Perth’s Food and Drink Park is open for business as it looks to bring hundreds of jobs to the Fair City.
The park is ready for occupation as it seeks to attract big business and become the home of Scotland’s food and drink sector.
The city and surrounding region already boast a huge number of innovative small businesses and artisan producers, as well as international brands.
The new Perth Food and Drink Park the first dedicated hub of its kind in Scotland is an attempt to take that success even further.
It is predicted the park could sustain up to 400 jobs once it is fully occupied.
Food and drink is one of Scotland’s key growth sectors and it has ambitions to grow from £13.1 billion today to £16.5 billion by 2017.
Within Perth and Kinross, the annual turnover of the food and drink sector is thought to be around £280 million and there are an estimated 130 companies in the processing sector.
The site, located at North Muirton, will provide up to 11 serviced development plots across 16 acres.
The park represents a £5m investment by Perth and Kinross Council and has been specifically designed to create a hub to encourage all aspects of the food and drink industry in Scotland to thrive.
It aims to attract inward investment, as well as to offer expansion opportunities for existing and start-up businesses.
The convener of enterprise and infrastructure at Perth and Kinross Council, John Kellas, said the park offers a unique opportunity for businesses in the food and drink sector to occupy a fully-flexible, bespoke site to develop or expand their operations.
Councillor Kellas said: “Perthshire has unrivalled heritage and credentials in food and drink, evidenced by the likes of its superb beef, lamb and venison, its soft fruit industry and world-famous whisky distillers, as well as a range of artisan and specialist producers.
“We are passionate about continuing to see the food and drink industry in both Perthshire and Scotland thrive.
“We have identified food and drink as an area of outstanding growth and have committed substantial investment into helping businesses in this sector through the creation of Perth Food and Drink Park,” he went on.
“With Perth Food and Drink Park now open for business, it’s an unparalleled opportunity for companies to take advantage of creating purpose-built premises while enjoying the benefits of shared business infrastructure and support facilities.
“The Perth Food and Drink Park demonstrates the clear intent to position Perth as the most desirable place to live, work, visit and invest.”