David Reid

The agency’s outturns for 2023/24 were achieved through a combination of financial and non-financial interventions.

HIE invested more than £1.3 million in Moray projects with a combined total cost of £8.1m. An additional £4.4m in external investment was also attracted to the area.

These efforts are contributing to a projected rise in business turnover exceeding £85m and a boost to international sales by almost £14m.

Support for social enterprises, meanwhile, is expected to result in a £5.6m uplift in the social economy.

Examples include £38,000 investment in a project by environmental education charity WildThings to extend and strengthen its range of training courses. This is expected to result in a £123,000 increase in turnover within three years.

Other community initiatives supported by HIE include the Cabrach Trust community heritage distillery project, which was awarded a £500,000 investment, and the renovation of Forres Town Hall for which HIE approved a contribution of £130,000.

There was support for many businesses across the patch looking to innovate, diversify, grow and support rural jobs.

Investment of up to £79,500 was approved to help Forres-based Phoenix Instinct Limited with the £137,000 costs of establishing a facility to manufacture innovative new smart wheelchairs.

The Lecht Ski Company Limited was awarded up to £135,000 for a £270,000 project to improve operational efficiencies and cut carbon emissions.

A £556,000 research and development project by Macnaughton Holdings Limited to increase manufacturing capacity and productivity at its Isla Bank Mill in Keith was supported with a £194,000 investment.

HIE is also investing £2.56m in the Manufacturing Innovation Centre for Moray (MICM), a Moray Growth Deal project that is supported by the UK and Scottish Governments.

David Reid, HIE area manager for Moray, said: “We’re very pleased at having been able to support so many great projects in Moray last year, particularly those linked to innovation, manufacturing, and the creation of well-paid quality jobs.

“The new Manufacturing and Innovation Centre for Moray will strengthen these aspects or our area’s economy by providing diagnostics, advice, information, signposting, and brokerage services to manufacturing companies.

“All of this will help the area make the most of new economic opportunities as they arise, and that’s the essence of the five-year strategy we launched last year.

“We look forward to continuing to work with our partners, businesses and communities across the area to bring as many as possible of those new opportunities to fruition, both for the benefit of Moray’s economy and the contribution it makes to Scotland and the UK.”