Study Says Heriot-Watt Brewing Center Could Add £53.4 Million a Year to Scotland

A proposed £35 million brewing and distilling center at Heriot-Watt University could add £53.4 million a year to Scotland’s economy, according to a new economic impact assessment that lays out the case for the project and its public and private funding.

The report, prepared by BiGGAR Economics and released Friday, examines the potential effect of a new Centre for Advanced Brewing and Distilling, or CABD, at the university. Heriot-Watt said the facility would build on more than a century of academic work in brewing and distilling and would sit next to the National Robotarium.

BiGGAR estimated that within 10 years the new center could be generating a total annual economic impact of £324.8 million in gross value added for Scotland and support 1,570 jobs. The analysis also said the project could deliver £20.80 in economic benefit for every £1 of public money invested.

To move the project forward, Heriot-Watt is seeking £25.3 million from industry and £9.7 million in public investment. The university argues that a new facility is needed to maintain and expand the work now carried out by its International Centre for Brewing and Distilling, which has been a major training and research base for the sector for nearly four decades.

According to the assessment, the existing center generated £240.1 million in gross value added for the Scottish economy in 2024-25 and supported 1,180 jobs. The report said those figures show the scale of the university’s current contribution, but it also warned that the center’s ability to sustain that performance is under growing pressure.

Scotland’s alcohol industry remains a major employer and exporter. The report said the sector employs 60,000 people, equal to 2.4% of all jobs in Scotland. It also said Scotland accounts for 14,000, or 71%, of the UK’s distilling jobs. Gross value added per worker in the spirits distilling and beer manufacturing sub-sectors was estimated at £240,730.

Backers of the new project say the proposed center is not only about growth, but also about helping breweries and distilleries deal with rising technical and commercial pressures. A larger and more modern research and training base could strengthen work on production efficiency, product development and workforce skills at a time when parts of the drinks industry are facing tighter margins, environmental targets and hiring shortages.

The BiGGAR assessment said those pressures are becoming more serious. It pointed to the industry’s commitment to reach net zero by 2040 and noted that brewing and distilling account for 1.5% of total UK emissions. It also highlighted the large amounts of water used in the production of Scotch whisky, rising input costs and a shortage of skilled workers across the sector.

From 2020 to 2025, input costs in brewing and distilling rose by 37%, the report said. That increase has added to pressure on producers already dealing with energy costs, raw material prices and the need to invest in new processes. In that context, a research-led facility could help companies test ways to cut emissions, use less water and improve productivity, while also training staff for more advanced production systems.

The report warned that if the funding is not secured and the new center is not built, it will become harder for the university’s existing brewing and distilling institute to support the sector effectively. It said aging facilities would be less able to meet demand from students and industry, raising the risk that Scotland could lose some of the advantages it has built in brewing and distilling education and innovation.

Professor Chris Turney, deputy principal for research and innovation at Heriot-Watt University, said the assessment supported the university’s long-term plans. He said the report was “a huge vote of confidence” in the vision for a new center and described the expected benefits as practical and measurable for brewing, distilling and the wider supply chain.

Turney said the university believes the project is grounded in “economic reality” and would help open a new phase for brewing and distilling based on sustainability and high standards. He added that the goal is to keep Scotland in a leading global position in both industries.

Industry figures are also using the report to press for government backing. Ewan Andrew, Diageo’s president of global supply chain and procurement and chief sustainability officer, is co-chair of Heriot-Watt’s CABD fundraising committee. He said the assessment showed the value that could be created for Scotland and the wider UK if government support is combined with industry investment, philanthropy and academic expertise.

Andrew said a new facility could help build resilience and create growth opportunities at a scale that no single party could achieve on its own. His comments reflect a broader argument now being made by supporters of the project: that investment in research and specialist training has become more important as breweries and distilleries adapt to tougher environmental standards, more volatile costs and a need for new technical skills.

The case for the center is likely to matter beyond Scotland’s universities. The brewing and distilling industries rely heavily on applied research, pilot-scale testing and specialized teaching, and those needs have become more urgent as producers look for ways to lower emissions, reduce water use and remain competitive. For beer makers and spirits producers, the proposed Heriot-Watt project is being presented as a way to connect academic research more directly with production challenges that are already affecting daily operations and long-term investment decisions.

The funding campaign now turns on whether Heriot-Watt can secure both the industry money and the public contribution needed to start construction. The university has framed the project as a strategic investment in one of Scotland’s best-known manufacturing sectors, while the BiGGAR report presents it as a project with wider economic benefits tied to jobs, innovation and supply chain activity.