What a week it’s been!
This week, Houston hosted ten Scottish companies and Scotland’s Trade & Investment Envoy for Space as part of the Scottish North American Business Council’s (SNABC) trade mission to Texas — organized on behalf of the Scottish Government and in partnership with the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
The delegation spanned water technology, digital transformation, autonomous logistics, medical technology, energy, clean technology, cyber security, and industrial AI: RSE Limited, TrackGenesis, independent founder Calum Bartlett, NEUROBITE Technologies, PD&MS Group, Highland Heat Harvesters, Santane, Closed Door Security, and NIRST/IPGN Solutions (makers of HAMI Voice), alongside Daniel Smith FRSA.
The week opened with a “Doing Business in Texas’ session at the British Consulate, Houston followed by a “Real Talk” roundtable where BABC Texas members shared their US expansion journey, including pitfalls and successes. That evening we co-hosted a reception at the British Consul General’s Residence in River Oaks, alongside HM Consul General Richard Shackleton MBE and Pedro Ruiz.
On Wednesday, BABC Texas joined Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough in hosting a roundtable on the practical realities of doing business in Texas — entity formation, immigration and visas, IP protection, tax, banking, market entry, and hiring. The delegation followed that by a visit to Rice University’s careers fair, where delegates connected with students and researchers building Scotland’s next generation of talent pipelines.
This is what BABC Texas exists to do: give UK businesses a real way into Texas, and provide our members and community a reason to open doors for them. Thank you to everyone who showed up this week — our board, our members, the British Consulate-General Houston, and our partners at Nelson Mullins — for the time, the introductions, and the welcome you gave this delegation.
And it’s easy to see why they came. Texas is the second-largest state economy in the country, with no state corporate or personal income tax and a workforce deep in engineering, healthcare, and technology. Houston brings the energy sector, the Texas Medical Center, NASA Johnson Space Center, and Rice University into one place — a natural landing spot for companies ready to grow beyond the UK. If this week is any indication, the relationships built here are just getting started.