Scotland records best export record in UK

Scottish exports rose by a reported £520m over the year

Scotland registered the best exports performance of any part of the UK over the past year, according to a City of London financial firm.

The Close Brothers Group PLC calculated that the value of Scottish exports last year rose by 13.4%.

However, the total UK figure rose by a mere 0.05%.

This contradicts Scottish government data which shows that last year the volume of Scottish exports fell in line with the rest of the UK by 10%.

The Close Treasury division of Close Brothers reported a rise of £520m in the value of Scotland's exports, from 2,586 exporting companies.

The UK figure was up by only £28m and the number of exporting companies fell 3.4%. The figures compare the fourth quarter of 2009 with the fourth quarter of 2008.

According to this analysis the worst export performance was in Northern Ireland where the value of overseas sales fell by 22%, or £361m.