Glasgow Business . 11
www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
Why businesses can’t aff ord to ignore online market places 15
Visitor numbers soar Glasgow vaulting ahead as top tourist location
Glasgow is set to overtake Edinburgh as Scotland’s most popular tourism destination, according to the latest tourism statistics. Figures show that in 2014,
Glasgow attracted 2.1 million domestic visitors – up 56 per cent on the previous year and almost neck and neck with the 2.2 million who visited Edinburgh. Hotel stays were also level with
Glasgow enjoying a 44 per cent year-on-year increase to 5.27 million compared to a decline in Edinburgh numbers to 5.26 million stays. The 2014 Commonwealth
Games drew huge numbers of visitors to Glasgow and that trend has continued in 2015 with further major events such as the World IPC Swimming Championships,
Professor Grandi said: "These
The 2014 Commonwealth Games drew huge numbers of visitors to Glasgow
World Championships have been wonderful in every aspect. I would like to thank the city, because gymnastics, this magnifi cent sport, needs to try to continue to organise competitions in this manner. "It was even better than the Olympic Games, and for this we owe a lot to the Glasgow 2015 Organising Committee.” Councillor Frank McAveety,
the Turner Prize and the World Gymnastics Championships in October. The gymnastics event has garnered international praise with Professor Bruno Grandi, President of the International Gymnastics Federation hailing it as
“better than the Olympic Games.” Almost 600 of the world's
fi nest gymnasts from 87 nations travelled to the city for the World Championships, which were watched by around 70,000 spectators over 10 days.
Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "Once again Glasgow has shone on the world stage. He added: "People Make
Glasgow. And that was in evidence with thousands of fans packing into the Hydro every day. Along with our army of volunteers, they were the heart of the event."
Jobs initiative
Lockheed Martin boosts its city presence
Lockheed Martin, the defence and security contractor is to create 327 jobs in Glasgow. The posts were announced
at the offi cial opening of the company’s offi ces in Skypark. Lockheed Martin has moved
LendingCrowd management team (L-R): Fraser Lusty, Head of Business Development; Seema Paterson, Head of Corporate Aff airs; Bill Dobbie, Chairman; Stuart Lunn, CEO; Helen McKay, Credit Risk Specialist and Ian Cunningham, Head of Credit
Firm’s expansion plans LendingCrowd celebrates fi rst birthday
LendingCrowd, Scotland’s only peer-to-peer crowdlending platform has celebrated its fi rst birthday. Co-funded by Stuart Lunn,
CEO and Michael Dobbie, Chairman, the Glasgow Chamber member has facilitated 34 loans totalling £1.75 million. Over the 12-month period
the platform grew from a team of nine to 16 members of staff , with 1,100 investors signing
up since its launch on 1 October 2014. Stuart Lunn said that the fi rst anniversary represented a milestone for the company and its expansion plans. He added: “Over the last
12 months, we’ve grown the platform into a thriving business. We’ve achieved a lot in a year, but this is just the start. We have ambitions to become one of the UK’s foremost peer- to-business platforms, and to do
this we are constantly fi ne-tuning our operations to suit the needs of both our investors and borrowers. “There are lots of investors
keen to back companies looking for alternative fi nance and we believe fl exible and well- regulated crowdlending can help support a successful base of SMEs that can go on to make a valuable contribution to the UK economy.”
to larger offi ces in the Finnieston development after moving from the India of Inchinnan building in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire. The company said it has
already added 50 new jobs this year across its Glasgow-based information systems business, taking its total headcount to around 300. The move follows it receiving
“signifi cant support” from Scottish Enterprise, which has provided £2.5 million in Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grant funding. Lockheed Martin said a further
277 new roles will be created spanning software development, application management, programme and project management and administration “as required” over the next 18 to 24 months.
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