops | cosmetics shops | bicycle shops | tartans kilts and accessories | pet shops | hiking/ outdoor clothing shops | sports equipment shops | shopping centres | music shops | pest and vermin control | television video and radio servicing | amusement arcades | perfume suppliers | ironing and home laundry services | rare and secondhand books | dog clipping and grooming | dressmakers | bridal shops | camera shops