While Scotland saw contracts awarded leap 32% to £6.8 billion in 2023, both the South East and London recorded double digit falls.

Outside Scotland, only the East of England (7.9%) and Yorkshire (0.8%) saw rises - and the average overall, nationwide, was down 0.8%.

Among the biggest green energy projects fuelling Scotland’s boom are:

Billions in investment

“We have seen a huge amount of investment pouring into Scotland, much of it centred around the drive to embrace green energy,” said Barbour ABI’s head of business and client analytics Ed Griffiths.

“Billions of pounds are being spent on wind farms, solar energy and battery storage systems and that is on top of the thousands of new units in the residential sector.

“While the South East and London are by far and away still the engine room when it comes to construction, both recording far bigger proportions of investment spend than other UK regions, this analysis shows Scotland recording significant growth.”

There were eight hotspots feeding Scotland’s growth in East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire mainland, East Lothian and Midlothian, Glasgow City, Inverness & Nairn and Moray, Badenoch & Strathspey, Lochaber, Skye & Lochalsh, Arran & Cumbrae and Argyll & Bute, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, and South Lanarkshire.

Though a small contributor overall, the Scottish borders recorded the highest growth in the UK, a massive 374.3%.

Download the Regional Construction Hotspots in Great Britain report here.