BT Group adds £1.5 billion to Scottish economy

• BT Group's activities provided estimated boost of £1.5bn to the Scottish economy last year and supported nearly 15,000 jobs across Scotland 
• Estimates include the knock-on impact of the spend of employees and payment to suppliers in local economies in all parts of the country 
• The company spent £190m with suppliers based in Scotland last year

The activities of BT Group added £1.5 billion to the wider economy of Scotland last year and supported nearly 15,000 jobs, according to a new report published today.

The report from consultancy firm Hatch looked at the spend of employees and suppliers of BT Group – which includes EE, BT, Plusnet and Openreach – and the estimated knock-on impact that has on economies across the country.

The report found that BT Group, the UK’s largest telecommunications company which employs more than 7,500 people in Scotland, made a direct contribution to the Scottish economy estimated at £1 billion in the last financial year (2021/22). Through the company’s employees and its supply chain, and their subsequent spending, Hatch estimates the resulting boost to the Scottish economy came to a total of £1.5 billion.

The company’s spending with suppliers based in Scotland came to a total of £190 million. According to the study, BT Group’s combined activities supported a knock-on total of 14,900 jobs across Scotland.

The report highlights BT Group’s presence across Scotland and its current major investment in the rollout of full-fibre broadband and 5G across the country. It also profiles the range of activities by BT Group colleagues across the UK, from the volunteers helping care home residents avoid isolation and loneliness, to the teams protecting customers and the country from cyber threats.

BT Group is also transforming its offices and contact centres across the UK and has already announced plans to open a brand new contact centre on Dundee’s waterfront which will become home to around 1,000 colleagues and is currently carrying out a multi-million pound refurbishment of its Glasgow office which will also house about 1,000 colleagues.

It is part of the company’s Better Workplace Programme, one of the largest workplace improvement schemes of its type ever undertaken in the UK. The five-year programme will see the company shift from having around 300 locations in the UK to around 30, with a focus on creating new, modern workspaces.

Philip Jansen, Chief Executive of BT Group, said: “BT Group plays a vital role at the heart of the Scottish economy. We're one of only a handful of companies that serves customers in every corner of the country.

“We've continued our major investment in building next generation full fibre and mobile connectivity rapidly across the UK. We've already reached 9.6 million premises with full fibre, and our 5G mobile network now reaches 60% of the UK population. The benefits to families and businesses are huge: new jobs, economic growth and innovation, across every nation and region.

“We’re also transforming BT Group so that we’re fit to power the Scottish economy of the future. Our new state-of-the-art offices, spread across the UK, are a central part of that, bringing colleagues together in brilliant spaces that will enable collaboration and help us to better serve our customers.”

The Group, via its digital network business Openreach, is already delivering ultrafast full-fibre broadband across Scotland while its mobile business EE is a leader on mobile coverage. EE’s 5G network is  across many cities, towns and now expanding to rural communities,  while 4G mobile coverage is at 75% of  Scotland’s landmass. The Group has recently announced contract wins with major Scottish companies such as Scottish Power, supporting their global growth, and it provides innovative, secure connectivity solutions over broadband and mobile to the public sector across the country.

Notes

The Economic Impact Report 2023 has been prepared independently by Hatch Urban Solutions, drawing upon data for BT Group plc activities in the UK during the last financial year 2021/22.