Our capital investment challenge funds are designed to help us identify investment opportunities which contribute to meeting our core objectives.
We are currently operating three funds covering different themes:
- boat-based tourism
- local partnerships
- innovation with natural resources
Information about general and fund-specific conditions which apply can be found below. An FAQ document is available in the Downloads section.
At the current time, all of the funds are closed to applications.
General conditions
The following important conditions apply:
- Crown Estate Scotland must invest in land and property which is already part of the Scottish Crown Estate or is purchased to form part of the Scottish Crown Estate
- Crown Estate Scotland is not permitted to trade and cannot take shared ownership or shared equity in land and property assets - We are therefore unable to invest in assets that belong to others
- Crown Estate Scotland investment funds are not grant funds, they are capital investment and in line with statutory requirements, we need to be mindful of the financial value of the assets which are the subject of investment over time, as well as the financial return and wider value the investment generates
Application to the funds
As a public corporation Crown Estate Scotland must follow certain procedures when appraising investment projects to ensure proposals are financially viable and meet our legal and corporate objectives.
To enable us to assess applications for investment, we used a three-stage process which is set out as follows:
Stage 1, where applicants complete a form which provides enough detail for us to assess whether an investment might be viable.
Stage 2, where selected applicants are invited to work with us in preparing a Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC), which will be considered by our investment committee.
Stage 3, where applicants whose SOBC is approved are invited to work with us in preparing a Full Business Case (FBC) which will be submitted to our investment committee for a final decision.
More detailed information on the process is presented in the stage 1 application form for each fund.
Boat-based tourism fund
Our 2020-23 Corporate Plan includes the following key objective:
Support the sustainable expansion of Scotland’s blue economy, focusing on marine and coastal development.
This fund aims to identify investment opportunities to grow revenue and capital value, deliver benefits to coastal communities and support the blue economy, with a focus on:
- Ports and harbours
- Boat-based tourism
- Coastal development land
The application window for this fund closed on Friday 1 October 2021, at 5pm.
For full details on the fund, its criteria and the application process, please see the stage 1 application form which is available here.
Local partnerships fund
Our 2020-23 Corporate Plan includes the following key action:
We will identify a capital budget for co-investing through local partnerships with, for example, community development trusts or local authorities to make a meaningful contribution to sustainable development linked to the Scottish Crown Estate.
This fund is our commitment to support and develop local communities through commercial investment of capital, particularly where they complement existing or planned interventions that deliver place-based projects on the ground.
We are seeking to identify investment opportunities to grow revenue and capital value, whilst delivering benefits to coastal and rural communities linked to the Scottish Crown Estate through projects that involve local partnerships.
The application window for this fund closed on Friday 10 December 2021, at 5pm.
For full details on the fund, its criteria and the application process, please see the stage 1 application form which is available here.
Innovation with natural resources fund
Our 2020-23 Corporate Plan includes the following key objective:
Promote new sustainable ways of using natural resources to produce energy, food and other products.
We are seeking to identify investment opportunities to grow revenue and capital value whist supporting projects linked to the Scottish Crown Estate which promote improvements and innovation in the sustainable use of natural resources.
This fund is our commitment to support business development and diversification for existing and new tenants through commercial investment of capital funds, particularly where they align with regional development priorities.
The application window for this fund closed on Friday 03 June 2022, at 5pm.
For full details on the fund, its criteria and the application process, please see the stage 1 application form which is available here.
For examples of projects which might have qualified for the fund, please see this summary document.